Deloitte brings together an ecosystem of financial crime fighters to deliberate strategies against trillion dollar threats

Published: 30 November 2017

Today at the Deloitte Asia Pacific Financial Crime Symposium held in Hong Kong, compliance professionals, legal advisors, technology experts and NGO activists came together to discuss the pervasive threat of financial crime in the digital reconnaissance. Feedback from the Symposium suggested that more industry collaboration is needed to bring down organised crime groups and to stop the flow of funds to end human trafficking and modern slavery through more public-private partnerships.

“We are in a digital era where disruption has become increasingly routine. This has brought a sea of change, not just in the nature, but also in the frequency and complexity of financial crime. Wider industry engagement is needed to collaborate on intelligence, specialist technology solutions and initiatives to strengthen and enhance the defences of the international financial system. In doing so, we can be more effective in identifying the proceeds of crime stemming from criminal conduct in areas like Human Trafficking”, said Tim Phillipps, Asia Pacific Leader of Deloitte Financial Crime Network.

Themed “Financial Crime 2020: Facing the present, planning the future”, the Symposium featured a series of panels on the use of data and advanced analytics to tackle humanitarian crimes and the proliferation of new technologies that can be exploited. The aim of such discussions is to raise awareness on how to stay ahead of risks that threaten the common good of society.

Commenting on emerging technological developments, Ivan Zasarsky, Deloitte Asia Pacific Technologies Leader, China Leader of Deloitte Financial Crime Network said, “While new technologies can bring about innovative and positive business opportunities, the downside lies in its perilous exploitation by sophisticated criminals. It is a double-edged sword, as the more connected we are, the more vulnerable we become. Even so, the use of blockchain, robotic process automation, predictive analytics, machine learning and even biometrics can help detect anomalies, compliance gaps, and fraudulent transactions with greater speed and precision. This way we can be greater equipped to act with intelligent insight.”

Chad Olsen, Deloitte China Forensic Partner, said, “Hong Kong is a global financial centre and financial crime risk remains a huge challenge for the financial market. The only way to combat financial crime effectively on such a scale isn’t just from the selling of services, solutions and products, but from the adoption of an industry and government-led approach towards the problem, where information is shared. This includes not just financial institutions and law enforcement, but service providers and also non-governmental organisations.”

“The dialogue that came out of the Symposium proved encouraging and reinforced this message. As a Financial Crime Network working in tandem with industry alliances, we can accelerate our participation in the financial crime risks faced by the market, not just for today but also for the future,” he added.

The Deloitte Financial Crime Network has operations in Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan. It brings all together into one seamless centre of excellence with more than 300 full-time, highly experienced and talented resources with backgrounds in advisory services, law enforcement, regulatory agencies and analytics professionals. The Network also draws on the resources of the Deloitte global Forensic Network, consistently ranked a leader in its field by analysts such as Kennedy.