About
Josie Stewart is an independent consultant, researcher and advisor, and an Associate Fellow at the Centre for Finance and Security at RUSI.
As Head of Illicit Finance at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Josie previously instigated and led a new policy and programme priority on international illicit finance for the UK Government. She advised and shaped political engagement, and led a team working across government, with law enforcement, multilateral organisations, and partners internationally to shift incentives and enable change in the global financial system.
Josie is particularly interested in the political economy of illicit finance and the interplays between corruption, illicit finance, and conflict in the developing world. She has also previously been Director of Transparency International’s global Defence and Security programme, and has lived and worked in Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and the UAE.
