James Gillespie is an Associate Fellow in the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies at RUSI, where his main research interests concern ransomware, illicit finance, and the use of sanctions in a cybersecurity context. James was previously a Policy Advisor at HM Treasury, where he was responsible for policy development at the intersection between crypto assets and illicit finance. He also held roles in the civil service focusing on financial regulation and the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement.