Financial Crime Fighter Award

Financial Crime Fighter of the Year – 2023 The Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime is delighted to announce that John Scanlon, Head of the Global Initiative to END Wildlife Crime, is the prestigious recipient of this year’s Financial Crime Fighter of the Year award for 2023.

We would like to congratulate John and the END Wildlife Crime initiative, together with the many supporters and colleagues of Johns’ that underpin this award presentation. We would also like to congratulate worthy runners up Duncan Jepson, Founder of Liberty Shared (previously Liberty Asia), and Olga de Truchis, Head of Société Générale Group Virtual Asset Compliance and the Europol EFIPPP Crypto-Assets Work Stream. Finalists for this year’s award were all congratulated on their outstanding contributions and leadership to combating financial crime. There are only winners in this list including all this year’s nominees who have made significant contributions to fighting financial crime with, in many cases, particular success in 20023 and for others for long standing efforts. Congratulations therefore also go to all the finalists: 

Finalist nominees were:

• David Chew, Head of the Singapore Commercial Affairs Department

• Duncan Jepson, Founder of Liberty Shared (previously Liberty Asia)

• Edit Schlaffer, Founder of Women Without Borders, an international nonprofit organisation.

• Elżbieta Franków-Jaśkiewicz, Chair of Moneyval, Interim Chair of Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units and Deputy Director of the Polish Ministry of Finance.

• Erin West, Deputy District Attorney, Santa Clara County, California USA

• John Scanlon, Head of END Wildlife Crime global initiative

• South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC)Olga de Truchis, Head of Société Générale Group Virtual Asset Compliance, and the Europol EFIPPP Crypto-Assets Work Stream

• US Department of Justice, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section

• Zenobia Barry, Acting Director of the Financial Intelligence Centre of Namibia

John Scanlon said, upon receiving the award, “It is a great, and unexpected, honour to be presented with the GCFFC Financial Crime Fighter of the Year Award for 2023. There are many dedicated people working to prevent and combat wildlife crime on the front line, in the courtroom, and in the policy arena, all of whom deserve recognition. I am most grateful to the GCFFC, not only for this generous award, but for its extraordinary work in encouraging the public and private sectors to address the financial aspects of wildlife crimes, and of the need to strengthen the international legal framework for preventing and combating them.”

Chair of the GCFFC John Cusack stated that “John Scanlon is Chair of the Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime, CEO Elephant Protection Initiative Foundation Chair and Chair of the UK Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund to name just a few of his roles, and formerly Secretary-General of CITES from 2010 – 2018. John is one of the world’s leading advocates for tracking the illegal wildlife trade as well as for conservation of wildlife which is under threat from both climate change and poaching. His advocacy and leadership promoting many interrelated wildlife causes makes him a standout candidate and worthy recipient of the GCFFC Financial Crime Fighter of the Year Award for 2023. This award in particular reflects the progress John is making to persuade countries of the world to add a 4th protocol on the illegal wildlife trade to the UN transnational organised crime convention raising the importance of tackling wildlife crime alongside other major financial crimes such as corruption, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, human trafficking, people smuggling etc. the GCFFC and it’s members continue to support John, the Global Initiative to END Wildlife Crime and all those involved in protecting our worlds precious wildlife from criminality”.

The Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime congratulates David Chew, Duncan Jepson, Edit Schlaffer, Elżbieta Franków-Jaśkiewicz, Erin West, John Scanlon, SABRIC, Olga de Truchis, the US Department of Justice and Zenobia Barry for their outstanding leadership and contribution to fight financial crime and to all financial crime fighters. We keep fighting.

Note to editors: The Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime Annual “Financial Crime Fighter” award is given to the person or organisation that has provided outstanding leadership in the field of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing, for example, in the prevention or detection of financial crime or financial crime harm reduction or in collaboration and or innovation, in the public, private or civil society sectors. Nominations and voting to decide the final outcome are carried out via the Members of the GCFFC and the many experts that work with the GCFFC. The results are announced on the Financial Crime Fighter Day, which takes place on 15 December.