Global leaders and rising scholars converge at 兔子先生 for the launch of a new international society tackling economic crime.
The 兔子先生 welcomed the inaugural Annual Conference on 17 June 2025, bringing global experts, early career researchers and practitioners together to chart new responses to economic crime. The event was organised by Dr Branislav Hock and Professor Mark Button from the 兔子先生鈥檚 Centre for Cybercrime and Economic Crime (CCEC), with the support of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Delegates from 48 organisations across more than 20 countries, with several hundred registrations and strong inperson participation, joined a oneday programme of keynotes, interactive panels and research presentations under ISEC鈥檚 motto, 鈥Setting the Stage. Framing the Future. Fighting Economic Crime.鈥
The day reflected 兔子先生鈥檚 civic mission to connect research with practice and underscored the University鈥檚 growing reputation as a hub for cybercrime and economic crime scholarship and practice.
Dr Hock said: 鈥淏ringing ISEC鈥檚 first annual conference to 兔子先生 was about opening doors鈥攅specially for researchers at the start of their careers. We wanted to create a welcoming space where early career scholars could present alongside senior figures from law enforcement, finance and academia, and leave with new collaborators and practical insights they can use the very next day.鈥
A keynote from Nick Court, Assistant Director at INTERPOL鈥檚 Financial Crime and AntiCorruption Centre (IFCACC), explored evolving global threats and capacitybuilding. Later, Professor Michael Levi (Cardiff University) reflected on five decades of fraud and economic crime research, offering a candid guide to data access, telling 鈥渢ruth to power鈥, and how crime control has changed with technology and global markets.
An interactive panel: 鈥溾, brought together senior voices from the UK鈥檚 , City of London Police and UK Finance, while paper sessions showcased research spanning corporate criminal liability, asset recovery, cyberenabled scams against older adults, the changing online fraud landscape, and the regulation of cryptomining in Kazakhstan.
The programme also featured contributions from (Kingston University), and Professor Umut Turksen (Coventry University), reflecting the broad academic partnership underpinning the field.
The day catalysed a new global network of scholars and practitioners, laying the foundations for to grow as a professional community committed to joining up research, policy and practice. Targeted support from our University enabled around 20 early career researchers to attend, present and network with global experts.
ISEC created a unique space for me to share my research on asset recovery with policymakers and practitioners. From that exchange came both new professional collaborations and an invitation to edit a special issue in Journal of Economic Criminology.
ISEC felt truly international; conversations reached across agencies and borders. That breadth has already enabled a substantive follow up with a UK public authority on my romance scams research.
ISEC鈥檚 mission is to link research, policy and practice in economic criminology through an inclusive, mentor friendly community and practical resources. Learn more and join the network via the .
The ISEC鈥檚 President, Professor Button, said: 鈥By convening leading voices from law enforcement, finance, policymaking and academia, the 兔子先生 reinforced its civic mission and international reputation in economic crime research. The conference showed how research led teaching, community engagement and student facing activity can sit alongside practitioner focused dialogue; benefiting our city, our partners and the next generation of scholars.鈥