FinTech-Enabled Terrorism Financing: Lessons for Lithuania
On 13-14 April 2022, Project CRAAFT convened a workshop in Vilnius for Lithuanian stakeholders on the terrorism financing (TF) challenges and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) opportunities presented by the country’s large FinTech sector, among the most active in Europe. Workshop presentations delivered by leading financial crime experts in the FinTech industry, as well as researchers from RUSI, focused on helping participants to anticipate how their services might be abused by terrorists or their supporters operating abroad. This is a crucial challenge for a country such as Lithuania, which does not face a substantial terrorist threat within its own borders. By bringing together representatives of the FinTech industry and the public sector, participants witnessed first-hand the advantages and creative synergies generated through public–private collaboration to tackle TF.
Overall, there is enthusiasm among the FinTech community in Lithuania for the industry to play an active role in supporting TF investigations and in developing policy and regulation. FinTechs are continuously developing controls and other innovations for their sector, and their IT-based tools are a powerful contributor to anti-financial crime efforts. While the technologically-advanced operations models of FinTechs pose unique opportunities for identifying and countering TF, the human element must not be undervalued. Such platforms and technologies are only as effective as the people who operate them, so investments in training for FinTech staff are still necessary: both in how to use new technologies and in the latest TF typologies and trends.
Trainers for this workshop included:
Stephen Reimer, RUSI Europe
Greg Wlodarczyk, FINTRAIL
Allison Owen, RUSI
Tom Keatinge, RUSI
Vito Armonavicius, Revolut
Rūta Bajarūnaitė, Center of Excellence in Anti-Money Laundering
A special thank you to the Center of Excellence in Anti-Money Laundering for their support in making this workshop a success.
Gabija works as a Senior AML Specialist at UAB Pervesk
