Mar ’16 – May ’16 Issue

Issue 15.2

Issue: Vol. 15 No. 2

Featured
Fantasy sports or money laundering?

Fantasy sports or money laundering?

Fantasy sports—informal fantasy games where groups of fans play against one another for fun or monetary gain over the course of a sports season—are a mainstream part of North American sports culture. The evidence…

Romancing the Scams

Romancing the Scams

In the late 16th century, a clever new scam was developed that targeted British citizens. Victims of this scam were led to believe that a wealthy Englishman was being held prisoner in Spain and that if they assisted…


From the Executive Vice President
With Growth Comes Opportunity

With Growth Comes Opportunity

As we move further into 2016, anti-money laundering (AML) continues to dramatically grow and evolve. I am not referring to the increase in…

From the Editor
It’s Draft Night

It’s Draft Night

The headline for this edition is a question and probably one that many of us have never thought about until recently: Fantasy sports or money laundering?…


Inside this Edition
The Role of Expert Witnesses in Canada

The Role of Expert Witnesses in Canada

Today’s expert witnesses are not restricted to doctors, professors, accountants and similar professionals. Potentially, anyone can be sworn in as an expert witness if their…


Public and Private Partnerships Come to Kazakhstan

Public and Private Partnerships Come to Kazakhstan

In Almaty this past December, a group of anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) and financial crimes professionals from Kazakhstan’s financial…


Money Laundering and Corruption—Strange Bedfellows

Money Laundering and Corruption—Strange Bedfellows

Political corruption is seemingly as old as civilization and is admittedly an intrinsic problem that all countries experience to varying degrees, as opportunities for outside parties to…


A Cautionary Tale About the Risk-Based Approach to Compliance

A Cautionary Tale About the Risk-Based Approach to Compliance

In the recent ACAMS Today article, A Risk-Based Approach…to the Risk-Based Approach, Eric Sohn references a forum where an industry authority “opined that the oft-referenced…


Romancing the Scams

Romancing the Scams

n the late 16th century, a clever new scam was developed that targeted British citizens. Victims of this scam were led to believe that a wealthy Englishman was being held prisoner in Spain…


Dual to the death?

Dual to the death?

What do these things have in common? Complete rotor assemblies, remotely operated vehicles, storage integrated circuits manufactured from a compound semiconductor…


Fantasy sports or money laundering?

Fantasy sports or money laundering?

Fantasy sports—informal fantasy games where groups of fans play against one another for fun or monetary gain over the course of a sports season—are a mainstream part of North American…


How Terrorist Trends Evolve and How Financial Institutions Should Respond

How Terrorist Trends Evolve and How Financial Institutions Should Respond

As we move into and through 2016, the most significant terrorist threats to Western society are posed by Islamic terrorist or jihadist organizations. As evidenced by the attacks in Paris…


Effective Implementation of the Risk-Based Approach

Effective Implementation of the Risk-Based Approach

The risk-based approach (RBA), appearing as the first Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation, is the centerpiece of FATF’s February 2012 revision of its International Standards…


Retaining the Best: A Strategy for Smaller Institution Compliance Programs

Retaining the Best: A Strategy for Smaller Institution Compliance Programs

A serious challenge facing small and mid-sized financial institutions is the loss of talented, experienced compliance personnel to competing organizations offering…


Under the Bank Secrecy Act, Casinos Must Know Their Players

Under the Bank Secrecy Act, Casinos Must Know Their Players

In December 2015, the American Gaming Association (AGA), in consultation with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), released newly updated AML best practices for…


Feel the need to out-AML someone? Read This…

Feel the need to out-AML someone? Read This…

Novice and experienced financial crime investigators can name the three stages of money laundering—placement, layering and integration—in the blink of an eye. An accomplished…


Enhanced Due Diligence in Managing Sanctions Risks

Enhanced Due Diligence in Managing Sanctions Risks

The following article elaborates on the sanctions in force against Russia, Syria and Iran as well as those recently lifted against Belarus in March 2016, and highlights the link to exposure…


Happenings in Europe

Happenings in Europe

In this issue’s European Connect, I wanted to let you know how much we are looking forward to meeting with so many of you at our seminars, launches, workshops and conferences in…


ACAMS Launches Ireland Chapter

ACAMS Launches Ireland Chapter

In mid-January, ACAMS launched its Ireland Chapter with a networking event at the Westin Hotel in Dublin. Close to 200 anti-money laundering professionals attended the hugely…


Margo Vakharia: Quality Support in Europe

Margo Vakharia: Quality Support in Europe

Margo Vakharia arrived in London in 2000, after backpacking through Australia for a year. Vakharia intended to return to Ireland, but her brief London stopover became permanent…


André Burrell, CAMS—Mercer Island, WA, USA

André Burrell, CAMS—Mercer Island, WA, USA

André Burrell is the senior director of compliance for Microsoft Payments, Inc. He began his career at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as an attorney. In 2006, Burrell went to work at…


Robert Cohen, CAMS—London, U.K.

Robert Cohen, CAMS—London, U.K.

Robert Cohen began his compliance career in banking at Citigroup where he supported a large-scale transactional monitoring project rollout. He then joined…


Paul Dougherty, CAMS—Charlotte, NC, USA

Paul Dougherty, CAMS—Charlotte, NC, USA

Paul Dougherty is the senior vice president and director of financial crimes compliance at Fifth Third Bank. He leads Fifth Third Bank’s anti-money laundering (AML) and economic…


John McCarthy—San Francisco, CA, USA

John McCarthy—San Francisco, CA, USA

John McCarthy has been directly involved in the national security, law enforcement and compliance fields for more than two decades. Throughout his career, he has been fortunate to…


Christine Reid, CAMS-FCI—Hamilton, ON, Canada

Christine Reid, CAMS-FCI—Hamilton, ON, Canada

Christine Reid’s career spans over 25 years in the financial services arena. She is an accomplished compliance professional with an extensive regulatory background, particularly in…


Why AML Model Validation Efforts Can Fall Short and How to Prevent It

Why AML Model Validation Efforts Can Fall Short and How to Prevent It

As banks and other financial institutions face increased regulatory scrutiny, they are required to better understand and conduct independent validations of the models they rely…


Harnessing Technology to Achieve a View of Enterprise Risk

Harnessing Technology to Achieve a View of Enterprise Risk

More stringent Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) requirements point to an increasingly complex and difficult compliance environment for banks and nonbank…


Building an Effective Compliance Audit Function

Building an Effective Compliance Audit Function

Regulators have been steadily raising the bar on financial crimes compliance. So, how can financial institutions position themselves to clear it? Reinforcing the internal audit function as the…