Episode 3: Using Financial Intelligence to End Modern Slavery

In this latest FAST podcast episode, FAST’s government and multilateral organizations lead, Andy Shen sat down with Caleb Thole from Global Hope Mobilization, a Malawi-based civil society organization, Martina Vandenberg from the Human Trafficking Legal Center, a US-based civil society organization, Sheri Levine-Shea from Barclays, Hennie Verbeek from the Netherlands Financial Intelligence Unit, and Brian Hoxie from the Forced Labour Division of US Customs and Border Protection, to discuss issues of asset recovery and compensation for victims and survivors. In this episode we will hear insights on, the significance of compensation to victims, what can be done to increase this compensation, inter-agency cooperation in support of cooperation; a case example of exploited workers receiving restitution; and FAST’s recommendation that States should criminalize financially benefiting from forced labour, if they have not already done so, and make it a predicate offense to money laundering.

In this new FAST podcast episode (one of two), FAST’s Government and Multilateral Organizations Lead, Andy Shen, Research Associate Dr Loria-Mae Heywood, and Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, Nadine Kambriss provide details on a year-long project focused on asset recovery and compensation for victims and survivors of human trafficking and forced labour. They explore, inter alia, the relevance of the AML framework to closing the remedy gap between the profits and proceeds derived from human trafficking and forced labour and compensation to victims/survivors, and views from questionnaire respondents on who should provide compensation to victims/survivors. They also mention some of the key recommendations emerging from the research.

We kick off the season of FAST: The Podcast, with an episode delving into ‘Canada Leading by Example’ on developing a risk-based approach to improving both financial inclusion for survivors and financial investigations into modern slavery, in particular human trafficking. Listen to industry leaders as they share how they lead their financial institutions to address the challenges of modern slavery, contribute to the important public-private partnership in Canada working to end modern slavery and human trafficking and formulate practical solutions to support survivors financial recovery. This insightful discussion is moderated by Timea Nagy, a long-standing survivor leader and CEO of Timea's Cause, between Timea, Sarah Paquet, Director/CEO of Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, and Stuart Davis, for mer Executive Vice President. Global Head, Financial Crimes Risk Management at Scotiabank.

In the last episode of this season of FAST: The Podcast, we explore issues around remedy for survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking. Under human rights law, survivors have a right to a remedy, but that right is often very hard to realize. Court processes are long and costly and outcomes often rest on very technical questions. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights make clear that there is a role here for both States and the private sector to play in helping survivors to realize their right to a remedy. And they also make clear that there is a role for both judicial and non-judicial grievance mechanisms. In this episode, Professor James Cockayne speaks to Jamila Duncan-Bosu of ATLEU about the case of Balogh & Ors v Hick Lane Bedding Ltd in the High Court of England and Wales and Suzanne Hoff from La Strada International about their Justice at Last project on the right to remedy. He discusses the complaint in EC & IDI v ANZ with John Southalan of the Australian OECD National Contact Point and Tom Dickson of the Australian Department of the Treasury. Finally, Dr Nia Emmanouil of the Global Compact Network Australia joins the podcast to speak about case studies and guidance developed on effective modern slavery grievance mechanisms.

Episode 9 of Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking: The Podcast considers how we can make modern slavery reduction a goal of impact investing. We hear from Chloe Bailey of Moving the Market and The Freedom Fund, which has been funding innovation in this space, and Dr Marc Moser, Head of Impact at Lightrock, about what this looks like at scale. Ed Marcum, Managing Director of Working Capital Fund, speaks to us about investing in labour management practices and systems, and Rathish Balakrishnan, co-founder and managing partner of Sattva, discusses investing in solutions in India’s construction sector.