In February 2025, the winners of the Ideathon on Financial Crime, Ustym Podola and Lyubomyr Kostyrko, had a unique opportunity to attend the FinSec25 conference in London. They engaged with Ukrainian and international experts, participated in roundtables, and presented their project aimed at strengthening anti-money laundering efforts through monitoring the activity of individual entrepreneurs (ФОП).

This experience was invaluable for our young leaders, opening new opportunities for growth and the application of innovative approaches to financial security in Ukraine.

Learn more about the participants’ impressions of the study trip:

Ustym Podola, 3rd-year student of “Ethics, Politics, and Economics” at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Ukrainian Catholic University:

“In October last year, my friend and I managed to win the Ideathon from the Financial Integrity Platform. That marked the beginning of a long journey of several months of preparation, which eventually led me to London in February, to the headquarters of RUSI – an analytical center that has existed since 1831. Many people, including friends and acquaintances, discouraged me, saying that I wouldn’t be able to go – that we wouldn’t be allowed to leave. But in the end, the opposite happened. Those who knock and try will have doors opened for them.

During the trip, in just three days, we attended several roundtables hosted by RUSI and participated in the large-scale FinSec25: Finance & Security in a Changing World conference. At times, it was intimidating to realise the level of professionals we had the opportunity to engage with – or even simply be in the same building with. Representatives from Ukraine’s banking and anti-corruption sectors were also invited. Interestingly, I found that the greatest opportunities for my professional development in Ukraine actually emerged in London.

The biggest surprise of the entire trip was the solidarity of the British people with Ukraine. From a local pub owner who was concerned about our struggle and shook my hand in solidarity, to strangers on the street who, upon realising I was from Ukraine, expressed their support, to the British government itself. The RUSI building is located in London’s government district, where the number of Ukrainian flags flying was second only to British flags, seen on nearly every second government building.”