The financial crime battlefield is shifting. What used to be separate fights against fraud and money laundering has merged into one coordinated attack on the global financial system. As scammers drain accounts and launder proceeds through mule networks faster than banks can respond, APAC is becoming ground zero for a new kind of financial warfare.

Recorded live at the WTF? Summit in Singapore, this is part one of two special episodes bringing together frontline defenders. Host Thomas Taraniuk sits down with Hassan Ahmed from Coinbase Singapore, Karthik Ramanathan from Mastercard, and Caryn Leong from ACAMS to discuss how the industry is responding to an evolving threat landscape.

From sophisticated deepfakes to money vanishing across borders in minutes, this conversation reveals why fraud networks work together seamlessly while banks are struggling to share data. Hassan explains why Singapore's proactive approach to digital assets sets the standard for Asia, Karthik reveals how mule accounts are the real battleground (not the final transaction), and Caryn makes the case for why compliance teams need to act like crisis responders, not process managers.

If you're building in payments, crypto, or financial services across APAC, this episode is your reality check on what's coming in 2026 and why speed matters more than perfection.