In this episode of "Financial Crime Matters," Kieran talks with Eddie Fishman, author of “Chokepoints: How the Global Economy Became a Weapon of War," about the rapid growth in the use of financial sanctions in the 21st Century, with each US president from George W. Bush on imposing sanctions at twice the rate of his predecessor.
Drawing on history and his own experience from stints at the US State Department, Pentagon and Treasury, Eddie cites examples of successful and unsuccessful sanctions programs, arguing that the former generally seek to force specific behavioral changes from a targeted government, while the latter are often too ambitious. Sanctions, for example, that seek regime change leave government leaders with little incentive to negotiate.
Presidents Bush’s and Obama’s actions against Iran that resulted in the Islamic state suspending efforts to create material for nuclear weapons production under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) exemplify the successful use of sanctions, Eddie says, adding that a weakness in US sanctions policy is the potential for political change. The Trump administration withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018.
Contrary to some characterizations, particularly those from Russian officials, Eddie also argues that sanctions against the Putin regime have stunted Russia’s economy and, consequently, its ability to wage war.
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In this episode of "Financial Crime Matters," Kieran talks with Eddie Fishman, author of “Chokepoints: How the Global Economy Became a Weapon of War," about the rapid growth in the use of financial sanctions in the 21st Century, with each US president from George W. Bush on imposing sanctions at twice the rate of his predecessor.
Drawing on history and his own experience from stints at the US State Department, Pentagon and Treasury, Eddie cites examples of successful and unsuccessful sanctions programs, arguing that the former generally seek to force specific behavioral changes from a targeted government, while the latter are often too ambitious. Sanctions, for example, that seek regime change leave government leaders with little incentive to negotiate.
Presidents Bush’s and Obama’s actions against Iran that resulted in the Islamic state suspending efforts to create material for nuclear weapons production under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) exemplify the successful use of sanctions, Eddie says, adding that a weakness in US sanctions policy is the potential for political change. The Trump administration withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018.
Contrary to some characterizations, particularly those from Russian officials, Eddie also argues that sanctions against the Putin regime have stunted Russia’s economy and, consequently, its ability to wage war.
Embarking on a New Anti-Financial Crime Era, with AUSTRAC's Brendan Thomas
Financial Crime Matters
28 minutes 20 seconds
1 month ago
Embarking on a New Anti-Financial Crime Era, with AUSTRAC's Brendan Thomas
In this episode of "Financial Crime Matters," Kieran talks with AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas about his agency's efforts to implement a vast extension of Australia's anti-money laundering regime to about 80,000 new entities under legislation commonly referred to as T2.
In service to those efforts, Brendan details AUSTRAC's outreach to law firms, accountants, real estate agencies and other designated non-financial businesses and persons who will be required to create an anti-money laundering (AML) risk analysis, appoint an AML officer and be ready to file suspicious matters reports by July 2026.
Key to Australia's need to come into compliance with the Financial Action Task Force's global standards, the extension of AML regulation is also central to the country's plan to actually stem the flood of illicit funds from transnational crime organizations into Australia's banking, gaming, real estate, precious metals and other sectors, Brendan says.
As part of its commitment to effectuate more fund seizures and prosecutions, Brendan discusses how the AUSTRAC initiative will also utilize public-private information sharing, embodied by the country's Fintel Alliance, increased staffing, and AI and other technological tools to weaponize what will ultimately be 100,000 anti-financial crime reporting entities under T2.
Financial Crime Matters
In this episode of "Financial Crime Matters," Kieran talks with Eddie Fishman, author of “Chokepoints: How the Global Economy Became a Weapon of War," about the rapid growth in the use of financial sanctions in the 21st Century, with each US president from George W. Bush on imposing sanctions at twice the rate of his predecessor.
Drawing on history and his own experience from stints at the US State Department, Pentagon and Treasury, Eddie cites examples of successful and unsuccessful sanctions programs, arguing that the former generally seek to force specific behavioral changes from a targeted government, while the latter are often too ambitious. Sanctions, for example, that seek regime change leave government leaders with little incentive to negotiate.
Presidents Bush’s and Obama’s actions against Iran that resulted in the Islamic state suspending efforts to create material for nuclear weapons production under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) exemplify the successful use of sanctions, Eddie says, adding that a weakness in US sanctions policy is the potential for political change. The Trump administration withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018.
Contrary to some characterizations, particularly those from Russian officials, Eddie also argues that sanctions against the Putin regime have stunted Russia’s economy and, consequently, its ability to wage war.
