Johannes Lont

Maarten: Johannes Lont, thanks for taking the time to talk to us in the run-up to the Leaders in Finance AML event on the 3rd of October. To start, could you please introduce yourself, share a bit about your background, and explain your role in the AML space? 

Johannes: Sure! My name is Johannes Lont, I am 30 years old and I work at Zanders, a company involved in the AML space. I have a background in econometrics and have experience in developing models across different fields. During the last years, I have been involved in the development and validation of AML models for different banks. We also help banks to become more risk-based, efficient and effective in the AML space. For this transition, developing advanced models is key. On a personal level, I live in Zeeland, in the southwest part of the Netherlands, with my five children. 

Maarten: What makes the AML space specifically interesting for you, either personally or professionally? 

Johannes: I think what makes it interesting is the availability of a lot of data, which allows us to do meaningful work with models. These models can improve the efficiency and effectiveness in the AML domain. Besides this, considering the high levels of money laundering and financial crime in society, it is nice to contribute to detecting and preventing these activities where possible. The combination of mathematical and societal challenges is what makes it interesting for me, and I believe there is still a lot of ground to cover. 

Maarten: We recently learned that RiskQuest was acquired by Zanders. Could you tell us more about that? 

Johannes: RiskQuest and Zanders joined forces earlier this year, and I think it is a great combination. RiskQuest brings a lot of experience in financial economic crime and AML, while Zanders has a strong international network, which is interesting to combine. First, because fighting financial crime is not limited to a certain country; it is something that requires a European-wide approach. Also, with the international network of Zanders, we can support our clients by offering international perspectives and benchmarking. Our goal is to ensure that financial economic crime is detected and prevented, not just in The Netherlands, but also abroad because it is a cross-border threat that requires a cross-border response. 

Maarten: Can you tell me more about that? How does having a European perspective improve your work in the Netherlands? 

Johannes: One benefit is benchmarking, as it allows banks to see how they compare to others in different countries. Next, looking at AML from an international perspective provides a fuller picture and helps to identify broader patterns related to money laundering, which is important because money laundering operates across borders; it is a large, connected network. Finally, we also see a tendency that regulation and supervision centralizes, for example with the AMLR and AMLA. From that perspective, international presence is also important. 

Maarten: Right, makes sense. What will be you contribution to the Leaders in Finance AML event this year? 

Johannes: At the AML event this year, I will give a brief introduction on possibilities and risks of GenAI within the AML field. After that, I will have a conversation with Steffie Schwillens from DNB, where I will ask her how she looks at these developments from a supervisory perspective. I think it is valuable to combine, on the one hand, the possibilities and risks we see as consultants and banks, with, on the other hand, the insights and perspective of the supervisor. 

Maarten: And could you maybe give us a preview on how important AI is already in the AML and KYC space within financial institutions? 

Johannes: AI is definitely important in the AML and KYC space. AI, sometimes referred as ‘traditional AI’, is used for detection purposes in the beginning of a process. It helps in making sure that the alerts and reviews generated are valuable for analysts. Mainly in the handling phase, when analysts are reviewing various signals, GenAI becomes relevant. GenAI is particularly useful when dealing with large volumes of text, such as generating reports. So, AI and GenAI are both being used, but GenAI is a newer development with great potential due to its capabilities in handling and analyzing a lot of data and text.  

Maarten: Regarding the potential you mentioned, what do you consider to be the major opportunities and threats? 

Johannes: Regarding the opportunities, as I mentioned, we have large amounts of text-based information. There are lot of reports, policies and other texts that need to be assessed or written by analysts, and that is where GenAI can bring substantial efficiency improvements and enhance quality. For example, GenAI can help in the outreach to customers. When an analyst contacts a customer for additional information, Gen AI can efficiently summarize the conversation. When it comes to risks, there is an inherent challenge with GenAI: since it is a probabilistic model, it will generate different outcomes with the same input. Therefore, it is difficult to reproduce previous outcomes. This is a challenge for banks to manage, and also to stay aligned with the regulator. It is an interesting topic to discuss with the DNB. 

Maarten: Interesting. To what extent can you ensure that there are no biases in GenAI applications? 

Johannes: That requires a lot of work. These models are trained on big amounts of text and data, so you need to be careful to ensure there is no inherent bias. There are several risk management strategies that can help in this, such as assessing how certain GenAI is about the output and of course managing the input data. While it takes a lot of work, there are definitely techniques such as grounding, guardrails, etc. that can manage the risk of GenAI. Although it is true that we also still need to further explore and understand all risks of GenAI, and how to mitigate them. 

Maarten: Right. Lastly, is there something you are specifically looking forward to at the event? 

Johannes: I am excited about the combination of different perspectives at the event. There will be insights from regulators, academia and banks, which creates a great mix. I think it is nice to discuss the topics together, instead of having separate groups. Besides this, there is of course the networking aspect. I look forward to meeting different people and relevant stakeholders in the field. So, yes, I am definitely looking forward to the event! 

Maarten: Sound good! Thanks for taking the time, Johannes Lont, to talk to us in the run-up to the Leaders in Finance AML event on the 3rd of October 2024. We are looking forward to your contribution. 

Johannes: Thanks!