Welcome to episode 260 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. In this episode, a ship’s captain is charged for allegedly breaching Russian sanctions, and there are the US Treasury’s latest designations against Hizballah-linked officials. In the UK, Nigeria's former oil minister has been acquitted in a bribery case, while the High Court has imposed reporting restrictions in the Entain civil litigation. Furthermore, the episode covers new enforcement data highlighting a lack of prosecutions against professional enablers, and a warning from the NCSC regarding state-sponsored cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure. Finally, we discuss the growing "protection gap" in cyber insurance, and the rise of the converged criminal economy where digital fraud increasingly intersects with real-world exploitation.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.

The photograph on the podcast cover art is by Sora Shimazaki at Pexels, and the stinger sample between each news section is ‘Ben Logo 1’ by BenKirb from Pixabay.

Welcome to episode 259 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. In this episode, the UK announces the conviction of an international arms-trafficking network, and the European Union announces its latest sanctions package targeting Russia’s "shadow fleet" and military-industrial capacity. UK Finance publishes a report designating the country’s £1.3 billion fraud losses as a national security threat, and there is a surge in UK company strike-offs following the introduction of mandatory identity checks. High-ranking Virgin Islands officials have been sentenced for procurement fraud, and there is a four-year jail term for a director involved in a £3 million property insolvency scheme. Finally, the FCA has proposed an overhaul of its penalty regime to include inflation-adjusted fines, and the World Economic Forum warns of the emerging AI arms race as hackers increasingly move toward exploiting generative technologies to bypass traditional security.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.

The photograph on the podcast cover art is by Sora Shimazaki at Pexels, and the stinger sample between each news section is ‘Ben Logo 1’ by BenKirb from Pixabay.

Welcome to episode 258 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. In this episode, new US sanctions targeting Iranian military procurement networks and Cuba's state-owned oil company, alongside a High Court ruling clarifying the scope of UK sanctions and contractual obligations. Europol has dismantled a €336 million cryptocurrency laundering service and the sentencing of a bank employee for laundering narcotics proceeds, as well as Haiti’s launch of specialised judicial poles to tackle systemic corruption. Additionally, the episode covers a proposed overhaul of the UK’s AML supervision framework and the launch of a £75 million national PoliceAI centre intended to accelerate complex criminal investigations. Finally, we discuss the FCA’s intervention in a securities firm insolvency, and new ICO guidance regarding data protection expectations for the smart device industry.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.

The photograph on the podcast cover art is by Sora Shimazaki at Pexels, and the stinger sample between each news section is ‘Ben Logo 1’ by BenKirb from Pixabay.

Welcome to episode 257 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. In this episode, the US designates a shadow fleet network moving Iranian petroleum through front companies, and the European Union announces its 21st sanctions package against Russia. There is a $21.3 million settlement for contract fraud, alongside a prison sentence for a $100 million international investment scheme. We also look at the FCA’s £452,000 confiscation order against a Ponzi operator, and the latest High Court intervention concerning a €2.5 million cryptocurrency fraud. Finally, US Senator Elizabeth Warren warns on AI-driven threats to the financial sector, and a NATO cyber simulation which tested responses to a Russia-style adversary.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.

The photograph on the podcast cover art is by Sora Shimazaki at Pexels, and the stinger sample between each news section is ‘Ben Logo 1’ by BenKirb from Pixabay.

Welcome to this special edition of the financial crime weekly podcast.

If you’ve been paying attention to the news this week, or at any time in the last two years, you can’t have failed to notice the cybersecurity landscape has officially crossed a terrifying new threshold. Google’s Threat Intelligence Group released a report confirming that generative AI has moved from a shiny new toy to a routine weapon for cybercriminals and nation-state actors.

For the very first time, researchers caught hackers using artificial intelligence to discover and weaponise a zero-day exploit, successfully bypassing two-factor authentication in a mass exploitation attempt. With AI-driven bot attacks surging from 2 million to a staggering 25 million incidents globally over the last year, the reality is clear: the bad guys are using AI to scale their attacks faster than humanly possible.

So, how do we fight back? We have to fight fire with fire.To help us understand how the good guys are weaponising AI for defence, I’m thrilled to welcome Pedro Bizarro to the show. Pedro is the Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at Feedzai, a global leader in AI-driven fraud prevention and financial risk management. A true pioneer in the space, Pedro transitioned from a decade-long research career, armed with a Computer Science PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to building out Feedzai’s industry-leading RiskOps platform. He holds over 90 patent applications and has authored more than 100 scientific publications. Pedro, it is a critical time for this conversation….

Welcome to episode 256 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. In this episode, an Iran-based tech executive is arrested for alleged procurement of U.S. equipment for military sectors, and the results of "Disruption Week" have been published. In the UK, the Crown Prosecution Service has published its 2030 strategy, while in Sri Lanka there is a nationwide campaign to boost financial literacy against evolving scams. We also look at the ICO’s £118,000 confiscation order in a data-theft case and reports of a $20 million payment by a prominent law firm to halt a data breach. Finally, the Bank of England warns of AI-driven vulnerabilities in banking systems.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.

The photograph on the podcast cover art is by Sora Shimazaki at Pexels, and the stinger sample between each news section is ‘Ben Logo 1’ by BenKirb from Pixabay.

Welcome to episode 255 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. In this episode, the U.S. Treasury has modernised its sanctions lists, and settled with FTI Consulting for dealings in prohibited Russian debt. In the UK, the Public Accounts Committee reports on the Ministry of Defence fraud risk, and the government warns offshore financial hubs about transparency. We also look at the entry into force of the EU’s harmonised Anti−Corruption Directive and a $21 million market manipulation conviction against a prominent activist short seller.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.

The photograph on the podcast cover art is by Sora Shimazaki at Pexels, and the stinger sample between each news section is ‘Ben Logo 1’ by BenKirb from Pixabay.

Welcome to episode 254 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. In this episode, the expansion of US sanctions against Iran, and a FCA report flagging systemic weaknesses in the management of £37 billion in frozen assets. There is a new international framework between major economies and tech firms to address online fraud, as well as OECD data showing that coordinated settlements have secured over $33 billion in bribery sanctions. The episode also covers the insider-trading complaint against a Google engineer for exploiting search data and GCHQ’s warning on the technological window against global adversaries and the compliance challenges posed by a patchwork of international cybersecurity regulations.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.

Welcome to episode 253 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. In this episode, the UK imposes sanctions targeting Russian evasion networks, and the US designates Lebanese officials linked to Hizballah. From the UK, a report is published highlighting the estimated £325 billion in illicit funds which move through the UK annually, and the dismissal of a "circular" fraud defence in the billion-dollar Privatbank case. In US fraud news, a 500-month sentence for a non-profit founder, and a 12-year prison term for a multinational firm owner involved in a $2 billion fraud scheme. In Australia the anti-corruption chief has resigned, and the FDIC has proposed compliance standards for stablecoin issuers. Finally, we discuss Europol’s tracing of millions in criminal assets across 31 countries, and the new UK-Australia partnership addressing AI-driven cyber threats.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.

Welcome to episode 252 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast. I am Chris Kirkbride. In this episode, the US Treasury lifts sanctions on a UN expert following a free-speech ruling, and there is a designation of Sinaloa Cartel networks. A former investment company CEO has been sentenced for breaching an SFO restraint order, alongside multiple enforcement actions related to COVID-19 relief fraud in the UK and US. Furthermore, federal bribery charges are brought against military contractors, and there is news of a global dismantling of a cybercriminal VPN service. Finally, the UK’s Companies House has published a new business plan, and news of the EU’s latest anti-corruption directive.

A transcript of this podcast, with links to the stories, will be available at www.crimes.financial.