Counterproliferation Financing Programme
This programme aims to reduce and mitigate the risks related to the financing of weapons of mass destruction, as well as drive global thought leadership through timely and relevant policy-oriented research and analysis.
Proliferators of weapons of mass destruction, such as North Korea and Iran, fund their programmes through illicit means, evading international sanctions in the process. Since 2015, RUSI has produced ground-breaking research in this area, focusing on the underlying financial services that enable proliferators and their facilitators to carry out these illicit activities.
Our programme aims to reduce and mitigate the risks related to the financing of weapons of mass destruction through research, analysis and capacity-building. Our main focus areas are: understanding and reducing the risks of proliferation financing; promoting the effective implementation of targeted financial sanctions through public-private partnerships; and assessing the risks posed to sanctions regimes by emerging technologies.
Our activities include: providing technical assistance and training; convening key stakeholders across public and private sectors; and developing guidance, recommendations and best practices to better calibrate sanctions and minimise unintended impacts.
Key research areas:
Technical Assistance
The centrepiece of our CPF work is the technical assistance and training programme, which delivers an innovative curriculum to both public- and private-sector partners, designed to raise awareness and reduce the risks associated with the financing of weapons of mass destruction.
The team works with public-sector stakeholders, including financial intelligence units, central banks, relevant ministries, and law-enforcement agencies, to improve their understanding of international CPF obligations and provide guidance on shaping and enhancing legal, regulatory and enforcement regimes. Similarly, RUSI conducts outreach to private-sector partners to advance compliance standards and promote public-private partnerships.
The technical assistance programme’s core curriculum is informed through in-depth research and analysis of the most salient and pressing issues related to the design, implementation and consequences of national and international economic statecraft.
Future of CPF
There has been little in the way of progress in terms of further defining and implementing the counterproliferation finance (CPF) obligations in UN Resolution 1540 since its adoption in 2004. This research stream focuses broadly on the political, economic and technical challenges that CPF international obligations face, the potential long-term consequences, and what needs to be done in order to facilitate more effective and complete implementation.
Virtual Assets & Sanctions Evasion
As global use and adoption of digital assets such as cryptocurrency grows, particularly among less-regulated non-banking sectors, the risk of exploitation by illicit actors increases. Specifically, North Korea has a long history of using cryptocurrency to circumvent sanctions and finance its nuclear weapons programme. This stream of research examines the regulatory vulnerabilities and policy gaps associated with this evolving threat.
Our experts
Dr Aaron Arnold
Senior Associate Fellow; Former member of the UN Panel of Experts for DPRK sanctions
Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
Tom Keatinge
Director, CFCS
Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
Wojciech Pawlus
Outreach and Implementation Manager
Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
Darya Dolzikova​
Research Fellow
Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
Allison Owen
Associate Fellow - Expert in cryptocurrency and counter-proliferation finance
Chandana Seshadri
Research Analyst, Counter Proliferation Financing
Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
Fatima Alsancak
CPF Technical Assistance Programme Research Fellow
Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
Dr Noémi També
Associate Fellow; Independent Financial Crime Consultant and Researcher
Emil Dall
Associate Fellow; Former CFCS Senior Research Fellow, RUSI
Malcolm Wright
Associate Fellow; Financial Crime Compliance Advisor
Anagha Joshi
Associate Fellow; Independent Consultant