Karen Kelly will moderate a panel discussion sponsored by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Ministry of Finance of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) on the use of technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), to help financial regulators around the globe fight financial crime. The event will be held October 21, 2026, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm Eastern at the German Embassy in Washington, D.C.
According to the invitation from the German Embassy, “Financial crime networks are organized, digital, and international. Worldwide, an estimated $2 trillion are laundered every year. Of that sum, not even 1 percent is seized or frozen by investigators. … In combating financial crime, the use of innovative technology is indispensable. A central tool used in this effort in Germany is ‘ForenSight,’an AI system jointly developed by the NRW state government and the Fraunhofer Institute. It is able to access text, images, and audio files across a wide range of languages and enables investigators to ask specific questions relating to their evidence. All of this takes place in a protected environment, without an external cloud.”
The discussion will explore the investigative methods used by NRW and Germany as well as discuss the forms of financial crime that are prevalent on both sides of the Atlantic and how governments are using technology to address these crimes. Karen will be joined by the following speakers for the panel discussion: North Rhine-Westphalia Finance Minister Dr. Marcus Optendrenk; Scott Rembrandt, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Strategic Policy, Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, U.S. Department of the Treasury; and Darrell Waldon, Executive Director, International Field Operations – Branch A, IRS Criminal Investigation.
Other scheduled speakers at the event include German Ambassador to the United States H.E. Jens Hanefeld and NRW Finance Ministry Tax Information Technology Department Head Dr. Christian Lange.
About Karen
The former head of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, Karen joined Kostelanetz after more than 30 years of trial practice, including prosecuting tax and white-collar crime. Her practice focuses on representing individuals and entities in government investigations, including in criminal tax and white-collar matters.
