A PASSION for mathematics that led Woody Tan Han Wu to study Actuarial Science at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) has taken him from finance and technology to his current role in the global fight against financial crime.
Tan, who graduated from UTAR’s Actuarial Science programme in 2009, is now a Programme Officer with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)’s Global Programme against Money Laundering (GPML).
His work covers anti-money laundering, cyber-enabled fraud, scam networks and illicit finance involving virtual assets across Southeast Asia.
Tan said the probability and risk modelling skills he developed at UTAR had proved useful in his work, despite financial crime not being part of his original career plans.
“Looking back, that grounding in probability and risk modelling has turned out to be far more directly useful to my current work than I could have imagined at the time,” he said.
During his studies, Tan also gained practical experience in automation and data analysis through an Excel VBA coursework project.
He said the experience, together with the mentorship and discussions he had during his university years, helped him apply classroom knowledge to workplace situations.
“Two things stand out: the Excel VBA coursework, which gave me an early, practical taste of automating and analysing data, a skill that’s stayed relevant throughout my career, and the mentorship and conversations I had along the way, which helped me transfer classroom learning into real workplace judgement,” he said.
After graduating, Tan moved across several sectors, gaining experience in finance and banking, cryptocurrency, technology and artificial intelligence.
His work eventually included managing information technology and AI projects at state and national levels, giving him exposure to the way financial systems, technology and organisations operate.
These experiences also led him to identify gaps in information-sharing between the public and private sectors in efforts to combat financial crime.
“I started noticing the gaps between the public and private sectors, where information should be flowing seamlessly to counter crime, but wasn’t, because the two sides simply weren’t well connected,” he said.
Tan subsequently moved into financial crime prevention, where he was able to bring together his experience in quantitative analysis, finance and technology.
His current work involves examining how financial crime is evolving alongside technology, including the use of digital platforms, virtual assets and AI-enabled tools.
Tan described high-tech financial crime as situations where technology becomes more than just a tool, serving instead as an enabling infrastructure for criminal activity.
He said criminal networks could use encrypted messaging, AI-generated content, virtual assets and synthetic identities to operate more quickly and across borders.
The growing use of artificial intelligence has also created new challenges, including voice cloning, deepfakes and personalised messages that can make scams more convincing.
At the same time, technology can assist investigators by allowing them to analyse large volumes of information, identify patterns and trace suspicious activities.
Tan said the changing nature of financial crime highlighted the need for professionals to remain adaptable and develop expertise across different disciplines.
“Technical skill will keep mattering, but so will the ability to work across disciplines,” he said.
He also believes that an academic foundation can remain relevant even when a graduate’s career moves into an entirely different field.
The probability and risk concepts he studied as an actuarial science student became part of a broader set of skills that he continued to develop through professional experience, postgraduate studies and exposure to emerging technologies.
For students entering an increasingly digital working environment, Tan stressed the importance of curiosity and continuous learning.
“I’d tell students that a degree gives you a foundation and a way of thinking, not a fixed destination,” he said.
His career journey has taken him from mathematics and actuarial science into finance, technology, cryptocurrency and AI before leading to a specialised role in financial crime prevention.
Tan said the experience demonstrated how knowledge acquired in one discipline could create opportunities in fields that students may not initially anticipate.
For him, the value of his UTAR education lies not only in the knowledge gained but also in the ability to continue learning and adapting as his career evolves.