Jun ’15 – Aug ’15 Issue

Issue 14.3

Issue: Vol. 14 No. 3

Featured
From Columbo to Holmes

From Columbo to Holmes

Financial crimes investigators can be found throughout both the public and private sectors. They work in law enforcement, government agencies, financial institutions and private businesses. At the beginning of their…

Called to Testify

Called to Testify

Testifying in a legal proceeding is no walk in the park. It is serious business. As a witness, your initial encounter will most likely be with a friendly attorney whose goal is to assist you in presenting yourself as a credible witness…


From the Executive Vice President
Continuing to Recognize How Essential Law Enforcement is to Effective AML

Continuing to Recognize How Essential Law Enforcement is to Effective AML

ACAMS is proud to be publishing the fifth edition of ACAMS Today that is dedicated to law enforcement. To me, the third part of the three-legged AML stool…

From the Editor
The Makings of a Great Investigator

The Makings of a Great Investigator

What makes an investigator great? If we were to create a character what traits would he or she need to stand in the pantheon of great detectives? Or to put…


Inside this Edition
How did Australia’s AML system fail to prevent the laundering of billions in corruption proceeds?

How did Australia’s AML system fail to prevent the laundering of billions in corruption proceeds?

Australia, a founding member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Egmont Group, has long been considered a country with a robust anti-money laundering…

Black Market Peso Exchange: The Beginning

Black Market Peso Exchange: The Beginning

Black markets have operated as long as borders, civilizations and governments have existed. They develop in order to take advantage of political and/or economic disparities between…


Talk the AML Talk

Talk the AML Talk

A detective sheepishly pushes a file toward me as his other hand unconsciously rises in a gesture as if to shield his eyes from the horror found within the folder. His unmistakable body…


Called to Testify

Called to Testify

Testifying in a legal proceeding is no walk in the park. It is serious business. As a witness, your initial encounter will most likely be with a friendly attorney whose goal is to assist you in…


Politics, Criminality and Terrorism in Latin America

Politics, Criminality and Terrorism in Latin America

In Latin America, the activities of drug cartels, terrorist groups and rogue states have increased as revolutionary regimes such as Venezuela and its allies in Ecuador, Bolivia and Nicaragua took…


The Bookie

The Bookie

Want to lay a bet, place a wager or make a sporting event more interesting by placing money on the outcome? Call a bookie, get the line and see what happens. March Madness ended a…


Mobile Subscriber Registration: An Effective Tool in the Fight Against Terrorism

Mobile Subscriber Registration: An Effective Tool in the Fight Against Terrorism

In my previous article “Mobile money: Balancing financial integrity with business expediency,” I examined the genesis and growth of mobile money in East Africa, with specific reference…


From Columbo to Holmes

From Columbo to Holmes

Financial crimes investigators can be found throughout both the public and private sectors. They work in law enforcement, government agencies, financial institutions and private…


Restructuring BSA/AML Investigations

Restructuring BSA/AML Investigations

Isaac Newton once wrote “We build too many walls and not enough bridges.” These words have never been truer. Emerging trends in the 21st century are inadvertently hampering…


The T-MEN: A Giant Killer Legacy

The T-MEN: A Giant Killer Legacy

There is no gangster more famous than Al Capone. Capone’s name still has an infamous ring of familiarity in the U.S. and around the world. At the height of his larcenous career, Capone…


Erik Rosenblatt: Access Shouldn’t be Limited to “I Know a Guy”

Erik Rosenblatt: Access Shouldn’t be Limited to “I Know a Guy”

ACAMS Today sat down with Erik Rosenblatt, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for El Dorado Financial Crimes Task Force (EDTF) and New York/New Jersey High Intensity Financial…


John Riggi: “Are we moving fast enough?”

John Riggi: “Are we moving fast enough?”

ACAMS Today had the privilege of speaking with John Riggi, a highly decorated 27-year veteran of the FBI, and who currently serves as the Section Chief for the Cyber Division Outreach…


Richard Weber: Committed to the Fight Against Financial Crime

Richard Weber: Committed to the Fight Against Financial Crime

ACAMS Today had the opportunity to interview Richard Weber, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation (CI), for the Internal Revenue Service Division, to discuss what financial institutions can do…


The New York Chapter: Memories and Milestones

The New York Chapter: Memories and Milestones

The New York Chapter was founded in 2005 by an executive board comprised of industry experts and law enforcement professionals in the anti-money laundering (AML) and…


Murray Bowen: Continued Growth in AML

Murray Bowen: Continued Growth in AML

Murray Bowen was raised in the small town of Moore Haven in Glades County, Florida, by both of his parents who were in law enforcement. The county had a total population of 6,500…

Michael Amo, CAMS—New York, NY, USA

Michael Amo, CAMS—New York, NY, USA

Michael Amo is currently engaged with Promontory Finan-cial Group in a variety of Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) regulatory and compliance functions at…


Samuel Chukwuka Onyeka, CAMS—Abuja, Nigeria

Samuel Chukwuka Onyeka, CAMS—Abuja, Nigeria

Samuel Chukwuka Onyeka is head of the Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) Unit in the Inspectorate Directorate of National Insurance Commission in…


Zach Miller, CAMS-FCI—Harrisburg, PA, USA

Zach Miller, CAMS-FCI—Harrisburg, PA, USA

Zach Miller is the Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) operations manager (deputy BSA officer) for Metro Bank, a retail banking institution in South Central…


Greg Ruppert—San Francisco, CA, USA

Greg Ruppert—San Francisco, CA, USA

Greg Ruppert is the chief of Charles Schwab Corporation’s Financial Crimes Investigations (FCI) group, which encompasses the enterprise-wide anti-money laundering (ALD), Office of…

An Era of Cyber Wars and Security Awareness

An Era of Cyber Wars and Security Awareness

In an era where countries are in a new arms race, not for territory or weapons but for computer hackers or attackers, war erupts. Some attackers are assigned to infiltrate foreign networks to…


Detecting the Enemy Within

Detecting the Enemy Within

Newspaper headlines and the nightly news are filled with stories of lone wolves, terrorist cells and foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) recounting recent attacks or attacks that have been averted…


Elder Financial Exploitation—Surveillance is Only Part of the Solution

Elder Financial Exploitation—Surveillance is Only Part of the Solution

Generally, compliance officers do not like gray areas. Gray areas call for judgments, judgments lead to errors and errors lead to bad situations for financial institutions and, at times, the…


The Rings of Defense Needed to Address the Threats of Terrorism to the Homeland

The Rings of Defense Needed to Address the Threats of Terrorism to the Homeland

The terrorist threat posed to the homeland that Western nations faced on September 11, 2001 (9/11), was much different than the threat we face today. What we experienced on 9/11 was a…


FATF Guidance for the Banking Sector on the Application of the Risk-Based Approach: Part II

FATF Guidance for the Banking Sector on the Application of the Risk-Based Approach: Part II

In October 2014, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued Guidance for a Risk-Based Approach (RBA) for the Banking Sector. This guidance updates the 2007 guidance to bring it in line…