The Financial War on Crime and Terrorism

The financial crime landscape is evolving and in the past decade the responses of governments have sharpened and deepened in relation to financial sanctions. This edited volume, a product of the Financial Integrity Hub (FIH), critically examines vulnerabilities of our global systems, and offers innovative solutions to combat illicit activities. It addresses the urgent problem of increasingly sophisticated financial crimes, fuelled by rapid technological advancements, human fallibility, globalisation, and regulatory gaps, which threaten the stability of economies and the integrity of societies worldwide.
The interconnectedness of seemingly distinct areas such as leadership issues in AML, the exploitation of the gaming industry, the role of artificial intelligence in financial crime detection, the link between wildlife trafficking and terrorism financing, and the opportunities associated with both public-private and private-private information sharing illustrates the systemic nature of financial crime and the challenges in combating it. Actual or perceived effectiveness of crime control measures may displace criminal activity to exploit weaknesses in international commercial arbitration. Despite increased control measures corruption remains pervasive in certain contexts, from godfatherism in developing economies to state capture on a global scale, highlighting the role of deception and the urgent need for more effective legal frameworks and enforcement mechanisms.
Each chapter contributes to a deeper understanding of how seemingly isolated instances of financial crime and their drivers are often intertwined, forming larger, more complex networks that transcend borders and exploit vulnerabilities in our legal, financial, and political systems. Across the chapters, the book addresses the ethical dimensions of financial crime, examining the role of professional facilitators like lawyers, accountants, and bankers who often wittingly or unwittingly enable illicit financial activities. It scrutinises the inadequacy of current legal frameworks and enforcement mechanisms, highlighting the need for greater international cooperation and innovative approaches to address the evolving challenges of financial crime. This includes, for example, advocating for stronger whistleblower protections, enhanced transparency in beneficial ownership structures, and the development of more robust regulatory frameworks that can adapt to the rapidly changing nature of financial crime.
Through in-depth analysis and real-world case studies, this collection provides a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted nature of financial crime in the 21st century. It equips practitioners, policymakers, and academics with knowledge and tools to develop more effective strategies for prevention, detection, and prosecution, ultimately contributing to a more secure and transparent global financial system. It is essential reading for professionals in the financial sector, law enforcement, regulatory bodies, legal professionals, researchers, policymakers, and anyone interested in understanding and mitigating the risks of financial crime in a rapidly changing world.

Doron Goldbarsht LLB LLM (HUJI) PHD (UNSW) is an Associate Professor at Macquarie Law School, the Director of the Financial Integrity Hub (FIH) and the Academic Head of the Graduate Certificate in Financial Integrity Law. With over 20 years of expertise in anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF), he has published as sole author, co-author, and co-editor several books on financial crime and compliance, including Financial Crime and the Law: Identifying and Mitigating Risks (Springer, 2024) and Financial Technology and the Law: Combating Financial Crime (Springer, 2022). Doron also provides expert opinions to governments and the private sector in litigation, advising on financial crime and regulatory matters. His expertise is frequently sought in complex cases involving cross-border transactions, compliance with global AML/CTF standards, and the interpretation of regulatory obligations in high-stakes enforcement actions. He is regularly consulted by national and international media outlets on developments in financial crime law, policy, and enforcement.
Louis de Koker is a professor of law at La Trobe Law School, Australia and an Advisory Board Member of the Financial Integrity Hub (FIH). His financial crime research focuses on mitigating unintended negative consequences of anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing objectives. He has undertaken various university research engagements with the bodies such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and has worked closely with the DC-based Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and with the Financial Integrity Working Group of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI). This work extended to a range of developing countries including Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Namibia, Nigeria, Uganda, the Ukraine and Palau. His publications have been cited in publications and research papers of international bodies such as the World Bank, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the International Labour Organisation, the G20's Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion and the World Economic Forum.
Jamie Ferrill is a Senior Lecturer of Financial Crime Studies at the Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security, Charles Sturt University and a Research Fellow with the Financial Integrity Hub (FIH). Before transitioning to academia, she gained nearly a decade of experience in law enforcement, serving with the Canadian federal government. Jamie’s research addresses threats to national and economic security, with a particular interest in the intersection of financial crime with border governance frameworks, international cooperation, and organisational effectiveness. Jamie has been a visiting fellow at the Academy of International Affairs NRW (Germany) and the Border Policy Research Institute (USA), and she is a fellow of the FIH, Borders in Globalization (Canada), and the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at Queen’s University (Canada).