You may be familiar with yacht owners being sanctioned, but what of the potential risks tied to the yachts themselves? Burmese teak wood, commonly found in marine vessels, is known for its exceptional quality, natural water resistance, and premium price tag. Unfortunately, that price tag is not nearly as steep as the potential consequences of supporting the illegal timber trade.

In this episode of KYC Decoded, we're honored to welcome Kate Klikis, forest campaigner and Myanmar timber expert from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). In an enlightening conversation with host, Alex Pillow, Kate educates us on the illegal timber trade and its greater implications. Key topics include:

• The differences between legal and illegal timber trading
• The illegal timber trade in Myanmar
• Global regulations to combat the illegal timber trade
• Industries most vulnerable to risks associated with illegal timber trading
• The integrated risks involved with illegal deforestation, sanctions, money laundering, bribery and corruption, counterfeiting, and more

If you would like to learn more, check out the recommended resources shared during this episode below:

• The Croatian Connection Exposed
• EIA forest reports
• Acts of Defiance: How US traders are ignoring sanctions to import conflict teak from Myanmar
• EIA YouTube channel
• EIA LinkedIn
• EIA Instagram
• EIA Facebook
• EIA Threads

To take the next step in your risk and compliance program, please visit our website and get in touch. We would love to hear from you.

Let's get into the evolving world of fraud on KYC Decoded, where the complexity and sophistication of fraud now poses new and daunting challenges for professionals and organizations alike. This episode draws on invaluable insights from the Cifas Fraudscape report, brought to life by guest, Stephen Dalton, Director of Intelligence at Cifas. Together with our host, Alex Pillow, they analyze the most concerning fraud trends, uncover the advanced tactics of fraudsters, and emphasize the importance of data in defending against threats.  

Key topics in this episode include:  

• The factors leading to the rise in reported fraud cases and strategies to combat this upward trend 
• The sophistication of modern scams and the impact on targeted industries 
• Fraudulent activities committed by lone individuals versus organized crime groups  
• How AI is leveraged by both fraudsters and compliance professionals  
• The essential measures to detecting and disrupting fraud  

To learn how Moody’s compliance and third-party risk management can help your organization with fraud prevention, please visit our website or get in touch; we’d love to hear from you. 

The positioning of “traditional” KYC against new and emerging methodologies creates opportunities to assess the most effective processes and technologies used to prevent financial crime. It raises the question: What transformative actions and AI implementations are needed to revolutionize a KYC framework, ensuring the industry is prepared for future advancement? 

In this episode of KYC Decoded, Hanjo Seibert, managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group, and global lead for Compliance and Anti-Financial Crime (AFC) Technology Transformation joins our host Alex Pillow. Their insightful dialogue provides fresh viewpoints on questions such as: 

• Are traditional KYC/AML methods sufficient to address the challenges professionals face today?
• How can rules-based and data-driven approaches combine to increase efficiency?
• How should professionals approach problem-solving: by prioritizing data first or by putting compliance considerations first?
• How can financial institutions ensure personnel are trained to effectively use new technologies against fraudsters who are also innovating rapidly?
• Will we continue to see multiple vendors providing diverse solutions, or is there a trend towards consolidating services into one-stop shops?

To find out more about the topics discussed in this episode - check out these resources: 

• Watch Hanjo’s Ted Talk: What you can do to stop economic crime
• Listen to the BCG on Compliance podcast: Apple, Spotify, Amazon
• Read Moody’s blog post: 8 best financial crime books

And if you would like to see how Moody’s compliance and third-party risk management can help with your approach to KYC, please visit our website or get in touch; we’d love to hear from you. 

Disclaimer: Please note in the introduction to this episode it is mentioned that Russia further invaded Ukraine in 2020 rather than the correct year of 2022.

In this episode of KYC Decoded, we dive into Article 5r which mandates European banks report any money transfers exceeding 100,000 euros leaving the EU, targeting entities with more than 40% Russian ownership. 

Join Moody’s Industry Practice Lead, Nicola Passariello, and host Alex Pillow as they unravel the complexities of financial surveillance under Article 5r of EU Reg. 833. Learn more about the implications this directive has for the financial sector and navigating complex ownership structures to meet new deadlines.  

Highlights include: 

• An introduction and explanation of Article 5r of EU Reg. 833
• Reporting requirements for financial institutions
• Challenges in identifying direct and indirect ownership
• Importance of having a full KYC program
• Common pitfalls and guidance for practitioners

For additional resources mentioned in this episode, visit: 

• The Banker article
• Moody’s article 5r blog

For more information visit our website and get in touch with one of our experts – we'd love to hear from you.

From social media account information to password creation to IP addresses, the digital footprint we create grows larger every time we go online – and it is virtually impossible to avoid.  At the same time, sophisticated criminals can capture this wealth of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and create synthetic identities to commit crimes like fraud, money laundering, illegal weapons dealing, and more.

Although scary, the first thing we can do to combat this criminal behavior is learn about it. So, we are excited to share the mic with Constella's experts, Jason Wagner, Vice President of Identity & Digital Intelligence, and Dan Mathews, Director of Worldwide Sales Engineering.

You do not want to miss this incredibly engaging and knowledgeable conversation with host, Alex Pillow, asking hard-hitting questions like:

• What is a synthetic identity?
• What threats do synthetic identities pose to the financial sector at large?
• How are criminals stealing data?
• What populations and kinds of businesses are most vulnerable to the risks associated with synthetic identities?
• What are “ghosts” in the context of synthetic identities, and how can they attack businesses?
• How is AI changing the landscape of creating synthetic identities?
• How can the risks created by synthetic identity fraud be mitigated?

To learn more about topics discussed on this episode, check out the resources mentioned below:

• Constella blog
• Constella Intelligence LinkedIn account
• Constella's 2024 Identity Breach Report

If you want to be at the forefront of combatting financial crime in your organization, visit our website to see how we can help, and feel free to get in touch – we would love to hear from you.

In this episode, KYC Decoded welcomes Derek Vadala, Chief Risk Officer at BitSight, who shares his insights on the intricacies of cyber risk, technology risk, and digital risk with host Alex Pillow. They explore the evolving nature of cyber threats, from financially motivated attacks to nation-state espionage, and discuss best practices for mitigating these risks through in depth defense strategies and ongoing monitoring. Derek emphasizes the criticality of a risk-based approach to supply chain due diligence and the importance of integrating cyber risk management into broader compliance frameworks.

Key takeaways:

• Cyber risk encompasses adversarial activities, technology issues, and digital transformation challenges, each requiring distinct mitigation strategies
• Financially motivated cyber criminals and nation-state actors use different tactics but can blur lines, necessitating vigilant, multifaceted defenses
• Effective cyber defense relies on automation and layered security measures, beyond just user education
• Integrating cyber risk management with overall compliance and due diligence processes enhances organizational resilience

To learn more about cyber related risk, please check out the resources below:

• Risky business podcast
• Cyber Security Headlines podcast

To learn how you can mitigate cyber-related risk in your organization, visit our website  and feel free to get in touch - we would love to hear from you.

This episode introduces the Data and Technology for Compliance (DT4C) Alliance, an industry group comprising leading data and technology companies focused on enhancing financial crime prevention in the EU. Host Alex Pillow, along with Ted Datta from Moody's, and Gem Conn from Dow Jones Risk and Compliance, discuss the Alliance's goals, key initiatives, and the impact they have had so far, including the inclusion of high-quality data standards in AML regulations.

They explore how the alliance works in practice, the balance between data privacy and AML effectiveness, and the broader implications for risk and compliance professionals. For more information or to get involved, listeners are encouraged to visit the DT4C website www.dt4calliance.eu, email the [email protected] or reach out to the contributors on LinkedIn.

As digital assets continue to evolve and enrich investment portfolios, they simultaneously demand innovative anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance strategies to counteract potential exploitation by bad actors. There is a critical need for financial service firms to adapt to these changes, understanding the money laundering risks tied to crypto.  

In this episode of KYC Decoded, we are joined by Liat Shetret, Director of Global Policy and Regulation at Elliptic, and Karmjeet Singh, Product Strategist at Moody’s, who together unravel the pivotal role of Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) in navigating and addressing these emerging challenges in the digital economy. Key topics of their conversation include: 

• The rapid evolution and developments of the VASP and cryptocurrency ecosystem in recent years 
• The sophistication and complexities of criminal activity in the digital world 
• Strategies to effectively manage the challenges posed by VASP 
• How compliance officers balance dual roles of safeguarding against risk while facilitating organizational growth 
• Predictions on future crypto market trends and their implications for risk and compliance professionals 

For additional resources: 

• Read Elliptic’s blog
• Sign up for Elliptic’s newsletter
• Listen to KYC Decoded’s Crypto Miniseries: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

To learn more about our VASP screening for your organization, please feel free to reach out – we would love to hear from you! 

Some of the most crucial actors in the world of regulatory compliance exist within the public sector. But, with so many private sector players gathering data and making risk-based decisions, how can the two groups bridge any divides to overcome increasingly sophisticated criminals?

In this episode of KYC Decoded, host Alex Pillow is joined by public sector colleagues Linda Hamilton, Deputy Director of Organised Crime in Fraud Investigations Service at the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), and Kevin Newe, Illicit Finances Threat Lead from HMRC. Their engaging conversation provides unique perspectives on questions like:

• Why is there a need to invest more in preventing economic crime and money laundering?
• How can we strike a balance between a public-private sector feedback loop and preserving confidentiality?
• What do good public-private partnerships look like and are there opportunities for improvement?
• When combatting financial crime, where should the public sector take the lead and where the private sector?
• How should data and technology vendors be involved with their private sector partners and the public sector?
• What makes a good SAR and what can be said about software that automates writing them?

To learn more about what was discussed in this episode, be sure to check out these additional resources:

• UK Financial Intelligence Unit
• Financial Action Task Force risk trends and methodologies
• FATF Annual Report 2020-2021
• National Economic Crime Centre

And, if you’d like to see how Moody’s Compliance and third-party risk management can help you with AML, please visit our website or get in touch; we’d love to hear from you.

As regulatory stakes grow higher, so does the need for reliable, comprehensive data when evaluating risk. Enter: the Moody’s Entity Verification API. In a single source, this powerful tool layers curated data on over 525 million global companies along with real-time entity information from primary sources. Here to share more on the making of this tool and its value in a compliance program are Johanna Konrad, Moody’s Compliance & third-party risk Managing Director of Product Management, and Jon Hanmer, Moody’s Sales Senior Director. Joining host, Alex Pillow, they discussed:

• How direct customer feedback shaped what the Entity Verification API delivers
• How the solution benefits stakeholders in different sectors
• Why strong entity verification lays the groundwork for a “golden record,” and why that matters
• Enablement of practitioners to monitor entities in a perpetual KYC (pKYC) program

For more information about the Moody’s Entity Verification API, visit our website. If you’d like to book a demo or learn more, please get in touch; we would love to hear from you!