JAMIE WOLFF, SENIOR MONEY MULES STRATEGY MANAGER, NATIONWIDE
Jamie Wolff, Nationwide
Jamie Wolff explores the growing scale of the money mule problem and challenges the misconception that younger people are the primary targets for recruitment. He explains that the fastest-growing age group is now 40 to 59, with financial vulnerability and the desire to make money quickly playing a significant role in recruitment. He also highlights how criminal networks are increasingly using digital channels and social media to target different demographics, creating convincing profiles and promoting unrealistic lifestyles and investment opportunities to exploit people’s circumstances.
The conversation also examines how financial institutions can improve their approach to identifying and preventing money mule activity. Jamie emphasises the importance of understanding the motivations behind recruitment, equipping employees with the knowledge to recognise suspicious behaviour and developing more effective prevention strategies. He argues that the industry needs to move beyond simply identifying and closing mule accounts and focus instead on disrupting the criminal networks recruiting them. Greater cross-sector data sharing between financial institutions and technology companies is, he believes, essential to tackling organised crime and reducing the harm caused to victims and society.
ALISON KOPRA, FINANCIAL CRIME DIRECTOR, GRANT THORNTON UK LLP
Alison Kopra, Grant Thronton UK LLP
Alison Kopra discusses the latest findings on authorised push payment (APP) fraud in the UK, highlighting the scale of the problem and the impact of the mandatory reimbursement policy during its first 12 months. She explains that while more victims are now getting their money back, reimbursement rates still vary significantly between firms, partly due to inconsistencies in how certain policy exceptions are applied. She also explores wider gaps in victim protection, including the role of technology platforms and telecoms in enabling scams, the importance of recognising customer vulnerability and the need for faster intelligence sharing between financial institutions.
The conversation also looks at how the industry can move beyond reimbursement and focus more heavily on preventing fraud before payments are made. Alison highlights the importance of identifying early warning signs and intervening further up the fraud chain, while emphasising the need to balance effective fraud controls with the risk of causing harm to vulnerable customers.
GOWTHAM VIJAYAKUMAR, HEAD, GLOBAL COMPLIANCE UK MLRO, GREY
Gowtham Vijayakumar, Grey
Gowtham Vijayakumar discusses how Grey is using AI to scale its financial crime compliance operations while providing access to virtual currency accounts and stablecoin wallets in underserved markets. He explains how AI agents are being used across transaction monitoring, transaction screening, name screening and fraud verification, helping the business manage increasing volumes of cases without continually expanding its workforce. He highlights the significant improvements in efficiency and throughput, with AI able to gather information and produce detailed investigation reports for human compliance teams to review and make final risk decisions.
The conversation also explores the importance of human oversight, data protection and clear safeguards when deploying AI in financial services. Gowtham explains that while AI can already outperform humans in processing speed and extracting information, it still lacks the critical thinking needed to assess more complex risks. He also highlights the importance of carefully assessing language models, protecting customer data and establishing clear boundaries for AI agents. Looking ahead, he believes financial crime professionals will need to focus less on processing information and more on applying their judgement, personality and risk expertise to the decisions AI helps them make.
RICHARD CALLADINE, SENIOR TECHNICAL PRODUCT MANAGER, COMPLIANCE, TRAVELEX
Richard Calladine, Travelex
Richard Calladine explains how Travelex is using agentic AI to improve the speed and efficiency of financial crime investigations across its global retail business. He outlines how the technology, developed in partnership with ThetaRay, automates the review of transaction screening alerts by applying Travelex’s own investigation playbook to assess potential matches. Tasks that previously took up to ten minutes can now be completed in seconds, reducing inconvenience for travellers and helping the business process large volumes of customers more quickly. He also highlights the importance of thoroughly testing the technology and ensuring colleagues and regulators understand how it works.
The conversation also examines the practical considerations of introducing AI into financial crime compliance. Richard emphasises that the technology needs clear instructions, thorough testing and predictable results, particularly when organisations need to demonstrate its effectiveness to regulators. He also considers the impact of automation on the next generation of compliance professionals, arguing that AI should be an additional tool rather than a replacement for the knowledge, experience and expertise people need to use it effectively.
HUGO REMI, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CARDAQ
Hugo Remi, Cardaq
Hugo Remi explores the importance of looking beyond the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) when assessing the ownership and integrity of the UK’s financial institutions. Drawing on his experience managing Cardaq, he highlights what he sees as inconsistencies in how financial institutions are scrutinised, particularly around the source of wealth and funds used to establish and operate businesses. He argues that regulators should pay closer attention to owners’ financial backgrounds, tax histories and supporting documentation, rather than relying solely on existing declarations and evidence of available funds.
The conversation also explores Hugo’s proposed changes to financial regulation, including requiring financial institution owners to submit their annual tax returns as part of their regulatory reporting, regardless of where they are based. He believes greater transparency would help identify potential bad actors, strengthen accountability and improve trust across the UK’s financial sector.
CLOSING SUMMARY
Across the episode, the conversations cover the different challenges facing the financial crime industry, from the growing threat of money mule recruitment and APP fraud to the need for greater transparency and stronger regulatory oversight. The discussions also look at how AI is helping financial institutions improve the speed and efficiency of fraud detection and compliance investigations. However, as the technology continues to develop, human judgement, collaboration and accountability remain essential, particularly when it comes to protecting customers and tackling financial crime.
