ACAMS Rising AFC Professional of the Year Award
ACAMS Today sat down with Oksana Ihnatenko, CAMS, to discuss her career and what it means for her to have been the recipient of the prestigious ACAMS Rising AFC Professional of the Year award. Ihnatenko is a managing director at the Center for Financial Integrity (CFI) in Ukraine and a researcher on Ukraine’s financial integrity at the Centre for Finance and Security (CFS) at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Her research focuses on Ukraine’s adherence to Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards, fighting financial crime, anti-money laundering (AML) efforts and issues surrounding reconstruction.
ACAMS Today (AT): Congratulations on winning the 2025 ACAMS Rising AFC Professional of the Year Award! Could you share some details of some of your recent career accomplishments?
Oksana Ihnatenko (OI): I want to focus more on the people around me because when we're talking about career accomplishments, it's important to highlight the team that works with you to help you develop your career.
I was quite lucky to have the opportunity to work with several experts. It was the next steppingstone in my career because when I joined RUSI, I was working as an expert, but I wasn't line managing people directly and it was quite a challenge when we started CFI. I also learned some management skills, working with people, mentoring and teaching how to work in this profession.
I was also quite lucky to hire Anastasiia Okunevych as the communications manager. She came to us via the youth platform and then we decided to offer her an internship. I have also been lucky to bring onboard Mark Karandas. He supports us with research and communications to different stakeholders. In addition, we recently had Marta Popyk and Dr. Daryna Dvornichenko join us as a researcher and associate fellow.
This is a pivotal point in my career. Since up to this point, I have been learning and delivering projects myself, but now I’m entering a new stage in my career―one where I can share my knowledge and experience with others.
Also, I do want to mention that if someone from the international community or the ACAMS’ audience would like to mentor upcoming Ukrainian AML/counter-terrorist fiancing (CTF) professionals, please contact us.1 Through this initiative, we would like to invite the ACAMS community to support the project by joining an online mentorship program, the Ukraine Programme for Learning Integrity in Financial Training (UPLIFT) for future anti-financial crime (AFC) professionals in Ukraine. By contributing one hour, your insights could spark someone’s entire career.2
AT: How important has mentoring been in the development of your career? Are there any particular mentors whose support you would like to highlight?
OI: I recently listened to a Ukrainian interview where experts said that the most valuable thing today is a person’s energy. I truly believe this. Energy has become the currency of the modern world. You need it to drive projects forward and stay motivated. But you can’t do it without proper support and a clear vision, especially when you’re still quite young. Many young people in Ukraine face this challenge. We’ve had to grow up and become professionals quicker because the circumstances we’re working in are quite extraordinary. I often hear from my British friends who work in Ukraine that only in Kyiv can you meet a 21-year-old CEO involved in major reforms or national initiatives.
Still, mentorship is essential. It’s about the experience and wisdom that others can share with you. Personally, I’ve been extremely fortunate to receive mentorship from CFS at RUSI, particularly from my colleagues Kinga Redlowska, head of CFS Europe, and Tom Keatinge, founder and director of CFS. I often tell Kinga that I think they believe in me more than I do. What’s also important is how much inspiration and energy mentorship can give you. I often find that motivation in my colleagues in London, seeing how far you can go on a global scale and what meaningful results you can achieve. The mentorship I received has strengthened my analytical capabilities but also deepened my understanding of the broader policy and international dimensions of financial crime issues.
On a personal level, I am one of the luckiest people because my parents are my greatest supporters and parents are your first mentors. They have shown me through their mentorship, despite difficulties, on how to keep being a human.
AT: You recently received your Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) certification. Why is it important that an anti-financial crime (AFC) professional have this designation?
OI: Earning the CAMS certification is an important milestone for any AFC professional as it demonstrates a solid understanding of global AML standards, compliance frameworks and investigative best practices.
During a roundtable discussion recently in Kyiv, I met someone who congratulated me on earning my CAMS certification, as they had completed it as well. It truly shows how this qualification reflects one’s commitment to ethical standards and professional excellence in a field that demands both expertise and integrity. This is just one small example of how highly the certification is valued within the expert community.
For me, it’s also an opportunity to be part of the ACAMS community and to learn from some of the greatest minds in the field. Sharing is caring―and the same applies to AFC. Only by sharing new methods, trends and techniques can we work together effectively against financial crime. I’m deeply grateful to ACAMS for the chance to contribute to these important efforts.
Obtaining the CAMS certification has also helped me bridge the gaps between research and practical applications. For me, it was also an opportunity to learn more about practical aspects and work in policy and analytical roles, which are crucial to understanding these principles.
AT: You mentioned in your last interview that you were involved in the Taskforce on Public-Private Partnership in Fighting Financial Crime in Ukraine. How do public-private partnerships advance the fight against financial crime?
OI: Every public-private partnership really depends on trust. We are creating a shared space for representatives from both the public and private sectors to address common challenges.
The Task Force on Public–Private Partnership in Fighting Financial Crime in Ukraine leverages the expertise of each sector, provides advice on strategy development in Ukraine, promotes the exchange of best practices and strengthens the capacity of stakeholders to combat financial crime.
Public-private partnerships play a vital role in the evolving landscape of AML and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) efforts. Private sector entities often bring valuable insights, data and technologies that contribute to identifying suspicious transactions and activities. By sharing this information and collaborating with public authorities such as financial intelligence units, the detection and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing can be significantly enhanced. Such cooperation also helps build a robust risk assessment framework and enables a timely response to emerging threats.
At the same time, it is equally important to strengthen public–public partnerships―that is, cooperation and information exchange among government agencies themselves. Effective AML/CTF frameworks depend not only on engagement with the private sector but also proper coordination between ministries, regulators, law enforcement agencies and judicial institutions. Streamlined communication between these bodies allows for a unified understanding of risks, consistent application of regulations and faster operational responses.
Ultimately, public-private partnership is a process that requires sustained investment and commitment from both sides.
Interviewed by Karla Monterrosa-Yancey, CAMS, editor-in-chief, ACAMS, editor@acams.org
- To contact the Center for Fiancial Integrity, please email: OksanaI@rusi.org
- To learn more about the Ukraine Programme for Learning Integrity in Financial Training, please email OksanaI@rusi.org.
