ACAMS

In this episode of Financial Crime Matters, Kieran sits down with Michael Grady, chief of the bank integrity unit at the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division during the ACAMS Assembly Vegas Conference in September.
 
Mike talks about the BIU’s remit to pursue criminal infractions at banks, payment service providers, cryptocurrency exchanges and other financial businesses subject to the Bank Secrecy Act. During their conversation, Mike discusses some specific cases involving institutions actively involved in breaking anti-money laundering, terror finance and sanctions laws, which pose a threat to national security.

Prosecuting Bank Insiders Gone Bad, with the DOJ’s Michael Grady

In this episode of “Financial Crime Matters,” Kieran talks with three individuals committed to exposing cryptocurrency scams and drawing attention to imprisoned investigative journalist Mech Dara, who is responsible for uncovering the horrific conditions and practices within Cambodian-based crypto fraud compounds. 
 
Zeke Faux, author of “Number Go Up,” Danielle Keeton-Olsen, a freelance journalist based in Phnom Penh, and Erin West, Deputy District Attorney, Santa Clara County CA, discuss Dara’s treatment by the Cambodian government and its seeming indifference to fraud compounds that enslave tens of thousands and operate in plain sight, causing the financial ruin of millions around the world. During the podcast, Erin touches on the success law enforcement has had in recovering some victims’ money, Zeke calls on VASPs to do more to interdict crypto fraud funds, and Danielle identifies some of the organizations working for Dara’s release.

Standing Against "Pig-Butchering,"  with Zeke Faux, Danielle Keeton-Olsen and Erin West

In this episode of “Financial Crime Matters,” Kieran talks with Adam Levine, Director of Government Engagement for the Child Rescue Coalition (CRC).

Adam and Kieran discuss CRC’s efforts to enable law enforcement to trace online child sexual abuse material to its creators and collectors. During their discussion, Adam details some of the typologies associated with child exploitation that in tandem with CRC’s training and technological support has, to date, resulted in the arrest of more than 15,500 predators in more than 100 countries. 

Fighting the Online Exploitation of Children, with Adam Levine of the Child Rescue Coalition

In this episode of “Financial Crime Matters,” Kieran talks with Claudia Quiroz, Director of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, or NCET, at the U.S. Justice Department.

Claudia and Kieran discuss the rise in cryptocurrency-enabled crime that necessitated NCET’s creation three years ago and the team’s subsequent efforts to prosecute cyber predators and seize the proceeds of their crimes. Serving as a dedicated nerve center staffed by crypto experts within the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of Justice, where Claudia is deputy chief, NCET pursues a variety of frauds and scams, money laundering and other abuses of cryptocurrency. During their talk, Claudia touches on some of NCET’s cases, including against “Pig Butchering,” which she points out often involves two victims: the individual who is defrauded and enslaved individuals forced perpetrate the fraud.

Prosecuting Crypto Criminals, with the Justice Department’s Claudia Quiroz

In this episode of “Financial Crime Matters,” Kieran talks with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Michael Bruno, who is anti-money laundering program manager at the service’s national headquarters.

Mike details some of the Inspection Service’s efforts to tackle the theft of bank checks that are “washed” to fraudulently change the payees and amounts and that are all too often stolen during violent attacks on mail carriers. Crediting the Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Inspection Service’s law enforcement partners and a massive education effort, Mike shares how in roads have been made against check washing. He also discusses how the service is fighting money laundering and other types of fraud connected to the abuse of Postal Service money orders.  

Neither Rain, Nor Snow: Fighting Financial Crime Threats to the US Postal Service, with Michael Bruno

In this episode of “Financial Crime Matters,” Kieran talks with Geoff White, the author of three crucial books on financial crime, including “The Lazarus Heist: From Hollywood to High Finance: Inside North Korea's Global Cyber War.”

Drawing from “The Lazarus Heist” and a plethora of recent information, Geoff details North Korea’s $1.5 billion theft of ether in February from Bybit, a large global cryptocurrency exchange.  

During their discussion, Geoff provides a decades long history of North Korea’s efforts to steal foreign currency, particularly dollars, and describes how its hackers used a third-party vendor and long-term surveillance to empty Bybit’s Ethereum wallet. Geoff also describes Bybit’s ongoing efforts to recover the lost cryptocurrency and argues for a concerted worldwide effort to prevent future hacks.

“If North Korea gets its hands on this money it’s fairly obvious what it’s going to do,” Geoff says. “It’s going to be spending on, well perks for the regime partly, but its going to be spending on missile parts and nuclear weapons material.”

In addition to “The Lazarus Heist,” Geoff is the author of “Rinsed: From Cartels to Crypto How the Tech Industry Washes Money for the World's Deadliest Crooks” and “Crime Dot Com: From Viruses to Vote Rigging, How Hacking Went Global.”

Understanding North Korea’s $1.5 Billion Bybit Theft, with Geoff White

Chris Goede and Perry Holly discuss how to move from level 1 leadership (people follow you because they have to) towards level 2 (people follow you because they want to.

#2 - Congratulations, now get busy!

In the first episode of his new podcast series, Kieran Beer sits down with author and Wall Street Journal reporter Bradley Hope to examine the story behind the story of the 1MDB scandal. 

Bradley and fellow WSJ reporter Thomas Wright co-authored "Billion Dollar Whale", the story of Malaysian national Jho Low, and how he managed to steal billions from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

And while the role of the Compliance Officer may have grown in prominence over the last decade, the subtext of "Billion Dollar Whale" is that their warnings are still being routinely ignored when big money is at stake.

Amongst the accounts of vast excess - private jets, yachts and celebrity parties we ask: how did the perpetrators of the 1MDB scandal keep up the charade of legitimacy for so long? 

Read more of Kieran Beer's thoughts on the book at https://www.moneylaundering.com/news/from-the-editor-compliance-officers-still-routinely-ignored/

Find Bradley on Twitter www.twitter.com/bradleyhope

Billion Dollar Whale: Bradley Hope on 1MDB

Kieran Beer interviews two-time Pulitzer-Prize winning investigative journalist Jake Bernstein about his new book "Secrecy World". 

Jake was a senior journalist on the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) team that broke the Panama Papers in 2017. His new book  "Secrecy World", based on the story of Mossack Fonseca and the 2017 scandal, is about to be made into a major motion picture. 

"Secrecy World offers a disturbing and sobering view of how the world really works and raises critical questions about financial and legal institutions we may once have trusted." (Amazon)

In this podcast, Kieran and Jake talk about how Mossack Fonseca was exposed, and what real-world impact this has had (and is continuing to have) across the globe.

Find Jake on Twitter www.twitter.com/jake_bernstein

Secrecy World: Jake Bernstein on the Panama Papers

John Smith spent 11 years at OFAC, including three years as it's Director, and served under 4 Presidents. He is a global authority on Sanctions, and in this interview with Kieran Beer he sets out the past, present and future of the Sanctions world as we know it. 

Discover why OFAC was created, what role Congress plays (and should play!) in setting Sanctions, and how the Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump administrations have differed in their approaches. 

If you work in Financial Crime, or simply want to know how Sanctions have changed the world (like the fall of apartheid in South Africa) you need to listen to this podcast.

We're also proud to announce that John will be giving a special presentation at the 15th Annual ACAMS European AML & Anti-Financial Crime Conference in Berlin (11-13 June 2019). Find out more on www.acamsconferences.org/europe. 

Read John's full bio on the Morrison & Foerster site at https://www.mofo.com/people/john-smith.html

Sanctions with John Smith

In this podcast series, Kieran Beer (Chief Analyst at ACAMS) interviews the movers and shakers of the anti-financial crime world. 

Listen for fast-paced conversations about the latest financial scandal to hit newsstands, and insights on trending Financial Crime topics. 
 
Have something you’d like to hear covered? Email Kieran on podcasts@acams.org and tell us what matters to you. You can also follow Kieran on twitter www.twitter.com/kieranbeer

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Secrecy World: Jake Bernstein on the Panama Papers

Financial Crime Matters

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