Helena Wood
Associate Fellow; Head of Public Policy at Cifas
Biography
Helena is the Head of Public Policy at Cifas, the UK’s largest not-for-profit fraud prevention membership organisation. She was previously a Senior Research Fellow and head of the UK Economic Crime Programme at RUSI's Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies.
Helena's research interests include reform of the UK's response to economic crime as well as the global policy response to criminal asset confiscation. Since joining CFCS as an Associate Fellow in 2015, Helena has published research on the UK's proceeds of crime architecture, fraud, and anti-money laundering intelligence gaps.
Prior to joining CFCS as a staff member, Helena ran an independent financial crime consultancy, with clients across the public, private and third sectors. Earlier in her career, Helena spent over a decade in public service in the UK, with positions at the National Crime Agency, the Asset Recovery Agency, HM Treasury, and the Charity Commission.
Projects
In July 2019, the UK government launched its first Economic Crime Plan (2019–2022) and, in March 2023, the UK government launched its second Economic Crime Plan (2023-2026). This project tracks and reviews the implementation of these plans.
