The One on Piracy at Sea

The One on Piracy at Sea

Download our free EDD report writing toolkit here - https://ddd-edd-toolkit.netlify.app/ Season 2 closes where it began — with piracy — but the story has changed completely. Sylwia and Amritha trace the money from a 2009 hijacking in the Indian Ocean through to today's headlines, where presidents and prime ministers are throwing the word "pirate" at each other in the Strait of Hormuz. Sponsors: We’re proudly independent — but we partner with companies who share our passion for smarter due diligence and investigations. A Data Pro turns global data into actionable intelligence. For over 26 years, they’ve helped decision-makers in risk, compliance, and communications with tailored solutions across three core divisions: • Risk Intelligence — strengthening compliance and KYC/AML programmes through due diligence, sanctions lists, UBO tracing, and PEP/SEP screening • Media Intelligence — equipping PR, marketing, and executive teams with insights on reputation, crises, competitors, influencers, and trends • Data Solutions — clean, structured data for automation and AI With 500+ multilingual specialists across 80+ jurisdictions, A Data Pro catches risks before they catch up to you. Find out more at adata.pro Metis Insights Metis Insights is an independent risk intelligence and investigations firm specialising in human‑source‑led intelligence, strategic analysis, and in‑country investigations across complex and high‑risk markets. Combining deep local access with analytical rigour, Metis helps clients uncover the people, networks, and dynamics that shape outcomes. From enhanced due diligence and complex investigations to strategic intelligence and ESG risk assessments, their work is defined by context, nuance and discretion. Find out more at www.metisinsights.co.uk Resources: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8122858.stm https://africa.cgtn.com/faces-of-africa-afweyne-big-mouth-and-the-somali-pirates-2/ https://time.com/article/2026/05/22/how-trump-s-war-with-iran-is-giving-somali-pirates-an-opening/

The One on Crypto Investigations - with Isabella

Has crypto really earned its reputation as the payment method of choice for drugs, arms and everything else illicit — or is the headline image overblown? In this episode, Amritha and Sylwia sit down with Isabella to look at the reality of crypto-enabled financial crime. This is a slightly different episode for the season: rather than focusing on a single predicate offence, the conversation digs into the payment method itself — how crypto intersects with bribery and corruption, sanctions evasion, terrorist financing and ransomware, and when it's the heart of a scheme versus just a layering tool bolted onto a classic typology. We also go into what a crypto investigation actually looks like, how it differs from fiat, where blockchain analytics hits its limits, and why you still need KYC, OSINT and human judgement alongside it. Resources: https://www.trmlabs.com/beacon-network Sponsors We're proudly independent — but we partner with companies who share our passion for smarter due diligence and investigations. This episode is exclusively sponsored by TRM Labs, a leading blockchain intelligence company helping financial institutions, crypto businesses and public agencies detect, investigate and prevent crypto-related financial crime. TRM's platform powers the kind of on-chain tracing and investigation work we explore in this episode — turning complex blockchain activity into actionable intelligence. Find out more at: https://www.trmlabs.com/ Subscribe & Follow Subscribe, leave a review, and share with anyone in risk, compliance, or investigations - or anyone who's ever insisted crypto is "totally untraceable."

The One Where AI Meets Compliance in the Wild - with Sabela

Can AI actually do compliance tasks? Not in a demo, but in the messy reality of conflicts of interest, speak-up reports, third-party risk and investigation reviews? In this episode, Sylwia and Amritha sit down with Sabela, Director of Compliance & Ethics at EQS Group, to unpack what EQS learned from putting the leading AI models through their paces. Drawing on the EQS AI benchmark studies - 120 tasks across 10 core compliance areas, run twice in quick succession — Sabela shares a refreshingly hype-free view of where AI is genuinely ready, where it needs guardrails and where we shouldn't pretend the technology is mature yet. This is a candid conversation about real capability, real limits and what it all means for compliance teams. Read the research behind this episode- The EQS AI Benchmark Report Vol. 2: AI Performance in Compliance & Ethics.. Download it free here: https://www.eqs.com/compliance-wpapers/eqs-ai-benchmark-report-vol-2/?utm_source=eqs_marketing&utm_medium=landing&utm_campaign=&utm_content=top-banner Sponsors We’re proudly independent — but we partner with companies who share our passion for smarter due diligence and investigations. This episode is exclusively sponsored by EQS Group, a leading provider of compliance, ethics and integrity software — and the team behind the AI Benchmark Report Vol. 2 we explore in this episode. EQS put the latest frontier AI models through 120 real-world compliance tasks to see how they actually perform. Find out more at: https://www.eqs.com/

The One Where We Talk About AI. Again.

https://adata.pro/blog/ai-due-diligence-what-has-changed-and-what-works/?utm_source=DDD-podcast-notes&utm_id=When+AI+Meets+Financial+Crime+Intelligence+DDD AI in due diligence isn't a new conversation but the ground keeps shifting underneath it, almost daily! In this episode, Sylwia and Amritha return to one of the defining questions of the industry: not whether to use AI, but how to use it responsibly, what it's actually doing to the information environment, and who's accountable when it goes wrong. BONUS: Free EDD Report Writing Toolkit! Grab it free here: https://ddd-edd-toolkit.netlify.app/ Sponsors We’re proudly independent — but we partner with companies who share our passion for smarter due diligence and investigations. This episode is exclusively sponsored by A Data Pro. A Data Pro turns global data into actionable intelligence. For over 26 years, they’ve helped decision-makers in risk, compliance, and communications with tailored solutions across three core divisions: • Risk Intelligence — strengthening compliance and KYC/AML programmes through due diligence, sanctions lists, UBO tracing, and PEP/SEP screening • Media Intelligence — equipping PR, marketing, and executive teams with insights on reputation, crises, competitors, influencers, and trends • Data Solutions — clean, structured data for automation and AI With 500+ multilingual specialists across 80+ jurisdictions, A Data Pro catches risks before they catch up to you. Find out more at adata.pro Read their companion piece to this episode: When AI Meets Financial Crime Intelligence: What Has Changed, What Is Broken, and What Good Looks Like Now

The One Where Lise and Natasha Explain Modern Slavery

Modern slavery is one of the most under-enforced areas of corporate compliance and the legal landscape is moving fast. In this episode, Sylwia and Amritha are joined by two leading practitioners to unpack what companies are actually required to do, where the frameworks fall short, and why a clean audit is no longer proof of a clean supply chain. S2E8 brings in two specialist guests for a deep dive into modern slavery — picking up where the trafficking episode left off. Lise Smit is a Business and Human Rights Adviser at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, advising on human rights due diligence, supply chain risk management, and sustainability reporting under the UN Guiding Principles. She led the European Commission study that formed the basis for the EU CSDDD. Natasha Martin is Director of Product at Ethixbase360, with close to 20 years in regulatory technology spanning modern slavery, human rights, AML, and counter-terrorist financing, specialising in translating complex regulatory requirements into practical, technology-enabled solutions. Together, they cover the key legislative frameworks — UK Modern Slavery Act, EU CSDDD, EU Forced Labour Regulation, and the US UFLPA — with a focus on what's working, what isn't, and what's still missing. The conversation moves through supply chain mapping beyond Tier 1, the limits of social audits, emerging technology including AI and satellite imagery, and how HRDD findings escalate into financial crime referrals. Sponsors We’re proudly independent - but we partner with companies who share our passion for smarter due diligence and investigations. This episode is exclusively sponsored by Ethixbase360: Confident decisions, powered by people and platform Market-leading third-party risk management platform combining smart automation, expert-led due diligence, and responsive support to deliver a clear, connected view of global third-party risk. Deploy a third-party risk management program that grows with your organization – from a single function to enterprise-wide coverage. Empower faster, smarter decisions with the data and insights trusted by global leaders. Gain a unified, real-time view of your third-party risk landscape — with built-in insight, and audit readiness. Maximize efficiency and performance with dedicated, expert support designed to save time, reduce costs, and strengthen your program. Learn more at ethixbase360.com. Subscribe & Follow Subscribe, leave a review, and share with anyone in risk, compliance or investigations — or anyone who thinks that a clean audit means a clean conscience.