FinCrime Spotlight

What can we take away about the reality and lifestyle of those involved in organised crime, from its portrayal in fiction? Quite a lot, it seems! 

Gemma Rogers, Co-Founder, FINTRAIL sits down with Tony to explore all of this, and more, based on the Netflix American crime drama TV series ‘Ozark’. 

Tony Brown is the Head of Compliance & MLRO at IFX Payments, a Global FinTech that issues digital IBANS to clients requiring treasury management and payments solutions. At IFX he is responsible for advising the group on risk and works closely with the C-Suite to deliver on strategic goals in a sustainable and innovative way.  Tony has 15+ years experience working in financial services, most of which has been spent in regulatory compliance roles and he has a passion for anti-money laundering.

What can we realise about the wider social context of why financial crime takes place, and the personal circumstances one may be in to be forced into criminality? Quite a lot, it seems! 

Gemma Rogers, Co-Founder, FINTRAIL sits down with Matthew to explore all of this, and more, based on the American crime drama television series ‘Breaking Bad’. 

Matthew Redhead is a researcher and writer on national security and financial crime, and has published several papers on the future of AML/CTF as an Associate Fellow at RUSI. He is also a regular contributor to Jane’s Intelligence Review on serious organised crime, financial crime, terrorism and intelligence. He previously worked in a variety of risk-focused roles in banking, the UK civil service and management consultancy.

From a TV show, what can we learn about how organisations launder funds and evade detection, the bureaucracy and corruption that can be faced along the way, and the negative impact the War on Drugs has had on all its participants? Quite a lot, it seems! 

Gemma Rogers, Co-Founder, FINTRAIL sits down with Meredith to explore all of this, and more, based on the American crime TV series ‘The Wire’. 

Meredith is a Financial Crime Compliance Senior Manager - Strategy & Advisory at ClearBank. Meredith is an experienced financial crime compliance professional who specialises in designing, enhancing and conducting oversight on AML/CTF and sanctions systems and control frameworks. At ClearBank, Meredith works within the 2LOD to provide advisory on the implementation of anti-financial crime controls and to help drive control evolution to support the bank’s strategic initiatives. Prior to her role at ClearBank, Meredith worked at FINTRAIL as an anti-financial crime consultant, where she led and supported on client engagements across the FinTech, virtual asset, banking and investment sectors, helping firms to build, scale and modernise their financial crime risk management programmes. 

What can we learn about the picture film paints of cryptocurrency and its involvement in money laundering? Quite a lot, it seems! 

Gemma Rogers, Co-Founder, FINTRAIL sits down with Gregory to explore all of this, and more, based on the 2019 American crime drama thriller film ‘Crypto’.

Gregory Dellas is the Chief Compliance and Innovation Officer at ECOMMBX. Previously, at the Bank of Cyprus, Gregory served as Director Wealth & Markets and spearheaded the AML Risk Management team within International Banking Services, responsible for high-risk clients and transactions and for providing guidance and specialized training to management and staff. Before that he was Group MLRO for Cyprus Popular Bank, and held a number of other senior management positions. 

Gregory is the founder and Chair of the ACAMS Cyprus Chapter, since 2015. He holds several international professional certifications including CGSS, CAMS (Advanced) - Risk and CAMS (Advanced) – Audit. He is a certified CAMS instructor and GCI accredited trainer, a Fellow of ICA (FICA) and a long-standing member of the AMLP Forum and IGCA. He also holds an MBA from Lancaster University in the UK and a BSC (Hons) Industrial economics from the University of Warwick.

What can we understand about the actions and greed associated to powerful and wealthy people caught up in crime and corruption, from a real life story interpreted to film? Quite a lot, it seems! 

Gemma Rogers, Co-Founder, FINTRAIL sits down with Matthew to explore all of this, and more, based on the American crime film ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ and true story of stockbroker Jordan Belfort.

Matt is the current Head of Financial Crime Risk at Tide Platform Limited. Tide provides banking services for SMEs and has a current member base of 350,000+ members.

Prior to Tide, Matt managed Santander’s Financial Crime Apprenticeship programme, focusing on developing future leaders within the world of Financial Crime. Matt has also held roles at multiple other international organisations such as Barclays and Amazon.

Matt has a passion for building Financial Crime teams in a new and innovative way by training them in a way that allows them to engage both the technical and creative parts of their brains to meet the ever changing regulatory environment.

What can we discover about the impact the ‘80s Colombian cocaine trade had on society, from the portrayal of real life events in a TV show? Quite a lot, it seems! 

Gemma Rogers, Co-Founder, FINTRAIL sits down with Hanna to explore all of this, and more, based on the TV series ‘Narcos’ and true story of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. 

Hanna is a regulatory strategist that has worked for a wide range of financial institutions from big banks to early stage startups. Hanna has advised early stage fintechs on go to market strategies. Hanna is currently the Head of Compliance for Wealthsimple Cash and has supported the launch of new products in areas such as Wealthsimple's challenger bank and P2P payments offering and Canada's first and only securities regulated crypto trading platform. Hanna also is a Board Member at Open Banking Initiative Canada.

What can we realise about the violence associated with organised crime and drug traffickers in London today, from its portrayal on TV? Quite a lot, it seems! 

Gemma Rogers, Co-Founder, FINTRAIL sits down with Koos to explore all of this, and more, based on the 2020 British action–crime drama TV series ‘Gangs of London’. 

Koos Couvée is Senior Reporter, Europe at ACAMS moneylaundering.com. He has been with moneylaundering.com since October 2017 and is responsible for covering the ways in which criminals launder funds and otherwise abuse the financial system, as well as the development of laws, regulations and compliance procedures designed to clamp down on illicit finance. Prior to joining ACAMS, Koos worked as a news journalist at various regional and national newspapers based in London.

What can we understand about corruption, competition, power and wealth that drives the energy industry, from its depiction in a film? Quite a lot, it seems! 

Gemma Rogers, Co-Founder, FINTRAIL sits down with Tamara to explore all of this, and more, based on the 2005 American geopolitical thriller film ‘Syriana’. 

Tamara is currently the Managing Director at Veracity Worldwide. For nearly 25 years, Tamara has worked in investigations and intelligence. She has primarily focused on working with companies operating in challenging markets, where issues are complex and often politically exposed. A seasoned intelligence operator, Tamara knows where to look for information across jurisdictions, and how to use knowledge gained to design strategies employed in asset tracing, reputation management, commercial disputes, controversies and crises. She is also called on by clients to support strategic decision making related to emerging and frontier markets. Tamara was ranked as a Notable Practitioner in Chambers & Partners Litigation Support Guide (2020).

What can we learn about why people get tempted into bad choices through their own life narratives and the incentives and circumstances they are exposed to, from its portrayal in film? Quite a lot, it seems! 

Gemma Rogers, Co-Founder, FINTRAIL sits down with Niels to explore all of this, and more, based on the 1993 American legal thriller 'The Firm'. 

Niels Pedersen is the author of Financial Technology: Case Studies in Fintech Innovation. He is a Chartered Accountant and Senior Lecturer on Manchester Metropolitan University’s MSc Financial Technology degree. Before entering academia, he worked at PwC and the Prudential Regulation Authority. In addition to his university teaching, Niels conducts corporate training seminars on technology-related topics. His thoughts have been featured in Newsweek, the Financial Times, and on BBC Radio Scotland. 

What can we discover about the evolving networks of international organised crime and human trafficking from its representation in a TV drama? Quite a lot, it seems! 

Gemma Rogers, Co-Founder, FINTRAIL sits down with Charlotte to explore all of this, and more, based on the BBC TV series adaptation of Misha Glenny’s book ‘McMafia’.

Charlotte is currently the Anti-Money Laundering lead at Copenhagen based FinTech Pleo, focused on streamlining the future of business spending. With a background in both consultancy and at major banks, her experience in FinCrime varies from large-scale US mafia investigations to white collar crimes. She is passionate about good compliance built into slick tech and collaborative approaches to fighting the good fight.