Gold and or precious metals - illicit activity

Pekka is Vice President of ICA. Pekka has many years’ experience as a practitioner in Financial Crime Compliance and has spent the last 11 years helping ICA to become the world’s most respected professional body and training provider in Compliance and Risk.

Julia Yansura is the Program Manager for Latin America & the Caribbean at Global Financial Integrity, a Washington, DC-based think tank that produces analysis of illicit financial flows. Yansura currently leads a project researching financial crimes across 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries, and is the author of several recent reports, including "Narcotics Proceeds in the Western Hemisphere" and “The Gold Standard: Addressing Illicit Financial Flows in the Colombian Gold Sector through Greater Transparency.” Prior to joining Global Financial Integrity, Yansura conducted research and implemented projects related to the financial services sector in Central America. In 2016, she and Manuel Orozco co-authored the book ‘Centroamérica en la mira: La migración en su relación con el desarrollo y las oportunidades para el cambio,’ which looks at current trends in Central American migration and presents opportunities to leverage remittances for economic development. Ms. Yansura also worked on international development projects related to remittances, financial inclusion and mobile money in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico and Jamaica. From 2016-2019, she managed a project promoting access to formal financial services for 150,000 people in Guatemala. Ms. Yansura holds an MA in Latin American Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a certificate in Migration, Refugees, and Humanitarian Crises from the Institute for the Study of International Migration.

Paul Cochrane is an independent journalist based in South Africa. He covers the Middle East and Africa for specialised business and trade publications, including Money Laundering Bulletin, Fraud Intelligence, Accounting and Business, Commercial Crime International and Reuters. Paul has also worked with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in Beirut on issues related to financial crime and illicit capital outflows.

Claudia Helms is an Associate of the Latin America and the Caribbean Program at Global Financial Integrity (GFI) and is an integral part of projects that analyze corruption and financial crime in Latin America and the Caribbean. Prior to joining GFI, Ms. Helms worked for several years at the Organization of American States, in the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation. In addition, she previously worked on development and security issues while living in Boston and also did related work in the private and academic sector in Peru.
Ms. Helms holds a Master's in Government, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Social Justice from Harvard University. Ms. Helms is a lawyer by profession, graduated with honors from the University of Lima in Peru. She also completed the Negotiation Program at Harvard Law School and has a Diploma in Intelligence from the Center for Higher National Studies of the Ministry of Defense of Peru.

Alan is the head of LBMA’s Responsible Sourcing Programme for precious metals, which is mandatory for all Good Delivery List Refiners. Prior to joining the LBMA, Alan spent over a decade carrying out investigative research into the intersection between natural resources, human rights and illicit financial flows. As the former director of research at IMPACT he has an intimate understanding of the challenges and vulnerabilities to responsible sourcing in the artisanal mining sector, trading and refining hubs and jewellery manufacturing centres. A journalist by training he spent over a decade working in journalism in Canada, the UK and various countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Born and raised in Southern Africa, he holds a Master’s degree in violence, conflict and development from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London.