Compliance Officers Playbook
by Compliance Officers Playbook
Compliance Officers Playbook is your trusted companion in the evolving world of compliance. Whether you’re new to the field, a junior professional accelerating toward a more senio role, or a seasoned Chief/Compliance Officer sharpening your skills, this podcast delivers practical insights, best practices, and thought-provoking discussions designed to elevate your expertise.This show uses AI-assisted tools to bring you timely content. Every episode is reviewed and published by a human compliance professional to ensure, to the best of our ability, clarity and accuracy. Tune in to level up!
Episodes
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EU AI Act Explained: Compliance Strategy, Risk Categories & Governance Tools for Businesses
In this episode, we break down the EU AI Act and its risk-based approach to regulating artificial intelligence. We explore the obligations placed on providers, deployers, and importers—especially for high-risk systems and general-purpose AI models. The discussion highlights practical compliance...
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Vietnam’s Inclusion on the EU Non-Cooperative Tax Jurisdictions List
In February 2026, the Council of the European Union updated its official list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, a tool designed to combat global tax evasion and promote fair governance. The latest revision notably added Vietnam and the Turks and Caicos Islands to the "blacklist"...
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Global Corruption Perceptions and the Decline of Institutional Integrity
The 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index reveals a global decline in public sector integrity, with the worldwide average dropping to its lowest level in over a decade. While Denmark continues to lead as the world's cleanest nation, established democracies like the United Kingdom and the United…
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FCA Enforcement: Influencers Fined for Unauthorised Financial Promotions
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has significantly expanded its enforcement of financial promotion regulations, specifically targeting high-risk investments like cryptoassets and foreign exchange trading. Recent landmark legal actions include High Court proceedings against the exchange...
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U.S. Treasury Sanctions Iran: Crypto Exchanges Added to SDN List in Major Enforcement Shift
In this episode, we break down the latest U.S. Treasury sanctions targeting the Iranian regime and why they mark a turning point in global financial enforcement. The Department of the Treasury has added several high-ranking Iranian officials and financial facilitators to its Specially Designated...
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Freemium - Australian Government AI Technical Standard Explained: Building Trustworthy and Ethical AI Systems
To listen to the full episode, head to Apple Podcast and search for PREMIUM version under the Same Episode Title. Thank you for supporting the Compliance Officers Playbook podcast show. In the full episode, we unpack the Australian Government AI Technical Standard and how it guides agencies in...
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Freemium - Bank of Scotland Sanctioned £160K: Russia Sanctions, Screening Failures, and UK Enforcement Trends
To listen to the full episode, head to Apple Podcast and search for PREMIUM version under the Same Episode Title. Thank you for supporting the Compliance Officers Playbook podcast show. In the full episode, we unpack the £160,000 fine issued by the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions…
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Freemium - EBA Sanctions Guidelines Explained: New EU Rules for Banks, Payments, and Crypto Firms
To listen to the full episode, head to Apple Podcast and search for PREMIUM version under the Same Episode Title. Thank you for supporting the Compliance Officers Playbook podcast show. In the full episode, we break down the European Banking Authority’s newly issued guidelines designed to...
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Inside Southeast Asia’s Scam Empire: AI Fraud, Online Gambling & the Global Crime Boom
In this Compliance Officers Playbook episode, we uncover the rapid rise of transnational organised crime networks spreading across Southeast Asia—and how digital technology is supercharging their reach. From fortified scam compounds in Myanmar and Cambodia to billions of dollars laundered through...
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Risk Leadership 2026: Moving Beyond Heatmaps to Real Strategic Decisions
This episode explores a fundamental shift in risk leadership as organisations look toward 2026—one that moves beyond surface-level compliance and toward risk as a driver of meaningful decision-making. We examine why traditional tools like risk heatmaps often fail to deliver value and how risk...
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Freemium - Fighting Financial Crime: SAR Reporting, AI in Compliance, and the Future of Market Integrity
This episode examines the rapidly evolving fight against financial crime, with a particular focus on the wholesale brokerage sector and the critical role of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). Drawing on insights from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), we explore key vulnerabilities in…
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Freemium - Crypto Compliance and Corporate Security: VPN Risks, Sanctions Enforcement, and OFAC Crackdowns
This episode explores the growing overlap between corporate IT security, cryptocurrency compliance, and international sanctions enforcement. We begin with the challenges system administrators face when employees use VPNs to bypass workplace controls, exposing organizations to hidden legal,...
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EU DORA Explained: Building Digital Operational Resilience in Financial Services
This episode breaks down the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), the EU’s landmark regulation aimed at strengthening the financial sector against ICT and cyber-related disruptions. We explore DORA’s five core pillars, including ICT risk management, incident reporting, resilience testing…
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What Is AMLA? Inside the EU’s New Authority for Anti-Money Laundering Supervision
In this Compliance Officers Playbook episode, we explore the role and responsibilities of the European Union’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) and how it is reshaping financial crime supervision across member states. AMLA’s core mission is to create legal and regulatory consistency...
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Nationwide Fined £44 Million by the FCA: Inside the UK’s Biggest AML Failings
In this episode, we break down the Financial Conduct Authority’s Final Notice against Nationwide Building Society, which resulted in a £44.1 million fine for serious anti-money laundering (AML) failures. Covering the period from October 2016 to July 2021, the FCA found that Nationwide breached...
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FCA’s New Single Complaints Return: What It Means for Firms, Markets & Vulnerable Consumers
In this episode, we break down the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) latest move to simplify and strengthen the way complaints are reported across the UK financial services sector. The FCA—responsible for regulating firms, overseeing markets, and protecting consumers—is rolling out a major...
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What Internal Audit Really Does: Independence, Assurance, and Value Creation - Compliance Officers Playbook
In this Compliance Officers Playbook podcast episode, we break down the core purpose of internal auditing—from its foundation in independence and objectivity to the two key services it provides: assurance and consulting. We highlight how assurance offers an unbiased assessment of risks and...
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Risk Appetite vs. Acceptable Risk: The Fundamentals Every Leader Should Know | Compliance Officers Playbook
In this Compliance Officers Playbook podcast episode, we break down the essential difference between risk appetite—the level of risk a board is willing to take—and acceptable risk, the amount an organisation can tolerate without adding new controls. We highlight why zero risk is never realistic,...
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Crypto Mixers Under Fire: Privacy Tools, Illicit Finance, and the Global Crackdown | Compliance Officers Playbook
In this Compliance Officers Playbook podcast episode, we dive into the complicated world of cryptocurrency mixing services—tools like CoinMixing and CoinJoins that promise enhanced privacy by obscuring blockchain transaction trails. While these services offer legitimate anonymity benefits…
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Cocaine in the Banana Boxes: Inside the Noboa Trading Smuggling Scandal Exposed by OCCRP | Your Compliance Officers Playbook
In this Compliance Officers Playbook podcast episode, we unpack a gripping cross-border investigation from OCCRP and KRIK that reveals how Balkan organised crime networks allegedly used banana shipments from Noboa Trading Co.—the family business of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa—to smuggle...
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The Myth of the Risk Heat Map: Why Those Colorful Charts Can Undermine Real Risk Management - Compliance Officers Playbook
Freemium Episode: In this Compliance Officers Playbook podcast episode, we take a critical look at one of the most widely used—but deeply flawed—tools in corporate governance: the risk heat map. While these colorful grids may offer visual comfort, the source argues they create a dangerous…
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AMLD6 and the Rise of AMLA: How the EU’s New Framework Transforms Beneficial Ownership Transparency
In this episode, we break down the European Union’s sweeping overhaul of its anti–money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework under Directive (EU) 2024/1640 (AMLD6). The new rules usher in a much more unified and transparent system for tracking beneficial ownership and cross-border...
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Freemium - Inside the SFO’s Corporate Compliance Playbook: How Companies Are Evaluated—and Why It Matters
In this episode, we unpack the Serious Fraud Office’s newly detailed guidance on how corporate compliance programmes are evaluated across England, Northern Ireland, and Wales. The SFO relies on this framework in six key scenarios—from deciding whether to prosecute a company to determining whether…
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EU Designates Russia High-Risk for Financial Crime
The European Commission announced in December 2025 that it has officially designated Russia as a high-risk jurisdiction due to serious strategic weaknesses identified within its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks (AML/CFT). This action was taken pursuant to Delegated...
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UK Passes Landmark Digital Assets Act: What It Means for Crypto, NFTs, and Ownership Rights
In this episode, we break down the United Kingdom’s groundbreaking Property (Digital Assets etc) Act, a new law that officially recognizes cryptocurrencies and NFTs as their own distinct class of property. This legislative shift modernizes centuries-old property definitions, carving out a third...
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Freemium - Unpacking Morgan Stanley's €101 Million Dividend Tax Penalty
In this episode, we unpack the major enforcement action taken against Morgan Stanley after Dutch authorities uncovered its role in coordinated tax evasion schemes. Following extensive audits and criminal investigations, regulators issued a €101 million fine—the maximum possible—after determining...
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Quiet Failures in Compliance: How Everyday Oversights Lead to Major Crises
In this episode, we explore the ideas behind “Compliance: Quiet Failure, Safe Guardrails,” a compelling look at how organisational breakdowns rarely result from one dramatic event. Instead, they stem from small, repeated oversights—missed documentation, ignored red flags, and routine…
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Freemium - Why Coinbase’s €21.5M Fine Signals a New Era of EU Crypto Compliance Under AMLA
In this episode, we break down the landmark €21.5 million fine issued to Coinbase Europe Ltd by the Central Bank of Ireland—a ruling widely seen as a preview of what’s to come under the EU’s new Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA). We explore how systematic coding errors left Coinbase’s...
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Freemium - Digital Compliance: GDPR Enforcement and AI Convergence
In this episode, we unpack the increasingly complex landscape of the EU’s digital regulatory regime—one that continues to evolve around the foundations set by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Drawing on recent analyses, we explore how regulators are sharpening their enforcement...
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Wise Unlocks South African Payments Gateway
In this episode, we dive into Wise’s major move into the African market, starting with its newly launched operations in South Africa. After securing conditional approval from the South African Reserve Bank to operate as a regulated foreign-exchange dealer, the London-based fintech is taking a...
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Australia's $82 Billion Organized Crime Bill, 2023–24
In this episode, we break down the Australian Institute of Criminology’s latest statistical report on the true economic toll of serious and organised crime in Australia during the 2023–24 financial year. The headline figure is staggering: an estimated upper cost of $82.3 billion, a sum that...
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Freemium - Offshore Secrecy: Assessing UK Overseas Territory Transparency
In this episode, we unpack Transparency International UK’s 2025 assessment of how the UK’s Overseas Territories are progressing—or failing to progress—on creating accessible registers of beneficial ownership. These registers are meant to shine a light on who really owns companies, a crucial step…
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Freemium - PSD3 and PSR: Securing the Future of EU Payments
In this episode, we break down the major political agreement just reached by EU lawmakers on two transformative pieces of legislation: the Payment Services Directive 3 (PSD3) and the new Payment Services Regulation (PSR). Together, these measures set the stage for a modernized, fairer, and more...
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Binance Pardoned Crypto (CZ) Faces Hamas Funding Lawsuit
In this episode, we dig into the new civil lawsuit recently filed by American citizens against Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and Binance. The plaintiffs — family members of victims killed or taken hostage during the October 7 attacks — accuse CZ and Binance of knowingly facilitating the movement of…
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Freemium - FCA Regulatory Approach to Cryptoassets and Stablecoins.
In this episode, we explore the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s evolving approach to crypto regulation, drawing on key excerpts from the FCA’s mandate and a keynote speech by Executive Director David Geale. We break down the FCA’s vision for building a trusted, competitive, and innovative market...
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Freemium - The Cost of Postponing Compliance: CSSF fines AllianzGI Luxembourg for AML/CFT failures
In this episode, we examine the story behind a major regulatory enforcement action in Luxembourg’s financial sector: the €283,000 administrative fine imposed on Allianz Global Investors’ Luxembourg branch for persistent anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) failures.…
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Freemium - New Zealand No Longer Requires Address Verification for Customer Due Diligence.
In this episode, we break down a sweeping Statutes Amendment Bill—an omnibus legislative package crafted to update and refine large sections of the existing legal framework. Spanning 42 separate parts, the Bill reaches across a wide array of principal Acts, making it one of the most comprehensive...
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AMLA In-depth Analysis: Future of EU Anti-Money Laundering and Supervision - Freemium
n this episode, we unpack a deep-dive analysis from the European Parliament’s Economic Governance and EMU Scrutiny Unit (EGOV) on one of the EU’s most significant reforms in financial oversight: the creation of the European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA). We explore how the EU’s 2024...
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Record OFAC Sanctions Fine Against a Single Individual for Blocked Property Deal
In this episode, we dive into a landmark enforcement action from the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC): the largest financial penalty ever issued against a single individual. The $4.67 million fine stemmed from a real estate professional who intentionally carried out a…
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Financial Sanctions Risk, Compliance, and Long-Term Strategy
In this episode, we break down the real—and often misunderstood—world of sanctions risk for financial institutions. Forget the idea that simply avoiding certain correspondent relationships will keep a bank safe. As we explore in depth, sanctions exposure is far more complex, encompassing…
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Tone Versus Orders From The Top: The Board's Role in Compliance Culture
In this episode, we unpack the crucial difference between two very different leadership approaches to corporate integrity: “Tone from the Top” vs. “Orders from the Top.” Inspired by a recent article from Wael Al Halabi, we explore why a genuine, values-driven tone set by the board isn’t just good...
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The Burden of the MLRO Role
In this episode, we dive into the high-pressure world of the Money Laundering Reporting Officer — a role that’s essential to protecting financial institutions, yet often misunderstood and overlooked. Drawing on recent insights, we explore why MLROs carry such an immense burden, how regulatory...
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AI's Impact on Internal Audit: Challenges and Transformation - (Freemium)
In this episode, we explore how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the internal audit profession. While there’s widespread agreement that AI won’t replace human auditors, it’s clear that it will transform their roles. We look at real-world perspectives from auditors who are already using…
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FATF 2025: Money Laundering Risk Assessment Toolkit
The FATF (Financial Action Task Force) Toolkit provides a comprehensive framework for conducting National Risk Assessments (NRAs) on money laundering (ML), terrorist financing (TF), and proliferation financing (PF). It includes practical quick guides for evaluating complex areas such as…
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Internal Audit's Strategic Evolution: Navigating Future Risks - (Freemium)
In this episode, we explore the evolving role of Internal Audit under the Global Internal Audit Standards (GIAS 2024). Once seen primarily as a compliance checkpoint, internal audit is now transforming into a strategic, forward-looking partner within organisations. We discuss key shifts…
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Freemium - Navigating Risk: From Certainty to Resilience
In this episode, we explore the complex and often uncomfortable world of risk management, especially for those with a perfectionist mindset. Unlike compliance, which operates with clear rules and definitive answers, risk management lives in the grey areas of uncertainty. We discuss why business...
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Freemium - Swiss AML Debate: Credibility vs. Competitiveness
In this episode, we dive into Switzerland’s heated debate over proposed anti-money laundering (AML) reforms driven by FATF recommendations. Lawmakers are pushing back against stricter rules for lawyers, advisers, and trusts, arguing that excessive regulation could weaken Switzerland’s financial...
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Georgia’s Defense Minister Charged with Abuse and Money Laundering
In this episode, we examine the corruption and money laundering case involving Georgia’s former Defense Minister, Juansher Burchuladze. According to investigators, Burchuladze abused his authority in 2023 by orchestrating a non-competitive procurement of medical equipment, inflating prices for...
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FinCEN Targets Chinese Money Laundering Networks
In this episode, we explore a recent advisory from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on the growing threat of Chinese Money Laundering Networks (CMLNs). These networks play a key role in moving illicit funds, including those connected to cartels involved in fentanyl production. We...
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Freemium - Bunq Fined €2.6 Million for AML Failures
In this episode, we cover the recent case of Dutch neobank Bunq, which has been fined €2.6 million by the Dutch central bank for repeated failures in its anti-money laundering (AML) controls. Despite prior warnings and interventions, Bunq reportedly fell short in investigating suspicious...
About this show
Compliance Officers Playbook is your trusted companion in the evolving world of compliance. Whether you’re new to the field, a junior professional accelerating toward a more senio role, or a seasoned Chief/Compliance Officer sharpening your skills, this podcast delivers practical insights, best practices, and thought-provoking discussions designed to elevate your expertise.This show uses AI-assisted tools to bring you timely content. Every episode is reviewed and published by a human compliance professional to ensure, to the best of our ability, clarity and accuracy. Tune in to level up!
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