Financial Crime × Human Rights
Financial crime detection can play a significant role in the identification of instrumentalities and proceeds of international crimes and gross human rights violations. We help financial institutions sharpen their ability to flag and report corresponding flows, we reinforce information-sharing between regulated businesses and human rights actors, and we expose abuse of AML/CFT frameworks.
Why this matters
The anti-financial crime sector has the ability to detect financial flows linked to international crimes and gross human rights violations. Yet, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) frameworks remain largely under-utilised for this purpose. A clearer understanding of the typologies and red flags associated with financing or profiting from such crimes, together with a more comprehensive use of existing tools, would allow regulated businesses to strengthen their detection and reporting capacities. Similarly, by embracing approaches traditionally associated with the anti-financial crime field, human rights and international law actors can bolster their ability to hold perpetrators accountable.
In addition, autocratic abuse of global compliance infrastructure is on the rise, intrinsically connected to the growing international pushback against human rights. Authoritarian regimes turn international standards into tools of political repression. By reinforcing their collaboration, the anti-financial crime sector and human rights actors can resist this abuse, support those targeted, and protect the integrity of AML/CFT frameworks.
Our Services
The missing human rights layer in global financial compliance. A continuously updated tool that tracks indicators of abuse, flags the systemic misuse of designation mechanisms, and surfaces suspicious listings, so institutions can make informed decisions instead of defaulting to blanket de-risking.
See how it worksUsing existing anti-money laundering legislation to investigate, prevent and fight the laundering of funds derived from international crimes and severe human rights abuses, through investigations and strategic litigation.
ExploreHelping financial institutions recognise risks and red flags associated with financing or profiting from international crimes and gross human rights violations. Supporting civil society actors in using anti-financial crime frameworks and tools to strengthen their work.
Learn moreWhen aggregating information and checking procedure, most global compliance tools and programmes do not apply a contextual analysis and human rights verification layer. Designations from authoritarian regimes end up flowing automatically into global banking, accounts are frozen, blanket de-risking practices are implemented, and the proceeds of international crimes move unseen.
We build the intelligence and the analysis that make this visible.
The Financial Transnational Repression Dashboard tracks indicators of abuse, flags the systemic misuse of designation mechanisms, and surfaces suspicious listings, so institutions can make informed decisions instead of defaulting to blanket de-risking.
Built for NGOs and regulated businesses alike, in particular financial institutions navigating foreign designation lists under uncertainty and civil society actors investigating cases of financial transnational repression.
We use anti-money laundering legislation to investigate and hold accountable individuals and entities that launder revenues acquired from the commission of international crimes and gross human rights violations.
Our practice combines financial investigation with legal strategy, and builds on a dual expertise: international law and financial crime. We identify money laundering associated with international crimes and severe human rights abuses, and connect corporate ownership structures and financial flows to documented violations.
By supporting accountability processes, our work contributes to the fight against impunity for both financial and international crimes.
Investigation into the laundering of proceeds derived from crimes under international law in a crisis-affected region.
Our training sessions aim to bring financial crime expertise to human rights work, and human rights expertise to financial crime prevention.
We guide regulated businesses in understanding what human rights and international law intelligence and analysis bring to compliance work, and we build their capacity to detect financial flows linked to international crimes and gross human rights violations. We also support the development and implementation of methodologies to identify abuse of AML/CFT frameworks.
We help civil society actors deploy anti-financial crime approaches within investigations and legal strategies, and we equip them with relevant AML/CFT tools and frameworks.
For institutions interested in using the Financial Transnational Repression Dashboard, access is accompanied by training so teams can apply it with confidence from day one.
Who We Serve
Managing the legal, regulatory and reputational risk of financial flows linked to international crimes.
Requiring verified human rights context for AML, KYC and sanctions-screening decisions.
Identifying typologies and red flags associated with funding or profiting from international crimes.
Building corporate accountability and financial crime cases that require financial and human rights intelligence.
Undertaking financial investigations, developing legal strategies, and conducting advocacy.
Get in touch
Whether you are a regulated business or an NGO, let's chat. We want to understand the work you do and develop solutions tailored to the challenges you face. We don't limit ourselves to the services described above: if there's another way you'd like to partner, get in touch and let's explore it together.