Kathryn Westmore

It’s excellent to see the focus on this in government, a really important issue. I’m also personally gratified that the Security Minister used the phrase ‘high street money laundering’ as I feel we are one step closing to adopting the acronym HSML which I have copyrighted (I haven’t).

Congratulations Phil, delighted for you and looking forward to working with you and the APPG.

This sounds to me like they’ll be weaponizing FATF recommendation 8 (prevention of terrorist abuse of the non profit sector). It’s a powerful tool that has been used by authoritarian regimes to shut down dissent.

Nice window ;)

The Global Anti-Financial Crime System is Broken Following the crowd and maintaining the status quo is comfortable – and the kleptocrats, corrupt and criminals hope that does not change.

Following the crowd and maintaining the status quo is comfortable – and the kleptocrats, corrupt and criminals hope that does not change, write Georgia Jones, Tom Keatinge and Kathryn Westmore.

Following the Fraud: The Role of Money Mules This paper discusses the rising issue of fraud in the UK, particularly focusing on the role of money mules in facilitating authorised push payment fraud and the implications for national security and ...

🚨🧵New RUSI paper, ‘Following the Fraud: The Role of Money Mule’ by @kathrynwestmore.bsky.social and Allison Owen is out now!

Sunday lunch with a side of anti-money laundering.

Assessing UK Ransomware Policy Join an expert panel to discuss the UK government’s approach to ransomware.

We're hosting a panel event at RUSI at 0900 on 3 April to discuss the UK government's ongoing consultation on ransomware legislation. I'll be joined by:

@alexmartin.bsky.social
@kathrynwestmore.bsky.social
Verona Hulse-Johnstone (NCC Group)
Edward Lewis, CyXcel

my.rusi.org/events/asses...

I think my 5 year old might actually be trying to steal my job. He brought this home from school today. I’m pretty sure he’s making me redundant.

So many questions about how the UK’s proposed new OIC sanctions will work. We wrote a piece about some of those questions and what the government should consider to ensure the sanctions actually have an impact.

Operation Destabilise: Russia, Organised Crime and Illicit Finance A Russian-speaking money laundering network uncovered by the UK’s National Crime Agency shows the clear links between organised crime, sanctions evasion and hostile state activity.

Reposting this fine write-up by @kathrynwestmore.bsky.social and @jamiemaccoll.bsky.social on Operation Destablise. A compendium of national security threats, showing the clear links between organised crime, sanctions evasion and hostile state activity. Read👇

www.rusi.org/explore-our-...

Luxury London Properties Linked to Family of Azerbaijan's President Are Hidden Behind an Offshore Trust The family and associates of Azerbaijani strongman Ilham Aliyev acquired U.K. real estate worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Are they still holding onto their property empire? Despite new transpar...

New investigation from @occrp.org with research by @transparencyuk.bsky.social highlights the limits of current UK transparency reforms. Trusts are the new transparency frontier. Regs laid by gov earlier this month could help but, on first blush, have some issues.

www.occrp.org/en/investiga...

Research Analyst/Project Officer – Financial Crime Policy Programme The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) is the world’s oldest and the UK’s leading defence and security think tank. The Centre for Finance and Security (CFS) at RUSI is a specialist research group ...

Want to come and work with me at the @cfs-rusi.bsky.social working on all things financial crime policy? We’re recruiting for a new research analyst/project officer. Details here! royalunitedservicesinstitute.peoplehr.net/Pages/JobBoa...

Statement in the Commons today by the Government, on tackling corruption at 3:30pm - one to watch this Anti-Corruption Day. We're expecting a few announcements

Everyone else: The best thing about Christmas is the goodwill and festive community cheer.

Me, a criminal lawyer: I’ve embedded a location tracker in my Christmas wreath in case anyone tries to nick it.

ANNA + NINA - Champagne Refill earthenware jug 17.5cm | Selfridges.com

I have just bought myself this and I couldn’t be happier with life right now.

www.selfridges.com/GB/en/produc...

Operation Destabilise: Russia, Organised Crime and Illicit Finance A Russian-speaking money laundering network uncovered by the UK’s National Crime Agency shows the clear links between organised crime, sanctions evasion and hostile state activity.

In the latest RUSI Commentary, @jamiemaccoll.bsky.social and @kathrynwestmore.bsky.social note that a Russian-speaking money laundering network uncovered by @nca-uk.bsky.social shows the clear links between organised crime, sanctions evasion and hostile state activity.

Operation Destabilise: Russia, Organised Crime and Illicit Finance A Russian-speaking money laundering network uncovered by the UK’s National Crime Agency shows the clear links between organised crime, sanctions evasion and hostile state activity.

New: What does Operation Destabilise mean for the future of the UK’s response to illicit finance? Also, Tether is bad. @jamiemaccoll.bsky.social and I have shared our perspectives over on the @rusi.bsky.social website this afternoon.

www.rusi.org/explore-our-...

Look at this line up! Very excited for this is treat in the new year - some of best in the business talking about #statethreats.

I think the only way to understand crypto is to realise that everything you think you know about money is wrong.

She Was a Russian Socialite and Influencer. Cops Say She’s a Crypto Laundering Kingpin Western authorities say they’ve identified a network that found a new way to clean drug gangs’ dirty cash. WIRED gained exclusive access to the investigation.

“I don’t think anyone could anticipate the size and complexity of this operation, the huge amounts of cash involved, and the number of different organized criminal gangs which used the services” — @kathrynwestmore.bsky.social

🚨Following the news that the @nca-uk.bsky.social has uncovered a multi-billion-dollar Russian money laundering network, RUSI's @kathrynwestmore.bsky.social provides her analysis below.

Russian crypto criminals helped UK drug gangs launder lockdown cash UK drug gangs paid Russian criminals to swap their dirty street cash for untraceable crypto currency, police say.

Operation Destabilise is the most stunning example yet of crypto's great use-case, which is to move value between countries outside any controls against money laundering.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Oh, and they helped oligarchs evade sanctions and purchase property in the UK. And laundered the proceeds from ransomware attacks. The scale of this is really quite staggering.

Operation Destabilise: NCA disrupts $multi-billion Russian money laundering networks with links to, drugs, ransomware and espionage, resulting in 84 arrests An international NCA-led investigation - Operation Destabilise - has exposed and disrupted Russian money laundering networks supporting serious and organised crime around the world: spanning from the ...

The NCA have busted a multi-billion dollar money laundering network in the UK. The grouo facilitated the exchange of cash to crypto on a massive scale. The networks also funded state-linked activities including espionage and disinformation. www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/operati...

Maybe it would be easier just to list the countries not having a war or political/constitutional crisis?

Musk’s $100m to Farage will break our democracy Keir Starmer needs to fix Britain’s broken electoral laws now - if he doesn’t, we will all suffer the consequences

Wrote something quickly on the back of this thread

Tldr: Britain's election laws are completely broken. Either we act fast to fix them or we are in serious, serious trouble

democracyforsale.substack.com/p/musks-100m...

So, my husband and I both managed to forget that we were supposed to be going to birthday celebrations today for HIS 40th birthday.

Ha, it was very much an exaggeration. I just rolled my eyes and nodded.