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Collaborating to tackle global financial crime

€1.28 trillion is spent each year globally combatting illicit finance

A combined $1.28 trillion is spent each year by agencies and governments to combat illicit finance globally. This equals about 5% of global GDP. And despite these efforts, less than 1% of the billions of dollars laundered every year is ever recovered. Just 3% of fraud cases result in a conviction.

 

The reality of this is that it leaves fewer resources available for investment in communities in areas like healthcare, education and security. 

True financial crime compliance goes beyond mere tick-box compliance with financial regulations. Effective regimes are underpinned by a culture of vigilance and ethical responsibility. Financial crime encompasses a broad range of offences from scams to bribery and tax evasion. Organisations need to understand the real-life impacts of financial crime which profits from society’s most vulnerable people through fraud, trafficking, drug smuggling, and corruption.  

Driving cultural transformation

A strong culture of ethical compliance fosters an environment where everyone is not only aware of the risks associated with financial crime but actively engaged in its prevention. This cultural transformation is essential for safeguarding reputation and financial well-being. It also contributes to the overall integrity of the economy and the community we serve.

Over the last year, we’ve provided 100s of hours training to clients across the private and public sectors, at operational, executive and board levels. We can help define the tone at the top of the organisation, and pave the way for a cultural shift. These trainings have driven an increased awareness of all stakeholders to ensure robust financial crime prevention across the organisation. 

 

Board training: Navigating the complex landscape

The role of boards in combatting financial crime is pivotal. With so many competing priorities, Deloitte provides clients with simplified but comprehensive training. This ensures the board is adequately informed, aware and equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to understand emerging risks. It helps them to assess the adequacy of their organisation's control framework and make data-driven decisions to protect against financial crime. Key to our training is ensuring board members are aware of their individual accountability and understand how to manage that accountability appropriately.


Continuous learning for enhanced awareness

Training is critical throughout an organisation to ensure everyone is alert to the risks inherent to their role and the broader organisational risks.  We provide our clients with role specific training based on organisational, national and global data and insights. Our training focuses on latest trends, risks, and best practices related to financial crime to help our clients keep up with increasingly sophisticated bad-actors. Continuous learning goes beyond routine compliance training and engages employees in real-world experiences to enhance their understanding of financial crime and its implications.

It is vital to ensure that all colleagues are trained to detect suspicious activities, report potential issues, and implement preventive measures. This heightened awareness contributes significantly to creating a culture where responsible conduct is woven into everyday activities.

Follow-up activities after training include supporting the development of strategies, continuous education on the evolving risks and opportunities in technology and operational enhancements. Our team also is committed to supporting clients embed compliance and risk procedures throughout their operations.

Impactful collaboration

 

Collaboration lies at the heart of successful financial crime prevention. Responding to a problem of this size calls for public-private cooperation, it cannot depend on financial conduct authorities alone. Regulators, competent authorities, law enforcement and private companies need to work with each other to maximise detection and prevention of financial crime.

 

Through our specialist teams across Deloitte and our global network we share learning and insights. Our clients benefit from the latest information to ensure they have the skills and knowledge to identify and respond to financial crime.  

Financial crime does not stop at borders, and neither do we.

Key contacts

 

Deirdre Carwood

Partner

 

Colm O’Flaherty

Director

 

Caroline Costello

Director