Applying a “Human Lens” to AML Investigations

Anti-money laundering (AML) professionals don’t always get to see the outcomes of their work. They review alerts and flag suspicious transactions, but rarely know whether those efforts lead to a rescue, a disruption of a trafficking ring, or even a single individual receiving help. 

For Silvija Krupena, director at London-based RedCompass Labs and advisory board member for the Coalition Against Financial Crime (CAFC), accepting that uncertainty is simply part of the job. What drives her is a deeper sense of purpose. “It’s definitely a big part of what keeps me committed,” she says. 

Krupena didn’t start her career in compliance or law enforcement. She worked in traditional banking and payments consulting for more than a decade before a gap between client projects led her down a very different path. Asked by her employer to explore intelligence around human trafficking red flags, Krupena applied her analytical skills and banking expertise to the challenge. 

What began as a short-term project became a personal mission for Krupena—and a new career. The deeper she went, the more she recognized how financial systems can, often unknowingly, obscure the signs of exploitation—and just as often provide the keys to uncovering them. Today, her work centers on education, survivor-focused strategy, and helping financial institutions see what’s hidden in plain sight.  

“This line of work found me, rather than me going after it,” Krupena says. “And I feel lucky to have found my calling.” 

Digging deeper to understand what red flags may actually signal 

At RedCompass Labs, Krupena leads a small but focused “payments bad” team that works to improve awareness, accountability, and systemic responses to financial crime. One of their core tools is an, AI-enabled platform that organizes publicly available typology research into a structured, persona-based knowledge repository—giving banks clear insight into how crimes like labor trafficking or child sexual exploitation show up in financial behavior. 

But Krupena is quick to point out that detecting potential crime can never be a checklist exercise. “There is no such thing as ‘human trafficking red flags,’” she explains. “You have to be specific. Is it sex trafficking? Labor trafficking? Child sexual exploitation? Once you understand the persona and context, that’s when red flags become meaningful.” 

Within the RedFlag Accelerator, each typology is broken down by crime type, actor behavior, financial indicators, and real-world examples. Analysts can explore the database in depth or use the built-in AI assistant to ask quick questions and get instant answers.  

“Education and awareness is where we start making a difference,” Krupena says. “After all, if you don’t know what you’re looking for, how can you possibly find it?”  

The power of proximity—combating AML at the local level 

By sharing knowledge with institutions of all sizes, RedCompass helps enable what Krupena sees as one of the greatest opportunities to disrupt financial crime: tackling it at the local level. While midsize and community banks may not have the resources of larger institutions, their proximity to customers gives them a unique advantage in the AML fight. 

Krupena has heard firsthand from community banks—both in private conversations and at industry events—how training front-line staff, incorporating typology-based red flags into vendor systems, and using survivor-informed materials can help make a meaningful impact in stopping criminal activity. She noted one example of a community bank whose employees identified a trafficking victim by noticing a sudden change in behavior during a routine visit. 

“These financial institutions are embedded in the communities they serve,” Krupena says. “Their special power is that they know their people. And with the right tools and a commitment to learning, they can spot things others might miss—and step in before it’s too late.” 

Using AI tools to save time and enable deeper investigations 

AML professionals at banks of all sizes are inundated with alerts and under pressure to clear queues. That’s why advanced technology tools are becoming a necessity to support their everyday work. Krupena believes AI, particularly generative AI (GenAI), is crucial for keeping up with innovation in financial crime. 

“Criminals are already using these tools—and scams, abuse, and exploitation are skyrocketing,” she says. “If we don’t use the same technology to help identify and stop these crimes, what hope do we have?” 

Krupena stresses that using AI in AML investigations isn’t about replacing analysts but helping them become more effective. AI-powered tools can triage alerts, draft reports, and give analysts more time for deeper investigations and focusing on what matters most: connecting the dots and helping people. 

“I have big hopes for greater utilization of AI in our field,” she says. “GenAI, in particular, has so much potential to help save teams hours of work. With human oversight and the right testing, the technology will only get better—helping us all move faster and see what we couldn’t before.” 

Maintaining a focus on data, context, and the human side of AML 

For Krupena, the human element is at the heart of AML. Every transaction has a story—and sometimes, that story is one of pain, coercion, or systemic abuse. She says working on her first trafficking-related project forever changed how she views payments, and drove home the critical importance of applying a “human lens” when looking at financial data. 

“Through that lens, everything takes on a different meaning,” she says. “You don’t look at a $20 payment the same way, or that string of payments to hotels,” she says. “You think, is something darker happening here? What’s the context? Is there a pattern? Could someone be in danger?” 

While significant challenges remain—from limited cross-border data sharing to uneven collaboration among financial institutions—Krupena sees reasons for hope in the AML fight. Among them are the rise of AI-driven AML detection and contextual monitoring, the growing openness to survivor-informed frameworks, the willingness of smaller banks to step up, and a gradual shift toward treating AML not just as a compliance issue, but as a way to make communities safer. 

“We’re in a moment where the pace of change in financial crime has never been so fast—and will never be this slow again, either,” says Krupena. “I often say, ‘Data is everything, and context is everything.’ I believe keeping that thinking in focus can help us better protect the people this work is meant to serve.”