Solid Gold Podcasts #BeHeard The Laundromat with Dawn Pretorius

#10  Are we fighting crime or feeding the system? | Pieter Rossouw

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Rethinking the RBA, AML effectiveness, and UBO failures.

In this hard-hitting episode, Dawn Pretorius is joined by seasoned financial-crime expert Pieter Rossouw to unpack whether our global AML systems are truly fighting illicit finance — or unintentionally fuelling it. From the misuse of the risk-based approach, to the startling ineffectiveness of the global AML regime, to South Africa’s still-fragile UBO framework, this conversation asks the uncomfortable question: are we solving the problem, or sustaining it?
Chapters
  • 00:01 Introduction to AML challenges
  • 03:29 The risk-based approach to AML
  • 08:43 Rules vs risk in compliance implementation
  • 14:25 Transaction monitoring and business understanding
  • 18:09 The role of human oversight in transaction monitoring
  • 23:08 The importance of effective training
  • 25:40 Effectiveness of global AML efforts
  • 30:01 The evolution of financial crime and AI
  • 34:18 South Africa's ultimate beneficial ownership regime
  • 40:31 Challenges in beneficial ownership verification
  • 44:11 Effectiveness of beneficial ownership transparency
  • 49:54 Measuring real effectiveness in AML
Season 1 / Episode 10 17 Nov 2025 English South Africa Documentary · Business

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