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The Dark Money Files

Graham Barrow and Ray Blake

A series of podcasts which explain to a non-technical audience how "Dark Money" (e.g. money laundering, corruption, bribery, tax evasion) enters the financial system and infects everything it touches.

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  • 20 episodes
  • monthly
  • Avg 20 min
  • English

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Episodes 20

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  • S13 · E6
    August 11 · 27 min

    A wealth of information

    In this episode we couldn't resist a deep dive into the recent UBS fine by four (yes, four) US regulators and what that means for anyone working in the Financial Crime Compliance space Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S13 · E5
    July 7 · 30 min

    Partners in crime

    In a slightly longer than normal episode we do a deep dive into partnerships of various flavours and how the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act is going to change things. Partnerships are not straightforward (hence the longer episode) but they are sensitive to abuse so this is an important topic for financial crime professionals. And there is the offer of a free gift at the end of the episode! What's not to like. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S13 · E4
    June 9 · 15 min

    Document or detect?

    We take a look at the effect of human behaviour on our ability to stop criminals gaining access to the financial system and why that system is more likely to produce comprehensive documents than effective detection. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • May 13 · 26 min

    The verification game

    We look at the role of Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs) in the new regime at Companies House and explain why understanding both its strengths and weaknesses is important to anyone responsible for onboarding or monitoring UK companies, wherever in the world you work. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S13 · E2
    April 15 · 19 min

    Is Companies House an economic bellwether?

    One for the geeks! Changes in company formation levels are often use to justify/criticise different governments' economic policies. We go behind the headline figures to see if this is justified or not (HINT: not!). Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S13 · E1
    March 10 · 21 min

    Happy birthday OFSI

    Ten years after the creation of the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, we look at how the UK sanctions regime has evolved—from early uncertainty to strict liability enforcement, sanctions list complexity, and the growing expectations on the private sector. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S12 · E13
    February 9 · 24 min

    It's a grey(list) area

    Today we tackle some colourful risk lists or, to be a bit more precise, some black and grey ones, along with some strange differentials. Like how come the UK has a high risk third country list when there are no second countries in sight? Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S12 · E12
    January 9 · 13 min

    Crime on the high street - part two

    In the second of a two part, end of year podcast, we continue to explain how we helped with a major BBC investigation into crime on the high street, involving the sale of illicit cigarettes and vapes, modern human slavery, people trafficking, tax evasion, corruption and money laundering. In this episode, undercover filming unearths a shocking story and we explain our part in finding some of the protagonists involved. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S12 · E11
    Dec 29, 2025 · 16 min

    Crime on the high street - part one

    In the first of a two part, end of year episode, we explain how we helped with a major BBC investigation into crime on the high street, involving the sale of illicit cigarettes and vapes, modern human slavery, people trafficking, tax evasion, corruption and money laundering. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S12 · E10
    Dec 8, 2025 · 16 min

    A fine fanfare - Coinbase and JP Morgan SE

    We examine two recent final notices issued by two different regulators relating to two quite different enterprises and find a surprising amount of commonality in their thinking. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S12 · E9
    Oct 24, 2025 · 29 min

    The Dark Money Files meets (Episode 1)... The Laundry

    In the first of a new, occasional series, in which we sit down and chat to fellow anti-financial crime professionals, we kick off with Marit Rødevand from Strise to talk about AI and other new fangled gizmos. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S12 · E8
    Oct 9, 2025 · 21 min

    Policing the corporate landscape - the role of The Insolvency Service

    The UK Insolvency Service does a lot more than just oversee insolvencies and, in a recently published five year strategy document, they outlined some ambitious future goals which we thought were well worth a conversation. So we had one! Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S12 · E7
    Aug 13, 2025 · 19 min

    The highs (and lows) of PEP classifications

    The FCA recently published new guidance specifically in relation to UK PEPs which we decided needed a closer look. So we did! Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S12 · E6
    Jul 26, 2025 · 20 min

    Where there's a will...

    In this episode we explain how we supported a major BBC investigation into a Hungarian organised crime group which was systematically forging wills and stealing the assets belonging to the estate from under the noses of the true beneficiaries. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S12 · E5
    May 29, 2025 · 18 min

    Transparency and trust issues: the secret life of property

    In this episode, we chat about a recently published report by Transparency International (see: https://www.transparency.org.uk/news/trust-issues-tackling-final-frontier-secret-property-ownership) and how it impacts on our ability to identify the true ownership of real estate in the UK (and elsewhere). Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S12 · E4
    Apr 14, 2025 · 17 min

    Trigger warning!

    We bring you our latest deep dive into the world of crazy company incorporations and weird worldwide coincidences by way of North London, New Zealand and a much loved British sit-com. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S12 · E3
    Mar 16, 2025 · 17 min

    The sharing of suspicion

    SARs! Search and rescue services? Subject access requests? Sudden acute respiratory syndrome? No - suspicious activity reports! That's what we are talking about this time. And there's a lot more to them than you might think. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S12 · E2
    Feb 8, 2025 · 19 min

    Don't let mules make an ass of your firm

    In this episode we look at the FCA's latest thematic review of the National Fraud Database and money mule account detection tools and summarise what we think firms can take from it and what actions they might consider taking in response. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S12 · E1
    Dec 15, 2024 · 15 min

    We're scamming, we hope you like scamming too...

    "...Because every day we pay the price, we’re the living sacrifice" Taking inspiration from Bob Marley (sorry about the pun) we've done a little episode about scams and scammers (and some hints on how to spot them). Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

  • S11 · E13
    Nov 26, 2024 · 18 min

    Unheard voices - fine outcomes

    In this episode we look at some of the links between three recent enforcement actions. We try to avoid the knee jerk reactions, and think a bit deeper about them. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dark-money-files-ltd/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dark_files or see our website at https://www.thedarkmoneyfiles.com/

Showing 1–20 of 20 episodes