We are pleased to announce the very first winner of the new Martin Kenney Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Study of Financial Investigation, presented in collaboration with the University of Central Lancashire’s (UCLan) School of Justice in the UK.
This inaugural award has been presented to Nelda Biltauere, payments and fraud manager for fashion retailer Boohoo, who completed an MSc in Financial Investigation at UCLan’s prestigious School of Justice last year.
The award, named in honour of one of the world’s most accomplished anti-fraud lawyers, Martin Kenney, will be presented each year to one outstanding graduate from the School of Justice’s Financial Investigation MSc.
Kenney, who runs a specialist asset recovery law firm in the BVI (described by WIRED magazine as “the world’s sharpest fraudbusters”), said he was delighted to join forces with UCLan and to be able to encourage students researching a topic close to his heart.
Martin Kenney said:
“I’m delighted to present the inaugural award to Nelda for her excellent work.
“She has done really well to recognise that financial investigation isn’t a subject in which you can obtain a Masters degree and then rest on your laurels.
“I have been at the sharp end of investigating fraud and asset recovery for thirty years now and I am still constantly learning.
“That’s why it’s so important to encourage, recognise and train the next generation of fraud fighters, those like Nelda entering the profession right now.
“She is to be congratulated for her hard work in winning this award and hopefully our professional paths will cross in the future.”
Nelda Biltauere said:
“I’m beyond honoured to receive the Martin Kenney Award 2020 for my contribution to the study of Financial Investigation.
“2020 was a challenging year, but we’ve also seen some substantial developments and initiatives tackling financial crime.
“I believe it is vital to ensure that we keep up to date with the constantly changing aspects of financial crime threats and sharing this is very important to encourage the change.
“I am grateful for being able to contribute to the University of Central Lancashire Alumni network group and very pleased to receive this recognition of one of the world’s leading lawyers.”
School of Justice Financial Investigation course leader, former Detective Superintendent Dave Brian, added:
“I’d like to congratulate Nelda on winning the prestigious Martin Kenney Award. She thoroughly deserves it after making numerous contributions to our private financial investigator LinkedIn page.
“We designed the page for current and past students as a private, professional network for them to use long after they leave the school. It is a safe-space where they can develop professional argument and debate, fitting with UCLan’s ethos of providing support for our students long after they leave the university.
“We have students from across the globe who undertake our degree courses, and we are proud to be doing our bit as a school to spread and enhance the reputation of our university. Securing Martin Kenney as our award sponsor is a real honour, as he is globally renowned in his field and regularly cited by our students in their essays and dissertations.”
The Award
2020/1 marks the very first year of the Martin Kenney Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Study of Financial Investigation.
The award is presented to one outstanding student from UCLan’s School of Justice Financial Investigations MSc each year.
Martin Kenney
The award is made in the name of Irish-Canadian national, Martin Kenney, widely-regarded as being one of the world’s leading asset recovery lawyers and an expert in combatting complex multi-jurisdictional fraud and insolvency cases.
Martin has been ranked as the world’s number one asset recovery lawyer offshore by Who’s Who Legal, as well as one of a small number of elite global Thought Leaders across the legal world. Chambers & Partners also ranks him among the world’s top asset recovery lawyers.
In 2014 he was awarded the highest honour by the world’s largest association of anti-fraud professionals, the ACFE (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners), when he was presented with the Cressey Award for lifetime achievement.
UCLan School of Justice
UCLan (the University of Central Lancashire) and its School of Justice is one of the UK’s foremost providers of fraud and financial investigation degrees. Its team of highly-experienced former police officers and other experts provide unrivalled expertise in the academic study of all forms of crime. It is a sector leader in law, justice, policing and social science education and provides training to several police forces.