Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner receives Themis Lifetime Achievement Award

Dame Sara Thornton, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Themis AFC Awards 2021  which were held on 23 March. This award recognises the work of individuals in the public or private sector who have repeatedly championed financial crime prevention. 

Receiving the reward from Hope Sherwin, Head of Social impact at Themis, Dame Sara said “I am delighted to accept this Themis award. In my role as the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, I’m determined to be a champion of both financial investigation but also working with financial institutions.”

Former Law Enforcement Lead for the Commissioner, Superintendent Nick Dale from West Midlands Police, received the Anti Financial Crime Innovation Award jointly alongside financial consultancy RedCompass for his innovative use of financial investigations as he led Operation Fort and exposed the UK’s largest-ever modern slavery network.

In January the Commissioner published joint research with Themis and TRIBE Freedom Foundation which found worryingly low levels of awareness of forced labour and exploitation of workers in the UK’s financial sector. The study, Preventing Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking: An Agenda for Action across the Financial Services Sector suggests nearly half of bankers and other finance staff don’t know about the nature and scale of the problem - nor how their business is involved in the abuse.

Themis works with regulated businesses as well as government bodies, policy makers, law enforcement agencies, regulators and individual subject matter experts to understand the latest developments in financial crime and the criminal exploitation of the global financial network. As a bridge between the public and private sectors, Themis promotes greater dialogue, collaboration and information sharing between the two and provides a safe platform for businesses and financial crime professionals to enhance their understanding and application of financial crime legislation and guidance.

Watch the Themis AFC Awards 2021