Bribe, Swindle or Steal

Alexandra Wrage, president of TRACE, interviews luminaries in the field of financial crime, including bribery, fraud, money-laundering, insider trading and sanctions. Each week, Alexandra and her guests will discuss who commits “white collar crime”, how it works and what is being done to stop it.

Primer on Money-Laundering 09/11/2024

Primer on Money-Laundering A 22-year veteran of Treasury and consultant to the Dept of Justice, John Madinger sheds light on some of the money-laundering schemes he has uncovered and why the Breaking Bad car wash scheme probably wouldn’t have worked. This episode was originally posted: December 27, 2017 /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/33005342

“Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How it Changes Us” 09/04/2024

“Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How it Changes Us” Brian Klaas, Associate Professor at University College London and host of the award-winning podcast “Power Corrupts,” joins us to discuss his book “Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us”. Brian describes research on who is drawn to positions of power and how power impacts us, including potentially re-wiring our brains. This episode was originally published 30 March 2022. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/32879852

How Local News Uncovers Local Fraud 08/28/2024

How Local News Uncovers Local Fraud David Jackson, a senior reporter with Injustice Watch, discusses his work exposing corruption, which has led to both indictments and legislative reform. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/32770877

The U.S. College Admissions Scandal: Jonathan Turner 08/21/2024

The U.S. College Admissions Scandal: Jonathan Turner Jonathan Turner, former Vice President, Ethics & Compliance, at Smith & Nephew in Memphis, discusses the admissions scandal that has rattled several top-tier U.S. universities and ties some of the lessons learned back to the work of compliance professionals. This episode was originally published 2 October 2019. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/32666332

Anand Mangnale on the Risks of Investigative Journalism 08/14/2024

Anand Mangnale on the Risks of Investigative Journalism Anand Mangnale of the OCCRP joins the podcast to describe his investigation into the practices of the vast and powerful Adnani Group in India, the spyware discovered on his phone as soon as the story began to break and the subsequent efforts to silence him, including bizarre charges of financial support of terrorism. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/32539087

The Corrupt Underbelly of Sport 08/07/2024

The Corrupt Underbelly of Sport Declan Hill discusses the pervasive and sinister nature of match-fixing and how we can prevent sport from being turned into theater. This episode was originially posted on 2 August, 2017. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/32463942

Doping in International Sports 07/31/2024

Doping in International Sports Rob Koehler, WADA veteran and current Director General of Global Athlete, joins the podcast to discuss the epidemic of doping in sports, the imbalance of power between athletes and administrators and the IOC's startling decision to allow Russia to compete in the Paris Games in spite of its invasion of Ukraine. This episode was originally published 15 February 2023. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/32361617

Promoting Facts and Countering Disinformation 07/24/2024

Promoting Facts and Countering Disinformation My guest today is Melissa Goldin. Melissa is a NY-based news verification reporter with the Associated Press where she analyzes and debunks fake news. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/32266987

Rugby, Amateur Sports and the Paris Olympics! 07/17/2024

Rugby, Amateur Sports and the Paris Olympics! Sally Dennis, former President of Rugby Canada and current Canadian representative on the Council of World Rugby, describes her role in the professionalization of sports governance, where challenges remain— and rugby's arguably unique invulnerability to match fixing! /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/32176007

A Syrian-Libyan Human Smuggling Scheme 07/10/2024

A Syrian-Libyan Human Smuggling Scheme Mahmoud Elsobky, one of the two winners of this year’s TRACE Prize for Investigative Reporting, describes his team’s high risk infiltration of a human smuggling ring that preyed on—and defrauded—those desperate to leave Syria. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/32068677

Diana Henriques on Reputation Laundering 07/03/2024

Diana Henriques on Reputation Laundering Diana Henriques, award-winning journalist and author, discusses the traits of fraudsters and the menace of reputation laundering. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/31968187

Addressing Doping in Sport: Paul Massaro 06/26/2024

Addressing Doping in Sport: Paul Massaro Paul Massaro of the U.S. Helsinki Commission discusses the scope of doping in international sport, the foreign policy implications and the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act (RADA) offered in response. (This episode was originally published on 20 March 2019) /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/31898857

The Death of Sergei Magnitsky 06/19/2024

The Death of Sergei Magnitsky In recognition of the recent honor of Sir Bill Browder KCMG with the title for his significant contributions to human rights and anti-corruption, we are revisiting a 2017 interview with Bill. He describes the brazen fraud and violence of Putin’s Russia, the death of Sergei Magnitsky, and the passage of the Magnitsky Act. (This episode was originally published on 31 May 2017) /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/31803087

"Thing Are Worse than We Know" 06/12/2024

"Thing Are Worse than We Know" Today’s podcast is a recording of a talk given by Drew Sullivan of the OCCRP at the University of Maryland. Drew is the co-founder and editor of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (the OCCRP), a global network of journalists working collaboratively to evaluate and mine enormous amounts of data to expose corruption. The OCCRP is also a past winner of the TRACE Prize for Investigative Reporting. Special thanks to the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland in the School of Public Policy and the Philip Merrill College of Journalism for letting us record the event. Originally posted 11 May 2022 /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/31703342

Canada's First Bribery Acquittal 06/05/2024

Canada's First Bribery Acquittal Jessica Warwick in Norton Rose's Ottawa office joins the podcast to talk about the Arapakota decision and what it means for anti-bribery enforcement in Canada. (This episode was originally published 21 June 2023) /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/31613897

Serenading Despots 05/29/2024

Serenading Despots Pedro Pizano and Jeffrey Smith, with the McCain Institute and Vanguard Africa respectively, discuss the reputation laundering that musicians, actors and athletes facilitate when they agree to perform for dictators and kleptocrats. They also describe how these same artists can use their platforms for good instead and show support for the citizens living under brutal regimes. Originally Posted: Sep. 15, 2020 /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/31510182

Investment Funds: Massive Transparency Loopholes 05/22/2024

Investment Funds: Massive Transparency Loopholes Josh Kirschenbaum is a visiting fellow at the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy and formerly served as acting director of the Office of Special Measures at Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). He joins the podcast to discuss investment funds and the gaping loophole they create through which vast sums of money can move with no accountability. This episode was originally published on April 20, 2021. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/31419172

The New Corporation: How Good Corporations are Bad for Democracy 05/15/2024

The New Corporation: How Good Corporations are Bad for Democracy Joel Bakan joins the podcast to discuss his books, and the films based on them. He outlines the fundamental conflict inherent in companies ostensibly committed to ESG principles while simultaneously driven by a legal requirement to maximize shareholder value. Originally posted on Jul. 14, 2021 /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/31286412

DEI Progress and Setbacks: What Compliance Professionals Need to Know 05/08/2024

DEI Progress and Setbacks: What Compliance Professionals Need to Know This week’s podcast features an excellent presentation by Misti Mukherjee, founder and managing member of Extensio Law. Misti addresses the shifting field of diversity, equity and inclusion—including recent changes to the law—and emphasizes the critical importance of this work alongside the need to approach it with intentionality and discipline. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/31180377

A Glimpse Inside Bhutan 05/01/2024

A Glimpse Inside Bhutan This week’s podcast is a bit off the beaten track. We speak with Sherub Tharchen in Paro in Bhutan about his country. We cover some of the basics, including the country’s location between two neighbors with high levels of corruption, and then discuss how the current King of Bhutan tackled corruption in a way that, while probably not replicable in most countries, has nevertheless had great success for the Bhutanese. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/31057988

Whistleblower Protections 04/24/2024

Whistleblower Protections Leah Ambler, then Director of Corruption Prevention at the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity and previously Legal Analyst at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), delves—in her personal capacity—into her excellent chapter on whistleblower protections, emphasizes their importance in reducing corruption and highlights the challenges posed by the lack of comprehensive, harmonized legislation. Originally posted on Jan. 12, 2022 /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/30958088

Former Enforcement Officials Reflect on the Last Decade of Anti-Bribery Enforcement and its Future 04/17/2024

Former Enforcement Officials Reflect on the Last Decade of Anti-Bribery Enforcement and its Future This week on Bribe, Swindle, or Steal, we listen in on the lively presentation at the 2024 TRACE Forum featuring former enforcement officials, Charles Duross, Partner, Morrison Foerster, David Last, Partner, Cleary Gottlieb, and Mark Mendelsohn, Partner, Paul Weiss. Speaking with TRACE President, Alexandra Wrage, Chuck, David, and Mark discuss their time as Chiefs of the FCPA Unit and their experiences navigating heightened scrutiny and shifting resources, and then they offer their perspectives on what lies ahead. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/30834443

Mark Pieth on the Global Gold Trade 04/10/2024

Mark Pieth on the Global Gold Trade In this re-posted episode, Prof. Mark Pieth discusses his book, - and how to clean up. He outlines the many problems, including child and trafficked labor, environmental degradation, violence, and corruption. He also addresses some modest steps forward and how, in spite of the considerable challenges, more progress can be made. This epsiode was originally posted on December 1, 2021. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/30751038

Sam Bankman-Fried: Crypto's Madoff? 04/03/2024

Sam Bankman-Fried: Crypto's Madoff? In light of last week’s sentencing of Sam Bankman-Fried—25 years in prison and an $11 billion forfeiture order—we are re-posting our conversation with Jim Campbell, author of “Madoff Talks” and his comparison of the two men. Originally posted on January 25, 2023 /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/30659208

Self-Reporting and Cooperation: The DOJ’s New Incentives and Expectations 03/27/2024

Self-Reporting and Cooperation: The DOJ’s New Incentives and Expectations For this week’s podcast, we listen in on the excellent presentation—dense with practical information—by John Davis, member, Miller & Chevalier, at the TRACE Forum in Annapolis. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/30553668

News from the European Union, including the CSDDD 03/20/2024

News from the European Union, including the CSDDD This week on Bribe, Swindle, or Steal, we listen in on the presentation of Nicola Bonucci, International Lawyer and former Director for Legal Affairs OECD, at the TRACE Forum in Annapolis. Nicola provides context for recent compliance news from the EU and discusses the adoption of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive at a gathering of compliance experts just three hours after the news broke! /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/30445538

Flags of Convenience 03/13/2024

Flags of Convenience Tom Cardamone, President and CEO of Global Financial Integrity, joins the podcast to discuss the regulatory and enforcement challenges associated with flags of convenience. These range from trafficked labor to environmental violations and Tom highlights the inherent tension between substantial tax incentives on one hand and accountability on the other. Originally posted September 15, 2021 /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/30343163

Russian Sanctions: Impact and Due Diligence 03/06/2024

Russian Sanctions: Impact and Due Diligence Pavel Verkhniatsky joins the podcast from Kyiv where he is the Managing Partner of COSA Solutions with particular expertise in sophisticated due diligence and cross-border investigations. We range from the very broad and geopolitical to the very specific as Pavel discusses the impact of sanctions on Russia, as well as common due diligence 'red flags'. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/30251798

"Spin Dictators" 02/28/2024

"Spin Dictators" Daniel Treisman, co-author of Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century, discusses the new generation of dictators and how they weaponize information, bully with legal action and mobilize enablers to stay in power. Originally posted on May 24, 2023 /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/30150118

Enablers and the Dark Fleet of Oil Tankers 02/21/2024

Enablers and the Dark Fleet of Oil Tankers Zeke Faux joins the podcast to talk about the support and credibility provided to oil tankers violating sanctions by the companies that insure them. Zeke, together with Zachary Mider, wrote an excellent Bloomberg article earlier this month about one New York insurance company that insures a disproportionate number of these aged tankers accused of shipping sanctioned Iranian oil. /episode/index/show/bribeswindleorsteal/id/30038753

Bribe, Swindle or Steal

TOPICS