ThirdEye View

Tackling insider threat in AU/NZ financial services - ANZ May 26

Insider threat is one of the most underestimated risks in financial services — and it comes from people who already have access to your systems, your customers, and your trust.

In this episode of ThirdEye View, Jing Zhang and Colin Dixon bring our UK team's insider threat research into an Australian and New Zealand context, focusing on what compliance professionals can do right now — without investing in new technology. In this episode:

• Why insider threat is a real and growing risk in AU/NZ — and what the numbers tell us
• How to apply KYC logic internally with a "know your colleague" approach
• What your existing transaction data can already detect
• The additional risks that come with remote working — and how to spot them
• Why your financial crime team itself needs to be part of the conversation
• How to reflect insider threat in your risk assessment

Useful links mentioned in this episode:

• UK insider threat webinar, blog and guide: https://jadethirdeye.com/blog/the-com...
• AUSTRAC insider threat guidance: https://www.austrac.gov.au/how-resist...
• SFO New Zealand insider threat guide: https://www.sfo.govt.nz/assets/Upload...

Read the accompanying blog post: https://jadethirdeye.com/resources/?t...

ThirdEye View is our monthly video series unpacking the financial crime stories that matter most for compliance professionals in Australia and New Zealand. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Hosted by Jing Zhang, Business Development Manager, and Colin Dixon, CAMS-certified AML Solutions Specialist at ThirdEye.

Jo Norton on transforming risk from gatekeeper to enabler

Jo Norton, Chief Risk Officer at Ecology Building Society, joined ThirdEye's Claire Rees to share what nearly two years of transformation has actually looked like on the ground, and what it means to lead a risk function that helps an organisation move forward, not slow it down.

In this conversation, Jo talks about shifting risk from a gatekeeping function to one built on education, empowerment, and genuine collaboration. From upskilling first-line colleagues during a major technology migration, to navigating the environmental tensions of AI adoption, to winning her organisation's award for best collaborative team.  This is an honest, practical look at what modern risk leadership demands.

You'll hear Jo's take on:

- Why educating first-line colleagues, not just policing them, is what drives real risk maturity

- How to build a risk strategy that's directly aligned to business strategy - The AI dilemma facing mission-driven organisations with environmental commitments

- What it takes to be commercially minded, strategically focused, and still keep your members safe

- Why no one should be afraid of not having all the answers

Whether you're leading a risk function, working in compliance, or navigating your own transformation programme, Jo's experience is a reminder that the strongest risk teams are also the most collaborative ones.

Read the full article: https://jadethirdeye.com/blog/jo-norton-on-transforming-risk-from-gatekeeper-to-enabler/ #FinancialCrime

#RiskManagement #AML #Compliance #BuildingSocieties #CRO

Finfluencers, crypto and the changing face of financial crime - UK May 2026

Financial crime does not stand still, and neither does the FCA. This month brought enforcement action on two fronts: continued pressure on finfluencers promoting unlawful investments, and raids on unregistered peer-to-peer crypto traders in London.

In this episode Claire Rees and Phil Roberts unpack what both stories mean for UK financial crime teams, why fraud is becoming more industrialised, and why, in Claire's view after 25 years in financial crime, the underlying crimes have not changed, even if the tools criminals use have.

Read the accompanying blog at: https://jadethirdeye.com/view/finfluencers-crypto-and-the-changing-face-of-financial-crime/

About ThirdEye: ThirdEye is a complete AML compliance platform designed for financial institutions in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. We help organisations build effective, risk-based financial crime programmes that protect communities while meeting regulatory requirements.

 

#FinancialCrime #AML #Finfluencers #CryptoFraud #FinancialCrimePrevention #Crypto

 

Asset recovery and AI in financial crime - ANZ Apr 26

In this month's ThirdEye View ANZ, Colin Dixon and Jing Zhang unpack some significant asset recovery wins out of New Zealand — and explain why this tool is one of the most effective disruptors in the financial crime arsenal.

They also share the key takeaways from ThirdEye's recent AI roundtable in Melbourne: what senior compliance leaders are actually doing with AI, the false positive problem that's pushing the business case, and what AUSTRAC expects when things go wrong.

Two topics. Plenty to think about.

Read the full blog here: https://jadethirdeye.com/view/asset-recovery-and-ai-in-financial-crime/

#AML #FinancialCrime #AssetRecovery #AI #Compliance #ThirdEyeView

Getting your financial crime risk assessment right - Apr 26

Your financial crime risk assessment is a legal requirement. But is it actually working for you? Firms often treat risk assessments as compliance paperwork.

The ones that get it right use them as a strategic tool, shaping everything from resource allocation to how effectively they detect and manage real threats.

In this episode of ThirdEye View, Financial Crime Regulatory Specialist Claire Rees is joined by Nicky Green, Advisory Director at Square 4, to explore what good looks like and the common pitfalls that stop firms from getting there.

They cover:

• Why risk assessments are often done poorly and what the consequences are

• What the regulations require across the UK, Australia and New Zealand

• How to build an effective risk assessment that drives real business decisions

• The most common mistakes and how to avoid them

• What good governance looks like in practice

 

Read the full blog post: https://jadethirdeye.com/view/getting...

About ThirdEye: ThirdEye is a complete AML compliance platform designed for financial institutions in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

We help organisations build effective, risk-based financial crime programmes that protect communities while meeting regulatory requirements.

Learn more: https://jadethirdeye.com

Record fraud, money mules and rising regulatory pressure, UK Mar 26

The UK's fraud landscape is shifting fast. A record 444,993 cases were filed to the National Fraud Database in 2025, and behind those numbers is a more complex story: fraud-as-a-service lowering the barrier to entry for criminals, money mule networks deliberately targeting vulnerable people, and enforcement action that signals a meaningful change in how regulators view fraud controls.

In this month's ThirdEye View, Claire Rees, Global Financial Crime Regulatory Specialist at ThirdEye, and Phil Roberts, UK Business Development Manager, examine what these developments mean for compliance and financial crime teams right now.

They cover the CIFAS Fraudscape findings and what the growth of fraud-as-a-service means for your detection approach, why continuous behavioural monitoring is becoming essential as point-in-time controls lose effectiveness against evolving money mule threats, the FCA's OPBAS report and what a shift towards single AML and CTF supervision for professional services could signal for the sector, and the PSR's £3.7 million fine against Bank of Ireland and what it means for how firms think about fraud controls going forward.

Read the full blog post: https://jadethirdeye.com/view/record-fraud-money-mules-and-rising-regulatory-pressure/

About ThirdEye: ThirdEye is a complete AML compliance platform designed for financial institutions in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. We help organisations build effective, risk-based financial crime programmes that protect communities while meeting regulatory requirements.

Learn more: https://jadethirdeye.com

#FinancialCrime #AML #TransactionMonitoring #FraudPrevention #MoneyLaundering #Compliance #MoneyMules #FCA #PSR #CIFAS #AMLCompliance #FinancialCrimeCompliance #ThirdEyeView

Beyond compliance: What effective AML really means, ANZ, Feb 2026

Australia's AML/CTF reform deadlines are approaching fast. 31 March for existing reporting entities and Tranche 2 enrolment. 1 July when Tranche 2 obligations take effect. But meeting these dates isn't about achieving perfection—it's about having an effective programme in place and demonstrating genuine progress.

In this episode, Jing Zhang and Colin Dixon explore what AUSTRAC really means by "effective, risk-based, and outcomes-focused" compliance. Using practical transaction monitoring examples, Colin breaks down the difference between ticking compliance boxes and genuinely preventing financial crime.

Key topics covered:

• Critical deadlines for Tranche 2 and existing reporting entities

• How to use AUSTRAC's starter kits and guidance effectively

• What risk-based, effective, and outcomes-focused really mean in practice • Practical transaction monitoring: the cash example

• How to tune rules to reduce noise and uncover real threats

• Why analyst capability and capacity matter as much as your controls

 

The reforms are an opportunity to build programmes that genuinely protect our communities. That starts with understanding what effectiveness really means.

Read the full blog post: https://jadethirdeye.com/view/beyond-compliance-what-effective-aml-means/ AUSTRAC reforms guidance: https://www.austrac.gov.au/amlctf-reform/reforms-guidance

About ThirdEye: ThirdEye is a complete AML compliance platform designed for financial institutions in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. We help organisations build effective, risk-based financial crime programmes that protect communities while meeting regulatory requirements.

Learn more: https://jadethirdeye.com

#AML #FinancialCrime #Compliance #AUSTRAC #AMLReforms #RiskManagement #TransactionMonitoring #FinCrime #RegTech

FATF, Fraud and the Corruption Index - UK, Feb 2026

FATF has declared fraud a strategic priority. Kuwait and Papua New Guinea are grey-listed. And Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index paints a sobering picture of where financial crime risk is heading.

In this month's episode, Claire Rees and Phil Roberts break down what these developments mean in practice for UK financial crime teams, including your EDD obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 and why now is the right moment to revisit your geographic risk scoring.

Learn more: https://jadethirdeye.com/view/fatf-fraud-and-the-corruption-index/

About ThirdEye: ThirdEye is a complete AML compliance platform designed for financial institutions in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. We help organisations build effective, risk-based financial crime programmes that protect communities while meeting regulatory requirements. Learn more: https://jadethirdeye.com

#AML #FinancialCrime #FATF #Compliance #CPI #AntiMoneyLaundering #UKCompliance #ThirdEyeView #EDD #RegulatoryCompliance

Derek Johnston on making risk management an enabler

Derek Johnston has spent 35 years in financial services, most of it in risk management across all three lines of defence. His view? The CRO's job isn't to say no. It's to say yes, but.

In this conversation with Claire Rees, Regulatory Financial Crime Specialist at ThirdEye, Johnston shares what he's learned about building risk-aware cultures, choosing AI projects with purpose, and preparing teams for threats that keep changing.

📖 Read the full article: https://jadethirdeye.com/blog/derek-j...

#FinancialCrime #RiskManagement #AML #Compliance #BuildingSocieties #CRO

Vivian Valbuena on making risk management work for customers

Effective risk management and excellent customer outcomes aren’t mutually exclusive—they depend on each other.

That’s the approach Vivian Valbuena has refined over 25 years working across the US, Europe, Asia, Australia, and now New Zealand as General Manager of Risk at Fisher Funds.

In a recent conversation with Hamish Shaw, General Manager at ThirdEye, Valbuena shared her thoughts on fraud prevention, customer experience, and leading a risk function at one of New Zealand’s largest wealth managers, serving more than half a million customers.

📖 Read the full article: https://jadethirdeye.com/blog/making-risk-management-work-for-customers/

#RiskManagement #CustomerExperience #FraudPrevention #WealthManagement #FinancialCrime