Themis Podcasts

This week, we launch the final episode of the Environmental Crimes Financial Toolkit Podcast with WWF: Public-Private Partnership on Environmental Crime. Our guests are Ned Conway, Executive Secretary of the Wolfsberg Group and Chair of the UN Private Sector Dialogue on environmental crime, and Lynn Schlingemann from the World Resources Institute, who coordinates the Dialogues globally. We discuss how the UN Private Sector Dialogues bring together banks, law enforcement, and environmental experts to share intelligence, what concrete outputs emerge from these collaborations, and how financial institutions can engage in effective public-private partnerships to tackle environmental crime.

This week, we launch Episode 9 of the Environmental Crimes Financial Toolkit Podcast with WWF: Law Enforcement and the Illegal Wildlife Trade Our guest is Kevin Lacks-Kelly, Head of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit, with over 23 years of experience investigating wildlife trafficking. We discuss how wildlife crime operates as a financial crime, what financial intelligence from banks actually reveals in investigations, the red flags that financial institutions are missing, and how to coordinate financial intelligence sharing across borders when trafficking networks operate in multiple jurisdictions.

This week, we launch Episode 8 of the Environmental Crimes Financial Toolkit Podcast with WWF: Technology Solutions for Wildlife Crime. Our guest is Sarah Maston, Co-Chair of the Impact Technology Champions Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime and founder of Microsoft's Project 15 Open Platform for conservation and ecological sustainability. We discuss how technology can help detect and disrupt wildlife crime, the role of public-private partnerships in fighting environmental crime, and how innovation can bridge the gap between environmental intelligence and financial crime detection.

This week, we launch Episode 7 of the Environmental Crimes Financial Toolkit Podcast with WWF: Financial Institution Perspectives. Our guests are Paulina Villalpando and Collin Lobo from HSBC, discussing how a major global bank approaches environmental crime risk in practice. We discuss the evolution of financial institutions' approach to environmental crime, the challenges banks face in detection and prevention, how ESG and financial crime compliance intersect, and practical advice for institutions just starting to address these risks. 

In Episode 6, we talk to Adam Farhan, Director at Rimbawatch, and Pamela Avusi, Coordinator of the Papua New Guinea Environmental Alliance, about the challenges and complexities of deforestation in Southeast Asia

We talk to Sasha Lezhnev, Senior Policy Advisor at The Sentry, about conflict gold and other minerals in the DRC, and how these minerals connect to the global financial system.

We talk to Melina Risso, Director of Research at the Igarape Institute, about illegal mining in South America. We discuss the convergence of illegal mining with drug trafficking, legal grey areas that complicate mining supply chains, and transparency in the mining sector.

In Episode 3, we talk to Ben Brock, who has worked at TRAFFIC for the last seven years on wildlife crime. We delve deep into a real example of wildlife trafficking, taking an in-depth look at cheetah trafficking from the Horn of Africa to the Middle East. This episode dissects the drivers behind wildlife trafficking, the material impacts on both people and nature, and explores how we might tackle the illegal wildlife trade.   Find out more: https://www.wearethemis.com/uk/resources/environmental-crimes-financial-toolkit

We talk to Chris Batt, anti-money laundering expert about corruption and intersection with environmental crime. We discuss the vulnerabilities of financial institutions to laundered proceeds of environmental crime, key money laundering mechanisms, real life examples of money laundering and corruption in practice, and practical steps financial institutions can take to tackle these issues.   Find out more: https://www.wearethemis.com/uk/resources/environmental-crimes-financial-toolkit   **Correction: The overall value of the timber and criminal proceeds seized in the Brazilian timber crime case was just above $10million.

We speak to John Dodsworth, Head of Deforestation and Environmental Crime Strategy at WWF-UK about the environmental-financial crime nexus. We discuss how environmental crimes converge with financial crimes, practical tools and guidance available in the Environmental Crimes Financial Toolkit, and recommendations for financial institutions to take action to address their exposure.'

Scam call centres are no longer small, isolated operations. They are highly organised criminal enterprises that use psychology, technology, and global financial systems to steal billions every year. In this episode, we go behind the scenes of scam call centres to uncover how modern fraud operations actually work – from recruitment and scripts to money laundering and digital infrastructure. We break down the tactics used to manipulate victims, the role of organised crime, and why shutting these networks down is far more complex than it appears. This conversation explores: - How scam call centres are structured and operated - The psychology behind social engineering and coercion - Common scam scripts and manipulation techniques - How proceeds of fraud are moved and laundered - Why scam networks are difficult to dismantle - The growing role of technology, data, and AI in financial crime - What regulators, businesses, and individuals need to understand to reduce risk Whether you work in financial crime, compliance, fraud prevention, cybersecurity, law enforcement, or simply want to understand how scams really operate, this episode offers practical insight into one of the fastest-growing criminal threats globally. 🔎 Why this matters Scam call centres sit at the intersection of fraud, money laundering, organised crime, and human exploitation. Understanding how these operations function is critical to protecting consumers, strengthening compliance frameworks, and disrupting criminal networks at scale.

In this episode, we unpack how uncertainty, data gaps, and fragmented intelligence are creating new opportunities for financial crime, fraud, and environmental exploitation across global markets. Joining the conversation is Emily Hsu, Financial and Environmental Crime Researcher, who explores how weak governance, limited transparency, and uneven access to information allow criminal networks to operate across borders — from illicit supply chains and environmental crime to financial fraud and organised criminal activity. The discussion examines how criminals exploit: Knowledge gaps in high-risk jurisdictions Weak regulatory enforcement and oversight Complex global supply chains Limited data sharing between public and private sectors We also explore why financial institutions, regulators, and compliance teams must rethink traditional risk assessments — moving beyond static checklists towards intelligence-led, context-driven analysis that reflects real-world risk. Subscribe for more expert discussions on financial crime, fraud, corruption, sanctions, and emerging risks!

How did Burkina Faso become one of the most viral political stories on social media, despite limited internet access at home?   In this episode, Henry Wyard, Senior Policy Analyst, and Finlay Taylor, Junior Investigations Analyst, unpack how Burkina Faso has found itself at the forefront of modern disinformation warfare, AI-driven propaganda, and scam ecosystems operating across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and beyond. The discussion explores the global online campaign surrounding military leader Ibrahim Traoré — examining how bot networks, AI-generated videos, deepfakes, click farms and fabricated economic “success stories” are reshaping public perception far beyond West Africa.   Key topics covered: How AI has transformed propaganda into scalable, anonymous influence campaigns The role of bots, click farms and astroturfed engagement Fake gold mining claims, deepfake world leaders and AI-generated music propaganda The geopolitical narratives tying Burkina Faso, Russia and anti-Western sentiment Why West Africa’s mineral wealth makes it a strategic disinformation battleground The collapse of democratic norms and the fallout from ECOWAS sanctions How disinformation fuels fraud, scams and financial crime risk This episode breaks down how modern propaganda works, why it spreads and what it means for geopolitics, financial crime and global security, using Burkina Faso as a case study in the future of influence operations.    Perfect for viewers interested in:  Disinformation | AI & propaganda | Financial crime | Cyber-enabled fraud | Geopolitics | Africa security | OSINT | Risk & intelligence  Podcast: Burkina Faso & The Cutting Edge of Propaganda   Based on analysis by Finlay Taylor   Subscribe for more deep-dive investigations into financial crime, risk and global influence operations.  

Themis FinCrime Podcast: Fraud Alongside the release of The FinCrime Times, Themis presents a five-part podcast series uncovering the evolving world of fraud, from AI-driven deception to cross-border scam economies. Hosted by Henry Wyard, Senior Policy Analyst at Themis, each 20-minute episode dives into one of the magazine’s feature stories, with the authors themselves joining to unpack their research, perspectives and real-world implications. In the first episode, Henry speaks with Jennifer Downie, AI and Fraud Researcher at Themis, about her article ‘Pig Butchering Investment Scams: The Victims on the Other Side of the Bitcoin.’ Jennifer discusses how these scams intertwine human trafficking, organised crime and emerging technology, revealing the disturbing human cost behind one of the fastest-growing fraud typologies in the world.

Join us as Aine McParland, Financial and Environmental Crime Researcher at Themis, engages in conversation with Olivia Dakeyne, Associate Director of Themis' Insight Team, and John Dodsworth, Drivers Initiative Lead at WWF-UK, as they delve into the recently published report by Themis and WWF-UK titled 'Financial Crimes and Land Conversion: Uncovering the Risk for Financial Institutions.' Tune in to gain insights on the critical issue of land conversion and its far-reaching implications for financial institutions. Learn more about the broader Environmental Crimes Financial Toolkit, an initiative being developed in partnership with WWF-UK, designed to address these challenges directly.

In this episode, Olivia Dakeyne, Associate Director at Themis, talks to Gavin Miller, a former detective who spent time working for the Modern Slavery Human Trafficking Unit for the Police Service of Northern Ireland. This is the third and final episode in a short series of podcasts with Gavin Miller about modern slavery and human trafficking. In this episode, Gavin talks about the great benefits to organisations (as well as wider society) of taking anti-modern slavery and human trafficking efforts seriously, not just for staying on the right side of regulation but also for attracting new businesses.  

In this episode, Olivia Dakeyne, Associate Director at Themis, talks to Gavin Miller, a former detective who spent time working for the Modern Slavery Human Trafficking Unit for the Police Service of Northern Ireland. This is the second in a short series of podcasts with Gavin Miller, and in this episode, Gavin talks to us about the importance of private public partnerships and cross-sectoral collaboration to modern slavery and human trafficking efforts and how the private sector can add value, with examples of real cases worked on during his career with the Police Service. 

In this episode, Olivia Dakeyne, Think Tank Manager at Themis, talks to Gavin Miller, a former detective who spent time working for the Modern Slavery Human Trafficking Unit for the Police Service of Northern Ireland. This is the first in a short series of podcasts with Gavin Miller, and in this first episode, he talks about the specific crime landscape for modern slavery and human trafficking in Northern Ireland and gives us some fascinating and insightful real life cases that he worked on during his career, and how financial intelligence provided by financial institutions was so pivotal to these investigations - both to the victim experience and the prosecution.  

Join us on this eye-opening episode of Themis as we delve into the chilling world of cryptoscammers and their relentless pursuit of targets within the start-up scene. In a riveting first-hand account, Cindy Gallop of MakeLoveNotPorn shares her brief encounter with these cyberfraudsters. Learn how entrepreneurs like Cindy navigate the treacherous waters of cryptocurrency and emerge with their finances and businesses intact. It's a cautionary tale that sheds light on the tactics of modern-day scammers and how conducting due diligence can be your best defence.

In this podcast, Themis’ Head of Investigations, Henry Williams, speaks to Diligencia’s Regional Director in the Gulf, Jonathan Siklos, about corporate investigations, particularly in the MENA region. They discuss why someone might engage a corporate investigator, the types of intelligence used in such investigations, the challenges of finding data in the MENA region, whether AI will ever replace human investigators, and whether investigation is a science or an art.

With Interpol estimating that deforestation contributes 6-17% of global carbon emissions, it will be impossible to mitigate the negative effects of climate change without addressing the practice. In this podcast, Carel van Randwyck, Themis’ Chief Growth Officer speaks to Marc Jessel, Chief System Integrity Officer with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to discuss what can be done to increase the sustainability of forestry and reduce illegal logging, and how firms can ensure they are not unwittingly exposed through their supply chains.

In this episode, Olivia Dakeyne, Think Tank Manager at Themis, talks to Gavin Miller, a former detective who spent time working for the Modern Slavery Human Trafficking Unit for the Police Service of Northern Ireland. This is the first in a short series of podcasts with Gavin Miller, and in this first episode, he talks about the specific crime landscape for modern slavery and human trafficking in Northern Ireland and gives us some fascinating and insightful real life cases that he worked on during his career, and how financial intelligence provided by financial institutions was so pivotal to these investigations - both to the victim experience and the prosecution.

In this episode, Themis Think Tank Manager, Olivia Dakeyne, speaks to Rocio Domingo Ramos, who is the Business and Human Rights Officer at Anti-Slavery International. Her research and policy work seeks to tackle forced labour in global supply chains, implementing Anti-Slavery’s advocacy programmes on human rights due diligence and state-sponsored forced labour.   Anti-Slavery International is a leading charity that works to ensure that all people everywhere are free from all forms of slavery, always. They work in partnership with survivors, business, grassroots organisations and funding partners to deliver projects worldwide that challenge the root causes of modern slavery. And they do this by pushing for legal protections for people, making sure people know their rights and making the problem of, and solutions to, modern slavery much better understood by everyone.  Listen to this podcast to hear about forced labour in global supply chains and what regulation and legislation is needed to help safeguard against this.

Viri Chauhan, Themis Financial Crime SME, talks to Naresh Aggarwal, Associate Director of Policy and Technical at the Association of Corporate Treasurers. They discuss the responsibilities of a treasury function and various financial crime risk typologies that may be encountered by treasurers and how to respond to those threats. The subjects of financial derivatives, commodities and market abuse are also considered in the conversation. This is a deeper dive, longer podcast that provides some very useful insight and takeaways for anyone wishing to find out more about financial crime risk in corporate treasury.

In this episode, Themis' researcher Eliza Thompson interviews Farheen Ishtiaq-Stansfeld, a senior associate specialising in commercial crime at FieldFisher, a full-service firm with a market-leading financial services practice. Farheen shares her career journey thus far and what motivated her to pursue a path in financial crime and white collar law. We also discuss the importance of having colleagues and mentors who champion the development of women and look to build inclusive environments, which helps drive creativity and innovation. This episode is part of a wider series of podcast conversations that Themis is releasing with impressive women working in finance and tech.

In this episode, Themis financial crime researcher Elizabeth Humphrey interviews Linda Baskett, Global Head of Financial Crime at Computershare and former Financial Crime Director for Aon’s UK entities, on the role of tech in fighting financial crime, data protection, and more, as well as her experience working in the financial crime sector as a woman. This conversation is part of a wider series of conversations that Themis is holding with leading women working in financial crime and tech, traditionally male-dominated industries, about their expertise and experiences.

In this episode, Themis' Head of Research Nadia O'Shaughnessy interviews Katarina Cook, Head of Financial Crime and MLRO for Brewin Dolphin, one of the UK's largest wealth management firms. Katarina tells us about her experiences as a female leader working in the world of financial crime and shares valuable advice for young people looking to embark on this career path. She also considers the impacts of remote working on women with carer responsibilities and explores what good parental leave policy looks like. This episode is part of a wider series of podcast conversations that Themis is releasing with impressive women working in finance and tech.

In this episode, Themis Head of Research Nadia O'Shaughnessy interviews Sue Langley OBE, who has had an illustrious career both the financial services industry and in the public sector. Sue tells us about her own experiences as a female leader in what have traditionally been very male-dominated areas and shares a range of valuable tips for young people navigating their career paths. This episode is part of a wider series of podcast conversations that Themis is releasing with impressive women working in finance and tech.

Listen to this podcast to hear about the very latest developments in the field of the illegal wildlife trade - both on the side of the perpetrators and law enforcement - and some fascinating case studies from those working on the front line.

In this episode, as part of Themis’ Women in Financial Crime series, Consuelo Marzi, a Senior Manager at the Maltese Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, talks to Themis Think Tank Manager, Olivia Dakeyne, about Malta’s impressive work to improve its anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing controls, which resulted in it being taken off the Financial Action Task Force’s greylist of jurisdictions with strategic deficiences in June. Listen to this podcast to find out more about Malta’s response to the FATF greylisting, the country’s subsequent work on key financial crime issues and lessons learned from the process.

Viri Chauhan talks to Professor Nic Ryder, a global expert on terrorist financing about the risks that crypto assets could bring to this topic. In this podcast Nic explains how the use of crypto assets contributes to the terrorist financing typologies and provides some cases and examples of how criminals have taken advantage of technology to fulfil their goals. Nic and Viri also discuss some important developments in the war in Ukraine and how a certain country has designated Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and the implications of this.

In this episode, Themis financial crime researchers Elizabeth Humphrey and Eliza Thompson discuss the UAE government’s impressive work to combat illicit financial flows through the Emirates. Listen to this podcast to find out more about the UAE’s response to the recent FATF greylisting and the country’s work on key financial crime issues.

In this podcast we talk to Dominika Benton, a PhD candidate whose research focuses on the use of cryptocurrencies in terrorist financing and the use of distributed ledger technology within the suspicious activity reporting regime in counter terrorism financing, about the use of cryptocurrencies, online gaming and the Metaverse in terrorist financing activities. We discuss what has been referred to as the 'gamification' of terrorist violence, a trend where those involved in terrorist financing are making more use of virtual worlds, video games, live streaming platforms and virtual currencies to finance terrorism. Dominika also gives a breakdown of the Dark Web, the future of virtual means of terrorist financing and advice for staying vigilant on social media. Dominika Benton is a part-time PhD candidate. Her research focuses on the use of cryptocurrencies in terrorist financing and the use of distributed ledger technology within the suspicious activity reporting regime in counter terrorism financing. Outside of academia, she is a legal advisor.

With the war in Ukraine having displaced more than 8 million people, and the number of people forced to flee conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution worldwide having now crossed 100 million, vulnerability to trafficking and exploitation has never been higher. As part of our series of podcasts exploring the financial crime, human trafficking and modern slavery nexus, we talk to Jonathan Bell, Partner at RedCompass Labs, about the recently launched anti-slavery digital learning tool, and the RedFlag Accelerator, both of which can help financial services tackle this terrible trade in human beings. Listen here and find out how you can take action to fight modern slavery and human trafficking.

With concerns over an imminent invasion of Ukraine, the UK Government is considering sanctions and asset freezes on the wealthy Russians oligarchs who frequent London. In this podcast, Henry Williams and Francesca Lewis discuss whether this approach will work and examine how so much dubious wealth made the UK's capital its natural home.

Viri Chauhan from Themis talks with Dr Jonathan Brewer who is an expert on proliferation financing, which is the financing of weapons of mass destruction. Dr Brewer is a Visiting Professor at Kings College London and has held several UN posts related to sanctions and proliferation financing. Listen to this podcast to find out how proliferation financing is connected to money laundering and sanctions and what financial institutions should do about managing it.

Elizabeth Humphrey, Financial Crime Researcher at Themis, speaks to Will Fitzgibbon, senior investigative journalist at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), regarding the recently released Pandora Papers - the largest leak of offshore data in history. Will discusses his inside insights on the evolving story and its implications for the fight against financial crime.

Tackling environmental destruction and financial crime: An interview with Clare Rewcastle-Brown In this podcast, brought to you in the lead-up to COP26, Carel van Randwyck, Chief Growth Officer at Themis, speaks to award-winning investigative journalist and environmental campaigner Clare Rewcastle-Brown, about her work at the nexus of environmental and financial crime in South East Asia. Not only was Clare at the forefront of investigations into the 1MDB scandal, she has also been shining an important light on deforestation and associated environmental destruction in the region.

Co-Author of the Key Man - Will Louch, talks to Themis CFO and MD MENA, James Wightman, about the brazen international fraud that he helped to uncover, at the heart of which lay Dubai-based private equity firm Abraaj and its charismatic founder, Arif Naqvi. You're about to hear how a promise to make a lot of money whilst doing a lot of good went very wrong...

In this podcast Carel van Randwyck, Chief Growth Officer at Themis talks to Jasmine O'Connor, CEO of Anti-Slavery International, and Charles Mathias, Group chief risk officer at Fidelis Insurance, about the work they have been doing to integrate modern slavery considerations into insurance contracts.

In this podcast we talk about the responsibilities financial institutions have to address modern slavery in their supply chains. What are the challenges procurement departments and suppliers face in identifying and tackling this crime, and the things companies can do to overcome them. You will hear insights and experiences from experts who are at the forefront of tackling modern slavery today. Speakers include: Lord Deben - Chairman, Sancroft Justine Green - Executive Director, Unseen Imran Rasul - Chief Procurement Officer, Nationwide Hope Sherwin - Head of Social Impact, Themis

In our latest podcast, recorded as part of a series of interviews with leading investigators who have uncovered major international financial crime scandals, Themis host Frederik Obermaier, author of “The Panama Papers”, and Gerard Ryle, director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists…who give us a unique glimpse into their enduring front-line fight against abuses of the global financial system by the corrupt and the powerful.

In this podcast, Nadia O’Shaughnessy, Director of the Themis Think Tank, talks to Justine Currell, a Director at leading UK charity Unseen, about the work that Unseen does to combat modern slavery, including via the national modern slavery helpline that it has been operating since 2016. Justine tells us about trends and challenges associated with the fight against modern slavery in the UK over the past five years. This podcast is brought to you as part of the outreach phase of our groundbreaking research into Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking in the UK Financial Sector, commissioned by the UK Independent Anti Slavery Commissioner,

In this podcast Hope Sherwin, Themis Head of Social Impact, talks to Phil Spencer, from the UK NGO “Every Child Protected Against Trafficking” or ECPAT about the work his organisation does to tackle child trafficking in the UK and the role the financial services industry has to play. Phil is Training and Practice Officer at ECPAT UK, responsible for their training programmes for practitioners across the UK.

Corporate secrecy and financial crime have long gone hand in hand. Hidden wealth is stashed away in shell companies with obscure owners, whose roles in tales of grand-scale corruption go long unexposed. Although recent years have seen a wave of momentum to unveil some of these ultimate beneficial owners, much more still needs to be done to increase corporate transparency and dismantle the system’s abuse by organised criminals and corrupt politicians. In March, Henry Williams, Head of Investigations at Themis, sat down with Oliver Bullough, investigative journalist and award-winning author of “Moneyland”, to hear his thoughts about this dark underside of the global financial system. This podcast is brought to you by Themis, with thanks to our partners Encompass.

In this podcast we talk to James Cockayne, John Sam-Kubam and Mark Eckstein about the many ways in which modern slavery is relevant to development finance institutions (DFIs). We discuss both the financial crime and ESG perspectives on tackling modern slavery in the development finance context, and also explore how slavery reduction could form more of an explicit objective of DFIs’ lending and investment decisions.

We discuss the challenges faced by organisations, as well as the best practices businesses can enact to ensure that when they detect signs of MSHT these crimes are swiftly disrupted.

As many of our listeners will know, 1MDB is synonymous with the largest financial fraud of the century, whose tentacles extend across the dark economy from Hollywood stars, complicit bankers and lawyers to Wealthy Arab princes and corrupt political dynasties. This is the story of how one man’s greed fed an ever growing web of deceit, that snowballs into corporate malfeasance and state sponsored corruption on a truly horrific scale. Following on from our earlier podcast in February, Dickon Johnstone, CEO of Themis sat down for another catch up with “Billion Dollar Whale” co-author and Wall Street Journal reporter Bradley Hope, to pick up the pieces and talk about the latest developments in the scandal that just keeps on giving. This podcast is brought to you by Themis with thanks to our partners Encompass.

In this podcast we talk to representatives from PwC, the University of South Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales about modern slavery and the accountancy profession. We discuss how modern slavery is relevant to accountants and explore ways in which they can engage with the topic. As leading abolitionist William Wilberforce once said, "You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know". A quote from Dr Katherine Christ on this podcast. This podcast is brought to you as part of our outreach phase of our research into Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking in the Financial Services sector, commissioned by the UK Independent Anti Slavery Commissioner and carried out in partnership with Tribe Freedom Foundation, and supported by TSB, NatWest Group and RedCompass.

In this podcast we talk to Andrew Wallis OBE about the myths surrounding modern slavery. Andrew is CEO of the charity Unseen which also runs the Modern Slavery Helpline. Earlier this year Themis commissioned research of the financial sector which found that nearly 40% of financial services professionals don't believe modern slavery existas in the UK. Andew explains why this impression is misguided and the many forms in which firms are likely to encounter modern slavery. This Podcast is brought to you as part of a key industry-wide research project commissioned by the UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner and delivered in partnership with Tribe Freedom Foundation and Themis. It is one of a series of focus groups and round-tables we will be releasing that address Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking and the Financial Sector.