Bribe, Swindle or Steal
Business & Finance
About
Alexandra Wrage, president of TRACE, interviews luminaries in the field of financial crime, including bribery, fraud, money-laundering, insider trading and sanctions. Each week, Alexandra and her guests will discuss who commits "white collar crime", how it works and what is being done to stop it.
Episodes
- Diana Henriques on Reputation Laundering
Diana Henriques, award-winning journalist and author, discusses the traits of fraudsters and the menace of reputation laundering. This episode was originally published on 3 August 2024.
- How Criminals Justify Their Conduct
Shaul Shalvi, Professor of Behavioral Ethics at the University of Amsterdam, describes how people convince themselves that their misconduct is okay. This episode was originally published on 21 June 2017.
- The Unaoil Story
Nick McKenzie, award-winning Australian investigative journalist, shares the inside story of his role in exposing the Unaoil scandal. This episode was originally published on 12 July 2017.
- "Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How it Changes Us"
Brian Klaas, Associate Professor at University College London and host of the award-winning podcast "Power Corrupts," joins us to discuss his book "Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us". Brian describes research on who is draw…
- Brass Tacks: Would You Call the Government to Make a Disclosure Today? If So, Why?
At the 2025 TRACE Annapolis Forum, Chuck Duross, Global Co-Chair of the FCPA and Global Anti-Corruption Practice at Morrison Foerster, discusses the DOJ's evolving voluntary self-disclosure policies and the balance of risks and rewards for…
- Where's the Cavalry: Global Anti-Corruption Efforts
At the 2025 TRACE Annapolis Forum, Nicola Bonucci, Associate Professor at Paris Cité and former General Counsel of the OECD, reflects on 25 years of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and the evolving challenges of global enforcement. From u…
- The New Corporation: How Good Corporations are Bad for Democracy
Joel Bakan joins the podcast to discuss his books, and the films based on them. He outlines the fundamental conflict inherent in companies ostensibly committed to ESG principles while simultaneously driven by a legal requirement to maximiz…
- "When McKinsey Comes to Town"
Michael Forsythe, co-author with Walt Bogdanich of "When McKinsey Comes to Town", joins the podcast to talk about McKinsey's work in support of autocratic regimes, its rampant conflicts of interest and the distance between its stated value…
- Oliver Bullough at the TRACE London Forum
Speaking at the 2022 TRACE London Forum, Oliver Bullough, author of Butler to the World , discusses the UK's role as an enabler of financial crime, efforts toward accountability, the balance between transparency and privacy, and the weapon…
- Doping at the Olympics
Richard Conway, Managing Partner at SPECTACLE, and former BBC Sport correspondent, describes the vast state-sponsored Russian doping scandal and how the credibility of global sports is being undermined. This episode was originally publishe…
- The Corrupt Underbelly of Sport
Declan Hill discusses the pervasive and sinister nature of match-fixing and how we can prevent sport from being turned into theater. This episode was originally published on 2 August 2017.
- Corruption, Sanctions and Putin's War Regime
In this episode, we hear from Leonid Volkov, who spoke at the 2022 TRACE London Forum. Leonid, former Chief of Staff to Alexei Navalny and current Political Director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF), discussed the role of corruption…
- Bill Browder at the TRACE London Forum
Here's our conversation with Bill Browder from the 2022 TRACE London Forum. Bill discusses his book Freezing Order and his ongoing quest for accountability and justice following the abuse and murder of his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky. This ep…
- Rugby, Amateur Sports and the Paris Olympics!
Sally Dennis, former President of Rugby Canada and current Canadian representative on the Council of World Rugby, describes her role in the professionalization of sports governance, where challenges remain— and rugby's arguably unique inv…
- FIFA's Red Card: Ken Bensinger
Ken Bensinger, award-winning investigative reporter, author and Pulitzer Prize finalist, discusses his fascinating book, Red Card , and the decades of misconduct by FIFA eventually uncovered by the FBI. We play "violation bingo" as Ken des…
- DEI: Navigating the Semantic Minefield
At the 2025 TRACE Forum, Misti Mukherjee, Partner at Extensio Law, and Debra Joy Pérez, Chief Equity Officer at United States Pharmacopeia (USP), explore the evolving expectations for diversity, equity, and inclusion in organizations. They…
- U.S.-Canada Relations: Undefended Border or Deepening Divide?
At the 2025 TRACE Annapolis Forum, Gordon McKechnie, Executive President of Canadian Bank Note, explores the evolving dynamics between the U.S. and Canada. As Canada's focus shifts toward Europe and Asia, Gordon discusses changing trade pr…
- Redrawing the Risk Map: Evolving Business Threats and Due Diligence in Uncertain Markets
At the 2025 TRACE Forum, Kirk Foster, Assistant General Counsel and Director of Compliance at HII Mission Technologies, explores how organizations can use Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) alongside compliance to proactively address emergin…
- DOJ's FCPA Docket: What's Been Closed, What Continues and What Might That Tell Us for the Next Several Years?
At the 2025 TRACE Annapolis Forum, Billy Jacobson, Partner at Jacobson Lopez, explores the DOJ's shifting FCPA priorities—from a focus on "grand corruption" and the costs of investigations to prosecutorial uncertainty and statutes of limit…
- Corruption, Sanctions and Putin's War Regime
This is a powerful session from the 2022 TRACE London Forum featuring Leonid Volkov, former Chief of Staff to Alexei Navalny and Political Director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF). Leonid discusses the role of corruption in Putin's…
- "Why They Do It"
Eugene Soltes, Author, and Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, describes his fascinating research into what motivates white collar criminals and how distance from their victims makes it easier. This episode was…
- Effective Compliance Training
Karen Benson, Senior Counsel, Legal, at Energizer Holdings, shares a broad range of tips on how to build a targeted, innovative training program that keeps employs interested and engaged. This episode was originally published on 15 May 201…
- DEI Progress and Setbacks: What Compliance Professionals Need to Know
This week's podcast features an excellent presentation by Misti Mukherjee, founder and managing member of Extensio Law. Misti addresses the shifting field of diversity, equity and inclusion—including recent changes to the law—and emphasize…
- How Companies Get Caught
Chuck Duross, Global Co-Chair of the FCPA and Global Anti-Corruption Practice at Morrison Foerster, and former head of the DOJ's FCPA unit, discusses lures, stings, wiretaps and INTERPOL Red Notices. This episode was originally published o…
- Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World
Author, academic and former compliance professional, Alison Taylor joins the podcast to talk about her compelling book, "Higher Ground". She describes the contradictions inherent in companies that talk about "doing well by doing good" and…
- Promoting Facts and Countering Disinformation
Melissa Goldin, a NY-based News Verification Reporter and Editor with The Associated Press analyzes and debunks fake news. This episode was originally published on 24 July 2024.
- Encouraging and Protecting Whistleblowers
This week, we're listening in on Alexandra Wrage's keynote presentation at a Whistleblowers and Public Integrity conference hosted by the Vancouver Anti-Corruption Institute (VACI). She addresses the incredible personal price that whistleb…
- Daphne Caruana Galizia: Her Work, Her Murder and the Chance for Justice
Paul Caruana Galizia, an investigative journalist at the Financial Times and Author of "A Death in Malta", joins the podcast to talk about the work of his mother, Daphne, the growing danger she perceived as her investigations reached the h…
- Collaborative Investigative Journalism Without Borders
At the TRACE Prize for Investigative Reporting award ceremony last month, former prosecutor and National Observer columnist Sandy Garossino led a conversation with ICIJ's Spencer Woodman, Bellingcat's Aric Toler, and 2022 Prize winners Han…
- Maria Ressa on Holding the Line
Nobel Peace Prize winning journalist Maria Ressa joins the podcast to talk about corruption, disinformation and how to stand up to a dictator. This podcast was originally published on February 22, 2023.
- How Corruption Undermines Elections
Dr. Magnus Ohman of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) joins the podcast to discuss how corruption undermines free and fair elections. He discusses his recent publication "Vote for Free: A Global Guide for Citizen Mo…
- Shattered Families, a Refugee Crisis and the United States' Diminished Reputation as a Beacon to Newcomers
Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody describe with passion their work with the International Rescue Committee. They tell us what America as a haven means to them and mourn the news that 545 children separated from their parents on the US south…
- A Syrian-Libyan Human Smuggling Scheme
As Syria struggles to get on its feet after decades under the tyrannical father-son Assad regime, we're revisiting a story from 2024 when those desperate to leave Syria were preyed upon by a human smuggling ring. The story was brought to l…
- "Rigged: America, Russia and One Hundred Years of Covert Electoral Interference"
We are revisiting an episode from 2020 with David Shimer. David discusses his book that reviews the century of covert election interference by Russia and the U.S., the known impact of Russian meddling in 2016, and their growing capacity to…
- FCPA Year in Review (2024)
This podcast is based on TRACE's recent Year in Review webinar with Kate Atkinson. Kate is a Member and the Chair of Miller & Chevalier, based in their DC office, and she reviews for us the FCPA highlights for 2024.
- Trump Hotel - Baku: Adam Davidson
We're reposting our 2017 podcast with Adam Davidson of the New Yorker who joined the podcast to talk about his research into the baffling Trump Hotel deal in Baku. This episode was originally published on 14 June 2017.
- "White House Inc.: How Donald Trump Turned the Presidency Into a Business" (Last Time)
In light of last week's inauguration, we're revisiting a 2020 podcast episode with Dan Alexander, author and senior editor at Forbes, discussing his book about Trump's business deals with foreign entities, including one very strange deal w…
- Understanding Trump's Executive Order on the Civil Service (It's Much More Serious Than It Sounds)
This inauguration week, we're revisiting a 2020 podcast on President Trump's assault on the civil service. In this episode, Harvard law professor, Matthew Stephenson, provides some context for understanding Trump's executive order on the c…
- Governance in Space
Our guest today, Dr. Rebecca Connolly, joins us to discuss her work on the legal governance of outer space relating to militarization, security and commercialization, drawing some interesting parallels to the law of the sea and making it c…
- Navigating the Greenlash: Can boards still lead on climate change?"
Karina Litvack joins the podcast to share her insights into climate governance based on her extensive board experience in the oil and gas sector and her role as the Founding Chair of the Climate Governance Initiative.
- Our Favorite Wine Fraudster
As is holiday tradition, we're revisiting our podcast with Peter Hellman, who describes Rudy Kurniawan's audacious scheme to defraud wine collectors in his excellent book, In Vino Duplicitas: The Rise and Fall of a Wine Forger Extraordinai…
- The DOJ's New Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program
Patrick Gushue, the Department of Justice's Acting Director of its Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program, joins the podcast to discuss the program, uptake to date, who is eligible and key considerations as to timing and whistleblowe…
- Profiting From Human Rights Atrocities in Syrian Prisons
Omar Alshogre , refugee, public speaker, and project manager with the Syrian Emergency Task Force, shares the wrenching story of his three years as a political prisoner in the worst of Syria's prisons. He discusses the role that extortion…
- An International ATM Skimming Scheme
With the holiday travel season approaching, we're revisiting a podcast episode featuring Paul Radu, the co-founder and co-executive director of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). Paul describes his team's work in…
- Extreme Wealth – Episode 8: Walt Pavlo and the Empty Temptations of Fraud
Walt Pavlo went to work at MCI at a time when telecoms were hungry for go-getters. It was the early 2000s, and Walt enjoyed the freedom and aggressive nature of a recently deregulated industry. But soon he realized that MCI's most lucrativ…
- Hockey Canada's Governance Review
Retired Canadian Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cromwell joins the podcast to describe the review he was commissioned to undertake of Hockey Canada's organizational structure in the aftermath of a sexual assault scandal that shook confidence…
- Extreme Wealth – Episode 7: Chuck Collins and the Burdens of Dynastic Wealth
In his mid-20s, Chuck Collins made a fateful choice. The great-grandson of Oscar Meyer, and thus an heir to part of the meatpacker's family fortune, Chuck was skeptical of the riches (some $500,000 in 1986 dollars). He didn't want to perpe…
- Extreme Wealth – Episode 6: Jonathan Rugman and the Stunning Power Plays of MBS
The sudden ascent of Mohammed bin Salman from an obscure royal heir to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia — the country's de facto ruler — has fascinated Jonathan Rugman, an author and longtime correspondent in the Middle East. Jonathan's la…
- Extreme Wealth – Episode 5: Paul Schervish and the Spiritual Duality of Riches
For more than 20 years, Paul Schervish surveyed many of the richest people in America for a long-running study on how the wealthy view the world and themselves. In this episode, another in our series on extreme wealth, Paul explains how hi…
- Extreme Wealth - Episode 4: Bill Browder and the Pitiless Greed of Vladimir Putin
Sir William Browder ("Bill"), a financier turned justice advocate, is our guest for this episode of our ongoing series on extreme wealth. Bill has been the engine behind the Magnitsky Act, a law that for the past 12 years has empowered gov…