25th Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum – Illicit Finance
Mr. Tom Keatinge, Director of the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute in London, delivered a lecture on the threat of illicit finance to democracies. He posed two inquiries: the audience’s understanding of illicit finance and its potential exposure to parliamentarians.
Keatinge referenced the UK Foreign Affairs Committee report “The Cost of Complacency,” which defines illicit finance as funds of suspicious origin, not necessarily proven illegal but detrimental. He emphasized its undermining of national security, support for corrupt regimes, and infiltration of democratic institutions.
Many democratic governments only recognized the national security threat posed by illicit finance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Current global frameworks, such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), focus on criminal finance, creating a gap in addressing malign but not clearly illegal financial flows.
Keatinge highlighted vulnerabilities like permissive financial policies, golden visas, and the attraction of foreign capital without adequate scrutiny, enabling oligarchs and kleptocrats to acquire influence in politics, academia, and culture, posing a threat to democratic integrity.
He proposed four key actions: systematically monitor political commitments regarding illicit finance and hold leaders accountable, conduct research and expose mechanisms for acquiring political influence, strengthen connections between investigative journalists and law enforcement, and educate and empower the youth to recognize the generational threat posed by illicit finance.
Keatinge urged legislators to “walk the talk,” confronting systemic vulnerabilities and treating illicit finance as a critical national and collective security issue.
