Financial crime investigations involve more than following the money. Pamela A. Clegg of Inca Digital explains why understanding the people, organizations, and networks behind financial activity requires connecting blockchain data with information from sources beyond the blockchain. In this interview, she discusses how technology is changing financial crime investigations, how combining on-chain and off-chain intelligence can help identify emerging risks, and why human judgment remains essential when interpreting data.

1. How is technology changing the way financial crime and illicit financial activity are detected and investigated?

Before moving into digital assets 9 years ago, I spent 10+ years in government intelligence and investigations. Back then, we often spent enormous amounts of time developing sources, identifying networks, and piecing together fragments of information to understand who was doing what, with whom, and why. Technology has dramatically accelerated that process. Blockchain analytics, artificial intelligence, open-source intelligence (OSINT), and increasingly sophisticated data analytics allow us to identify relationships, trace financial activity, and uncover networks at a scale and speed that simply wasn’t possible before.

But one of the most important lessons from my intelligence background is that having more data doesn’t necessarily mean having better intelligence.

Blockchain investigations taught us how powerful financial transparency can be, but also how limited our understanding is when we look at transactions in isolation. A wallet address doesn’t tell you who is behind it, what their intentions are, or what broader network they’re operating within.

That’s why I believe the real transformation is happening through all-source intelligence. This involves bringing together financial transactions, blockchain activity, corporate records, social media, communications, market intelligence, and other sources to develop a much more complete picture. Technology helps us connect those dots faster. But understanding what those connections mean still requires analytical judgment, investigative experience, and context.

2. What role do you see for data and technology in helping organizations identify financial crime risks earlier?

I think one of the biggest opportunities is moving from reactive investigations to proactive intelligence. Traditionally, financial institutions have relied heavily on transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, and adverse media to identify suspicious activity. Those are important controls, but they often tell us something is wrong only after a transaction has occurred, an entity has been sanctioned, or negative information has appeared in mainstream reporting.

The reality is that risk indicators frequently emerge much earlier. We might see unusual changes in transaction behavior, emerging relationships between previously unconnected entities, suspicious activity on social media or underground forums, or changes in the behavior of a particular token, exchange, or financial network.

At Inca Digital, we’re focused on bringing these different intelligence sources together and using advanced analytics to identify anomalies and emerging threats before they become major problems. What excites me is the ability to connect on-chain and off-chain intelligence to identify not just suspicious transactions, but the broader behaviors and networks that indicate risk. In intelligence work, you rarely wait for someone to explicitly state that something bad is about to happen. You look for indicators, changes in behavior, and patterns that suggest something is developing. We should apply that same intelligence-driven approach to financial crime detection.

3. Could you tell us a little about your contribution to the Digital Forensics Conference 2026 and what attendees can expect from your session?

My contribution will draw on a career that has taken me from traditional intelligence operations and financial crime investigations to blockchain analytics and now the intersection of digital assets, OSINT, and artificial intelligence.

One of the themes I want to explore is how we move beyond individual data sources and investigative tools to a more comprehensive, intelligence-led approach to financial crime. Blockchain analytics has been transformative, particularly in helping investigators trace illicit financial flows. But tracing funds is only one piece of an investigation. We also need to understand the individuals, organizations, infrastructure, and networks behind those transactions.

I also want to address how AI and automation are changing the investigative process, not as replacements for experienced investigators, but as tools that can help us identify patterns, prioritize leads, and focus our attention where it matters most.

Ultimately, I hope attendees walk away thinking differently about how they use the information already available to them, and how connecting different intelligence disciplines can produce much more actionable results.

4. Why do you think conferences like the Digital Forensics Conference are important for professionals working in this area?

Financial crime doesn’t operate in silos, but unfortunately, the organizations and professionals trying to combat it often do. Law enforcement, intelligence agencies, financial institutions, regulators, academics, and technology companies frequently approach the same threats from very different perspectives. Each has access to different information, capabilities, and expertise.

Having worked across government, banking, and the private sector, I’ve seen firsthand how much we can learn from one another and how many opportunities we miss when we don’t collaborate.

Conferences like the Digital Forensics Conference create an important opportunity to bring those perspectives together, share practical experiences, challenge assumptions, and understand how emerging technologies are actually being applied in the field. Technology is evolving incredibly quickly, but so are the criminals and illicit networks exploiting it. We need opportunities to learn from one another, not just about new tools, but about new methodologies, emerging threats, and the lessons learned from real investigations.

The technology will continue to change. The fundamentals of good intelligence and investigative work: curiosity, collaboration, critical thinking, and connecting the dots all remain just as important as ever.