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Discussion

Effective Practices for International Cooperation on Anti-Money Laundering and Illegal Offshore Banking

As part of the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), this side event will discuss how to maximize detection and deterrence of transnational financial crime, including money laundering and illegal offshore banking.

In 2022 the United States passed the AML Whistleblower Enhancement Act which had immediate impact on the detection and prosecution of major transnational criminal cases, including the historic Binance case.

The panel will be chaired by Stephen Kohn, Chair of the National Whistleblower Center, who drafted the AML Enhancement Act and represented the whistleblower in perhaps the largest money laundering case in history, the $230 billion Danske Bank scandal.

A panelist from the U.K.’s Royal United Services Institute will also discuss notable recent developments in national regulatory regimes governing anti-money laundering enforcement and whistleblowing.

The event will center on how anti-corruption advocates can promote formal cooperation, mitigate asymmetrical enforcement capacity, and successfully incentivize whistleblowers to report transnational criminal activity.

Speakers

Stephen M. Kohn

World-renowned Whistleblower Attorney

Stephen M. Kohn has successfully represented international whistleblowers under the Foreign Corrupt Practices, Anti-Money Laundering, Bank Secrecy, and Commodities Anti-Corruption laws, a notable case being the Danske Bank scandal. Kohn co-founded the whistleblower rights law firm, Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto, in 1988, is the Chairman of the National Whistleblower Center, and author of Rules for Whistleblowers. Stephen M. Kohn is on Forbes’ 2025 America’s Top Lawyers list.

Eliza Lockhart

Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Finance and Security, Royal United Services Institute

Author of RUSI’s influential report “The Inside Track: The Role of Financial Rewards for Whistleblowers in the Fight Against Economic Crime,” Eliza Lockhart’s research directly informed UK policy discussions and provides critical evidence on why reward programs work.

Jeana Lee
Moderator

Jeana Lee

Program Manager of National Whistleblower Center

Jeana Lee is the Program Manager at the National Whistleblower Center. She leads NWC’s policy advocacy for greater legal protections for whistleblowers and runs the international campaign to educate governments and NGOs around the world about the importance of transnational whistleblower laws in combatting corruption.

Discussion Date

As part of the United Nations Conference on Transnational Crime this side event will discuss how to maximize detection and deterrence of transnational financial crime, including money laundering and illegal offshore banking.

Discussion Address

Zoom and In Person at the Vienna International Centre

Wagramer Str. 5, 1220 Wien, Austria