A Rare Front-Row Seat to Financial Crime
Today, we feature White Collars, Dirty Hands: Inside a Global Money Laundering Scheme
In this compelling episode, host David Schwartz welcomes investigative journalists Laura Weffer and Nathan Jaccard to discuss Cuellos Blancos, Manos Sucias (“White Collars, Dirty Hands”), a groundbreaking investigative podcast produced by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and La No Ficción.
The OCCRP is globally recognized for exposing complex cases involving corruption, money laundering, sanctions evasion, and transnational financial crime.
In this series, their team unpacks a sophisticated Venezuelan corruption scheme tied to PDVSA, the country’s state-run oil company and long-standing target of U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.
A Rare Front-Row Seat to Financial Crime
At the heart of the investigation is an extraordinary audio recording obtained from Spanish prosecutors. The recording captures, in real time, a private meeting in Madrid where individuals openly discuss how to launder millions of dollars connected to a broader billion-dollar scheme involving PDVSA.
Miami and Madrid: Global Hubs in the Story
The episode also highlights the geographic and cultural ties that make cities like Miami and Madrid central to Latin American financial activity—both legitimate and illicit.
Beyond the Scheme: Patterns and Red Flags
For compliance professionals and law enforcement, the series reinforces the importance of robust due diligence, cross-border cooperation, and understanding beneficial ownership structures across jurisdictions.
Corruption Has Human Victims
One of the most powerful dimensions of the podcast is its human focus. The series interviews Venezuelan families who lost children during protests against corruption. Their testimonies serve as a reminder that white-collar crime is not victimless. The diversion of billions in public funds directly impacts infrastructure, healthcare, education, and social stability.
This FORCE episode offers not just a discussion—but a rare window into the anatomy of corruption, the global architecture of money laundering, and the real-world consequences that follow.
