Tom Keatinge and Wagner expert Jack Margolin discuss how the group became a global mercenary powerhouse and how to counter the rise of such groups. With insights from Jack Margolin, author of ‘The Wagner Group: Inside Russia’s Mercenary Army’, this episode explores how the Wagner Group evolved into a global mercenary enterprise, profiting from conflict worldwide. With host Tom Keatinge, they unpack Wagner’s unique financial model, the strategic use of corruption, and how sanctions aim to...

Host Kinga Redlowska, Head of CFS Europe, and Tom Keatinge, CFS Director, are joined by Stephanie Baker, Bloomberg investigative journalist and author of Punishing Putin. They delve into the impact of sanctions on Russia following its illegal invasion of Ukraine, exploring Russia’s evasion tactics, the role of oligarchs, and the evolving use of sanctions as a tool in global diplomacy.

Host Tom Keatinge sits down with CFS Associate Fellow Stephen Reimer and international lawyer Ishita Chakrabati to discuss how authoritarian regimes are abusing the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. Drawing on insights from a two-year RUSI study, this episode analyses how the FATF standards, which aim to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing, are being exploited by authoritarian regimes to silence dissent. With the FATF gearing up for its upcoming plenary in Paris, the...

In this episode, host Tom Keatinge speaks with Dr Marcus Pleyer, former FATF president, about his role in shaping global financial crime policies and EU anti-money laundering efforts. They explore Marcus’s professional journey, from a small corner of Germany’s Ministry of Finance to leading the country’s successful bid to host the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority. The conversation delves into the initiatives Marcus championed at the FATF, including the push for using technology in the...

In this episode, host Tom Keatinge, CFS Director, is joined by Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Director of the Transatlantic Security Program at CNAS, to discuss her co-authored article ‘Axis of Upheaval’. They discuss the convergence of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea and the challenges posed across economic, military, political and technological dimensions. The conversation also delves into whether these deepening ties represent a coordinated grouping or a series of ‘marriages of convenience’ in...

In the first episode of the season, host Kinga Redlowska, Head of CFS Europe, is joined by Bethany Allen, author of Beijing Rules: China's Quest for Global Influence. They discuss how China has developed its economic statecraft in recent years, the innovative methods used to achieve its geopolitical ends, and what the West can do to respond to increasingly muscular Chinese economic activities.

In this teaser, host Kinga Redlowska, Head of CFS Europe, is joined by CFS Director Tom Keatinge to launch the theme for the new season, ‘The Future Of’. Listen now to get a sneak peek at the range of topics and new ideas that will feature in Season Seven of the STR podcast.

In the last episode of this season, host Tom Keatinge, CFS Director, is joined by T Raja Kumar, former President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). They discuss some of the key achievements during his presidency, such as his focus on asset recovery, increased FATF engagement with regional bodies around the world, the unprecedented suspension of Russia from the FATF, and what to expect as the next round of country evaluations begins.

In this episode, host Tom Keatinge, CFS Director, is joined by Darya Dolzikova, RUSI Research Fellow, to discuss her recent paper, 'Power Plays: Developments in Russian Enriched Uranium Trade'. They discuss the financial and diplomatic benefits Russia derives from its nuclear resources and industry expertise, the extent of Western dependencies on Russian enriched uranium despite some efforts to diversify from Russian supply, and the complexity in isolating Russia financially and economically.

Host Tom Keatinge, CFS Director, is joined by Geoff White, Investigative Journalist and author of Rinsed. They discuss cybercrime, money laundering, crypto hacking by North Korea, how criminals collaborate across multiple jurisdictions to evade the law, the recruitment of money-laundering mules, and the evolution of dark web marketplaces like Silk Road and Hydra.

In this episode, host Tom Keatinge, CFS Director, is joined by Justyna Gudzowska, CFS Associate Fellow, and Tom Stocks, Senior Investigative Journalist at the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. They discuss their recently published paper ‘Disabling the Enablers of Sanctions Circumvention,’ the threat of frivolous lawsuits aimed at silencing independent, critical journalism, and why anonymous shell companies and trusts are the preferred tools of professional enablers to help...

In this episode, CFS Director Tom Keatinge is joined by Peter Geoghegan, Investigative Reporter at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project – a global network of journalists – and author of Democracy for Sale. They discuss the role of ‘dark money’ in political funding, loopholes you can see from space, the lack of regulatory accountability on social media, the way think tanks can influence political processes, and how shell companies can be used as a vehicle to make large...

Host Tom Keatinge, CFS Director, discusses the impact of sanctions against Russia with Vladimir Milov, Vice President, Free Russia Foundation.  In this episode, Tom Keatinge and Vladimir Milov discuss the impact that sanctions against Russia are having on the nation’s economy and its people, the Kremlin’s dwindling finances, and why Ukraine’s allies must maintain pressure and focus to make sanctions work.

In this episode, host Tom Keatinge, CFS Director, is joined by Kathryn Westmore, CFS Senior Research Fellow, and Sahil Shah, Managing Director, Say No to Disinfo. Together, they explore how the spread of misinformation on social media is an emerging threat to financial stability, the role of misinformation in lasts year’s Silicon Valley Bank collapse, and what banks, regulators and governments can do.

In this episode, Kinga Redlowska, Head of CFS Europe, is joined by Zoe Reiter, Director for Kleptocracy at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and Tom Keatinge, CFS Director and author of a new RUSI paper entitled 'Combating Kleptocracy: Lessons from the Response to Russia’s War in Ukraine'. They discuss the fight against kleptocracy, how Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has energised governments in their efforts to combat modern kleptocracy, and lessons from the response to...

In this special edition episode of the Suspicious Transaction Report, CFS Director Tom Keatinge and Head of CFS Europe Kinga Redlowska discuss the motivation behind the programme’s recent name change, upcoming research outputs, and what exciting activities will take place in 2024 as CFS celebrates 10 years of pioneering analysis and research.

Host Allison Owen, CFCS Associate Fellow, is joined by David Carlisle, Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at blockchain analysis and crypto data company Elliptic London, and RUSI Associate Fellow, to discuss all things cryptocurrency. With David's new book The Crypto Launderers: Crime and Cryptocurrencies from the Dark Web to DeFi and Beyond just out, they delve into the complex intersection of technology, regulation and crime, and the challenges law enforcement agencies face in...

In this episode, host Gonzalo Saiz, CFCS Research Fellow, is joined by Daniel Tannebaum, Partner at management consultancy firm Oliver Wyman, and Jan Dunin-Wasowicz, Partner and Co-Chair of Hughes Hubbard & Reed’s Sanctions, Export Controls & Anti-Money Laundering practice group. They discuss the differences in the US and EU approaches to sanctions against Russia, how tackling the practice of sanctions circumvention through third countries impacts the private sector, and the role of...

Host Tom Keatinge, CFCS Director, is joined by Xolisile Khanyile, former head of South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre and RUSI Senior Associate Fellow. They discuss her decades-long career as a prosecutor in the financial crime world, illegal wildlife trafficking, public-private partnerships, South Africa's FATF ‘grey-listing’, and how everyday crime impacts South Africa's response to money laundering.

Host Tom Keatinge, CFCS Director, is joined by Liz Rosenberg, former Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes at the US Department of the Treasury. They discuss her ambitions for combatting illicit finance as she re-entered the US Treasury in 2021, her role in the review of the US sanctions strategy, the measures developed to respond to Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine, including the oil price cap, and the priorities ahead for the US two years on from Russia’s...

Martin Sandbu, European economics commentator at the Financial Times, discusses the challenges and opportunities involved in using Russia’s currently frozen Central Bank assets to support Ukraine’s economy and reconstruction. The hashtag ‘Russia Must Pay’ is frequently trending on social media, boosted by politicians, civil society organisations and individuals outraged by Russia’s continued aggression. But while this sentiment is easy for politicians and financiers to articulate, it has yet...

China’s regular muscle-flexing and other threatening moves towards Taiwan poses a great challenge. How should the West think about this behaviour, given the integration of China into the international economy and the extent to which the West relies on trade with Beijing? Could sanctions be used as a policy instrument here? In this episode, host Kinga Redlowska, Head of CFCS Europe, is joined by Emily Kilcrease, Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy, Economics and Security Programme at the...

The financial crime and sanctions world has mushroomed into a global industry. Thousands of compliance officers, analysts, policymakers and law enforcement officials are involved in some element of this behemoth. Among these many thousands, a few figures have emerged as opinion formers – those who found themselves at the forefront of developments. In this episode, host Tom Keatinge, Director of the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies at RUSI, is joined by Danny Glaser who has...

Sanctions circumvention has been at the core of policy discussions on restrictive measures. But what does ‘circumvention’ mean, and what is the on-the-ground reality in the countries that are so often associated with this activity? Host Kinga Redlowska, Head of CFCS Europe, is joined by Carl Schreck, investigative journalist at Radio Free Europe, and Olivia Allison, CFCS Associate Fellow, to discuss the challenge of tackling sanctions circumvention and evasion.