The One on Crypto Investigations - with Isabella

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.

The One Where We Explore Human Trafficking

In this episode, Sylwia and Amritha examine trafficking in human beings as a predicate offence — what it actually is, how its financial footprints appear in banking and payments data, and why it concerns everyone from transaction monitoring analysts to supply chain compliance teams. You'll learn: why trafficking is often financially detectable before it is criminally provable — and why that makes financial institutions the front line, not a supporting act what Suspicious Activity Reports are, why they matter, and why in practice the system is both essential and badly broken the difference between what AML teams are expected to do (spot and report) and what corporate compliance teams are expected to do (spot, investigate, and actually fix it) ten recurring financial typologies — from funnel accounts and smurfing to debt bondage repayment patterns and third-party wage control — that regulators associate with trafficking and exploitation how to translate those typologies into transaction monitoring scenarios without crossing into the trap of thinking you are identifying victims rather than flagging suspicious financial behaviour why the Libya slave trade, the Yemen trafficking camps, and the Dyson supply chain case all point to the same thing: the money moves before the crime is proven, and following it is how investigators make a difference Resources & links: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/glotip.html https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/protocoltraffickinginpersons.aspx https://washingtoncentre.org/rico-and-rescue-how-legal-tools-can-disrupt-human-trafficking-networks/ Cases & Examples https://www.hrw.org/report/2014/05/25/yemens-torture-camps/abuse-migrants-human-traffickers-climate-impunity https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/jan/22/uae-ordered-to-pay-260000-to-trafficking-victim-exploited-by-diplomat-in-london https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/05/saudi-arabia-migrant-domestic-workers-face-severe-exploitation-racism-and-exclusion-from-labour-protections/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65987378 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj6pdxj1dw1o https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/13/i-trusted-him-human-trafficking-surges-in-cyclone-hit-east-india https://www.icij.org/investigations/trafficking-inc/about-trafficking-inc/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-55765213 https://www.ihrb.org/latest/the-dyson-case-a-landmark-moment-for-business-and-human-rights Sponsors: We’re proudly independent but we partner with companies who share our passion for smarter due diligence and investigations. Inquirify is a global risk intelligence partner providing due diligence, OSINT, GSOC and investigative support across complex jurisdictions. Our philosophy is simple: Verify before you trust. We provide clear, actionable insights to protect your business and support growth. Find out more at: https://www.inquirify.net JAM Insights delivers human‑driven intelligence you can’t get from screens alone. When conventional OSINT and AI fall short, JAM taps into trusted local sources, on‑the‑ground research, and deep industry assessments to identify hidden risks, reputational red flags, and jurisdiction‑specific issues that matter for high‑stakes due diligence, compliance, and strategic decision‑making. With tailored insights spanning key regions and strict confidentiality, JAM helps clients see what others overlook and act with confidence Find out more:.https://www.jam-insights.com Subscribe & Follow Subscribe, leave a review, and share with anyone in risk, compliance or investigations — or anyone who thinks human trafficking is someone else's problem to solve.