The £16 Million Shopping Spree That Rewrote Financial Crime
When a £600,000 shopping spree at Harrods exposed an international money laundering operationZamira Hajiyeva treated Harrods like her corner store - £32,000 on chocolates, £24,000 on tea, £600,000 in a single morning. But behind the absurd consumption was her husband's $3.5 billion theft from Azerbaijan's state bank.This episode follows the UK's first-ever Unexplained Wealth Order - a legal weapon that forces the ultra-wealthy to explain their impossible lifestyles. After 6 years of legal battles and one spectacularly misguided selfie with law enforcement, Zamira lost her mansion and golf club... but kept £10 million.Jamahal and Charlie explore how this case exposed the limits of fighting kleptocracy: even with overwhelming evidence, revolutionary legal tools, and international cooperation, the criminals often keep enough to stay comfortable.A story about stolen billions, industrial-scale luxury consumption, and why the house always wins - even when it loses.For more on the financial compliance angle read Anqa's story: From Luxury Shopping Sprees to Legal Scrutiny
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The Billionaire’s Best Friend: How Jeffrey Epstein Gamed the Global Financial System
How did a registered sex offender convince the world's biggest banks to move his money for over a decade?The Jeffrey Epstein story isn't just about one predator—it's about how elite institutions systematically chose profit over protection, enabling decades of abuse while compliance officers screamed warnings into the void.What you'll discover:How a failed math teacher transformed into a financial "genius" through criminal apprenticeshipsWhy JPMorgan executives visited Epstein in jail during his work releaseHow $1.5 billion in flagged transactions kept flowing despite red flagsHow media mythology laundered a predator's reputation This isn't conspiracy theory—it's institutional capture in broad daylight. From the Dalton School to Bear Stearns, from Vanity Fair profiles to private islands, we trace how wealth can manufacture immunity from consequences while devastating real lives.The victims deserved better. The system failed them. But their courage in speaking out accidentally created the ultimate education in how elite protection really works.For compliance professionals: Every red flag matters. Every pattern recognition saves lives. Every difficult conversation with management is how we build systems that protect people instead of predators.
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The Love Factory: Inside the Global Expansion of Digital Slavery
That perfect stranger who "gets you" might be typing from a cage.Behind every romance scam is a larger question: What happens when love becomes labour? When human connection gets industrialised by people who have no choice but to destroy strangers' lives to survive their own?This episode follows the breadcrumbs from your dating app to a concrete compound, from a cryptocurrency wallet to a rescue operation more complex than a bank heist. We expose the targeting psychology that makes certain people more vulnerable, reveal why the real victims aren't who you expect, and discover how this industry is spreading from Southeast Asian compounds to African "technology parks" to Pacific island "resorts" with new franchise efficiency.The $75 billion question isn't just how to protect yourself—it's whether we can recognise the humanity trapped inside the machine before it's too late. Your next "good morning beautiful" might be someone's only hope for rescue. The only question is: will you see it?👉 Subscribe for more real stories behind financial crime and how good compliance breaks the chain.Want the compliance angle? Read the Anqa blog here:https://www.anqacompliance.com/anqa-blog/modern-slavery-behind-the-screens-aml
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Alice Guo and the Pig Butchering Empire Behind City Hall
Who is Alice Guo? A shy pig farmer turned small-town mayor — or the mastermind behind one of the Philippines’ biggest human trafficking and online scam hubs?In this episode of RegTech Real Talk, Jamahal and Charlie break down how Alice Guo built a pig butchering scam empire literally behind City Hall — 800 people trapped, billions laundered, and a ghost identity so perfect it collapsed with one simple question: “Who was your teacher?”Listen in for the true crime, the spy twist, and the compliance lessons for spotting the next Alice Guo.Want the compliance angle? Read the Anqa blog here:https://www.anqacompliance.com/anqa-blog/alice-guo-philippines-pogo-human-traffickingWant every messy twist? Read the full Substack here:https://justinpemberton.substack.com/p/alice-in-phantom-land
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A $32 Billion Lesson in Image Laundering
What do you get when you mix crypto, celebrity endorsements, existential risk, political donations, and zero internal controls?Answer: the rise and collapse of FTX.Sam Bankman-Fried didn’t just build a crypto empire—he built a belief system.Effective altruism. Earning to give. Longtermism. Philosophy became camouflage.In this episode, we unpack how the founder of FTX transformed complex ideology into one of the greatest confidence tricks in financial history—convincing regulators, politicians, and celebrities that he was crypto’s ethical saviour… all while customer funds were vanishing behind the scenes.We cover:The rise of “earning to give” and how it justified extreme risk and eventual theftLongtermism and the cosmic math that made current losses seem morally acceptableWhy a $32 billion company operated without a CFO—or even proper accountingThe role of image laundering in building unearned trustHow the same system that let FTX thrive penalises smaller, legitimate firmsIt’s more than a crypto collapse. It’s a masterclass in how philosophy, branding, and unchecked power can cover up one of the greatest financial crimes of our time.Find out more on Anqa's blog: https://www.anqacompliance.com/anqa-blog/ftx-collapse-image-laundering-vs-compliance
RegTech Real Talk is your gateway to the hidden machinery of financial crime and the global resistance against it.
From crypto havens to the unexplored fintech frontiers of Africa, Asia, and the global South, we decode patterns invisible to the conventional financial gaze.
We navigate the collision points where regulation meets innovation—exploring how bad actors exploit gaps while compliance teams race to build better defenses.
No fluff. No legacy systems. Just real talk.
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