Illicit Finance: Implications for National Security and the Need for a New Strategic Response

Ireland has over recent years become an increasingly important international financial centre. Trillions of euros of assets from overseas are either administered or domiciled in Ireland, often using complex financial structures involving multiple jurisdictions. Yet while successive Irish governments have been keen to reap the benefits of this ever more prominent role in the global financial system, far less attention has been paid to the multifaceted risks that accompany such significant flows of international capital. This keynote address to the IIEA considers the security threat from illicit finance, the extent to which existing responses are able to counter that threat, and what measures are required to make Ireland a genuinely hostile environment for money linked to criminal, corrupt and malign actors overseas. About the Speaker: Dr Alexander Chance is Head of Policy and Research at Transparency International (TI) Ireland, where he runs its programmes on anti-corruption and anti-money laundering. He is also a Senior Fellow with the Azure Forum for Contemporary Security Strategy and an Associate Fellow with RUSI’s Organised Crime and Policing Group. Alexander previously served in the UK National Crime Agency in operational, strategy and management roles focused on transnational organised crime, including five years working in South America, and has consulted for the UN and various other organisations. He obtained his PhD from Trinity College Dublin, where his research examined the relationship between organised crime, high-level corruption and peacebuilding in post-war Mozambique.