Silvija Krupena: The Significance of Raising Awareness

ACAMS Today spoke with Silvija Krupena about anti-human trafficking (HT) efforts in the anti-financial crime (AFC) industry to commemorate this World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. Krupena is a RedCompass Labs’ financial crime expert with over two decades of international working experience in the financial sector. Krupena’s expertise spans payments, open banking, financial crime and regulations. Her extensive background in project, product and change management, combined with her subject matter expertise across various domains, equips her with profound insights for assessing or implementing complex changes effectively.

As the director of Financial Intelligence, she is integral to all RedCompass Labs’ financial crime initiatives and strategic development. Krupena is a thought leader in financial crime, actively driving change through her roles on advisory boards and groups for various global AFC initiatives. As an international speaker, she focuses on raising awareness, transforming industry practices and enhancing the detection and disruption of HT and exploitation crimes.

ACAMS Today (AT): Can you tell us a little more about the RedFlag Accelerator program that you are leading?

Silvija Krupena (SK): Believe it or not, the idea for the RedFlag Accelerator first came up during a conversation at the ACAMS Hollywood conference seven years ago. An executive at a large payment company mentioned witnessing HT right outside their office and with the potential of trafficking money flowing through their payment system, they didn't know what to do about it.

Despite the financial sector being in a unique position to combat HT, with access to extensive data on potential traffickers and victims, identifying the subtle HT signs and patterns amid this vast amount of data is a significant challenge. In response to this challenge, I have been leading the development of the RedFlag Accelerator program. It includes the largest single source of contextual, persona-based typologies and tools to empower financial institutions (FIs) with the actionable intelligence and guidance they need to understand, identify and address HT, child sexual exploitation (CSE) and other threats.

The RedFlag Accelerator program offers HT as well as CSE typologies and data, step-by-step investigation guides, advanced algorithms, a proprietary custom-built generative artificial intelligence (AI) assistant interface and a comprehensive training and reference portal. The team, powered by proprietary AI models, is continuing its work to capture and add the latest threats spanning HT, CSE, human smuggling, organ trafficking, elder abuse, pig butchering, sextortion and other types of crime.

With an estimated 50 million people trapped in HT and exploitation, the world needs more consolidated, shared resources and less fragmentation. My work with the RedFlag Accelerator consolidates, standardizes and enhances the latest regulatory requirements, guidance, research and intelligence, helping banks save time in identifying the criminal actors and networks fueling this $350+ billion-a-year industry.

AT: What would you like to accomplish during your tenure leading the development of RedFlag Accelerator?

SK: I am humbled and grateful for everything I have accomplished so far. The RedFlag Accelerator program has been recognized with awards and endorsed and supported by Tier 1 banks, leading charities, law enforcement (LE) agencies and global anti-trafficking initiatives. Over 60 FIs globally benefit from free access to the RedFlag Accelerator HT and CSE resources in exchange for their feedback and insights.

My key goal with this program is to level the playing field by enabling banks of all sizes and resources to access free expert-level tools and specialist knowledge, removing the barriers to joining the fight against HT and CSE.

But this is just the beginning. During the development of the RedFlag Accelerator, I’ve been blessed to meet many passionate and committed AFC professionals who have become my close collaborators, advisors, peers and friends. They have made the effort so much more worthwhile and have opened many new opportunities to contribute to changing the world for the better.

The work must continue. The urgency for effective solutions has never been more critical, with a new victim every four seconds. We are on the verge of big, game-changing cross-sectoral collaborations, combining knowledge, data, a contextual, persona-based approach and the latest technologies. I also look forward to further utilizing AI in my program, combining industry expertise and autonomous agents to accelerate the development of HT intelligence, models and personas from years to months, weeks or even days.

AT: How did you get involved in the disruption of CSE crimes?

SK: The RedFlag Accelerator’s initial focus was on HT offenses. However, in early 2021, one of our clients, a Tier 1 global bank, asked if CSE typologies could be included. This threat had escalated due to the pandemic. This required a coordinated response. At that point, live-online CSE had only been researched to a limited extent and had been done so with a financial motivation.

The challenge was to connect other types of CSE, such as grooming, self-imagery, child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or traveling to offend, to the context of financial crime. I accepted the challenge and was able to provide a full personal guide.

In addition, through the RedFlag Accelerator CSE typologies, I contributed to Project Umbra, led by the Knoble initiative.¹ This allowed me to demonstrate our commitment to combatting CSE and protecting the most vulnerable through collaboration with the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) Australia.

The RedFlag Accelerator program received a grant² to collaborate with ICMEC Australia, FIs, nongovernmental organizations and LE to provide the industry with localized typologies and intelligence focusing on disrupting CSE-related crimes in Australia.

AT: What is the significance of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons?

SK: Today, the world faces an unprecedented crisis with 50 million people enslaved, the highest number in history.³ This crisis is fueled by global conflicts, economic and health hardships and climate change, which all drive human displacement and increase vulnerability to trafficking and exploitation. Despite its vast scale, HT often flies under the radar, lacking the urgent attention and action it demands. In 2023, a mere 18,774 global prosecutions were reported—a stark contrast to the tens of millions enslaved, with only 0.3% of victims being identified.⁴ These figures paint a harrowing picture of missed opportunities and devastated lives, emphasizing the need for a radical, transformative approach.

The fight against HT remains a critical challenge for FIs, with illicit profits continuing to flow undetected through legitimate financial systems. I strongly believe that education is crucial, and we cannot underestimate the significance of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons in raising awareness. There is no better time to commit to a truly collective response, collaboration instead of competition and make the most of the latest technologies. Let's also take a moment to acknowledge and appreciate the tireless work of those who bring hope to victims, empowerment to the most vulnerable among us, and inspire us all to never give up on our efforts to end this terrible crime.

AT: What tools are available to AFC professionals to identify financial services linked to CSE?

SK: The first step is for FIs to determine their CSE risk exposure and implement proper controls. This can be done through a targeted CSE risk assessment that demonstrates a clear understanding of these crimes, as well as the threats and vulnerabilities faced by the FI. In addition, FIs should source relevant typologies and red flags by leveraging readily available resources. A good place to start is regulatory guidance provided by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network,⁵ the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada,⁶ the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre⁷ and many more free resources from around the world, such as the RedFlag Accelerator CSE typologies.⁸ FIs can take advantage of a free training course from ACAMS, “Preventing Online Child Exploitation with Financial Intelligence,”⁹ among others.

AT: What are some red flags for HT and CSE that FIs sometimes overlook?

SK: It is crucial to understand that HT and CSE typologies and business models are complex, ever-evolving, and often very different from traditional money laundering typologies. This means it is crucial to consider the different types, identify the unique personas and the specific ways they operate.

No single red flag can indicate HT or CSE on its own. The key is to look for the right combination of red flags for each type of crime and actor involved. For example, a commercial-front brothel persona (e.g., illicit massage business) would exhibit red flag behaviors such as business details found in commercial sex advertisements (CSA), making payments to CSA sites, inadequate payroll and/or tax expenditures, odd hours of operation (with customer payments happening outside business hours), and others.

On the other hand, a live online CSE offender persona may exhibit red flags such as making frequent low-dollar payments to high-risk CSE countries, using an IP address linked to known CSAM, including CSE keywords in payment references and other communications, among others.

This is why the RedFlag Accelerator follows a unique persona-based methodology, categorizing different individuals’ and organizations’ characteristics in the context of specific crime types and actors. Context is everything because we are not trying to catch “bad transactions.” We are after the “bad guys.”

AT: When you are off the clock, what is your favorite way to give back to your community?

SK: I’m learning something new every day. I love raising awareness in every way I can—whether sharing news and updates, speaking at events near and far or writing thought-provoking opinion pieces, blogs and commentary. Oh, and I may be that terrible dinner party guest who brings up uncomfortable topics!

Interviewed by: Karla Monterrosa-Yancey, CAMS, editor-in-chief, ACAMS, kmonterrosa@acams.org

Monica Mendez, CAMS, senior international editor, ACAMS, mmendez@acams.org