Joshua Tjeransen is a researcher and practitioner specialising in counter proliferation financing (CPF) and financial crime. He is currently based at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), where he supports the organisation’s CPF workstream.

Joshua is also a PhD student at King’s College London, jointly affiliated with The Dickson Poon School of Law and the Department of War Studies. His doctoral research explores the intersections between financial innovation and financial crime, with a focus on emerging risks and regulatory responses.

Previously, Joshua was a researcher at the Centre for Science & Security Studies (CSSS), where he contributed to projects addressing CPF threats. His background also includes experience in the private sector as a financial compliance specialist, working on anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions evasion. Earlier in his career, he served as a police officer.

Joshua holds a BA in Criminology and Criminal Justice and an MSc in Countering Organised Crime and Terrorism from University College London (UCL).

Thesis

Assessing the Interlinkages Between Financial Innovation and Financial Crime: A Case Study of Central Bank Digital Currencies.

Abstract

This thesis examines the relationship between financial innovation and financial crime, with a particular focus on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

It explores why efforts to combat financial crime are often retrospective, responding to threats only after they have emerged, rather than anticipating and mitigating risks in advance. By analysing the development and deployment of CBDCs, the research seeks to understand the potential risks they may pose in enabling new forms of financial crime and why governments tend to act reactively.

Drawing on theoretical insights and empirical interviews with experts from policy, regulatory, and financial sectors, the thesis aims to contribute to the growing discourse on the governance of emerging financial technologies and financial crime. 

Supervisors

Primary: Dr Aleksandra Jordanoska
Secondary: Professor Matthew Moran

Research interests

• Proliferation finance
• Cashless economies
• International sanctions
• Export controls and compliance
• Multilateral implementation of non-proliferation regimes
• Deterrence and coercive diplomacy
• Arms control and strategic stability

Publications

• Central Bank Digital Currencies and National Security: Policy Considerations, RUSI