Dec ’16 – Feb ’17 Issue

Issue 16.1

Issue: Vol. 16 No. 1

Featured
ACAMS’ Highest Honors

ACAMS’ Highest Honors

There was no shortage of excitement, energy and enthusiasm at the ACAMS 15th Annual AML & Financial Crime Conference, held in Las Vegas on September 26-28. But at one particular and special moment, the action…

A Round of Applause for Our Winners

A Round of Applause for Our Winners

The ACAMS AML Professional of the Month is awarded to anti-money laundering professionals from both the public and private sectors. Every month a member of the AML community is nominated and selected for their…


From the Executive Vice President
2016—Challenges Increase and So Must Our Response

2016—Challenges Increase and So Must Our Response

It has now been 30 years since the passage of the Money Laundering Control Act in the U.S. It can be argued that this seminal legislative milestone spawned the…

From the Editor
Some of My Favorite Things

Some of My Favorite Things

This is my favorite season of the year. It is a time to reflect on what has occurred over the past year, but also a time to ponder what the upcoming year may bring or…


Inside this Edition
Sanctions and the New Due Diligence Standards

Sanctions and the New Due Diligence Standards

The year 2016 was undoubtedly one of the busiest in the anti-money laundering (AML) compliance community, as a number of developments impacted the direction of compliance…


More Than 30 Pieces of Silver: Is your house of worship vulnerable to fraud?

More Than 30 Pieces of Silver: Is your house of worship vulnerable to fraud?

Judas Iscariot, one of the original 12 apostles, was given the responsibility of keeping the funds for Jesus of Nazareth and His group of followers. Ultimately, Judas betrayed his master…


Private Schools and Money Laundering

Private Schools and Money Laundering

Money laundering is a spectral crime. While its presence can be felt throughout the investigation of suspicious or criminal activity, it remains invisible to an eye focused only on individual…


Avoiding the Rabbit Hole: A Look at Improving Investigation Efficiency

Avoiding the Rabbit Hole: A Look at Improving Investigation Efficiency

The maturation of the role of anti-money laundering (AML) investigators/analysts within regulated industries combined with the exponential growth of information mining technologies…


AML in Asia: 2016 in Review

AML in Asia: 2016 in Review

This year’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) efforts in Asia have been broad in scope in both the regulatory and industry sectors. The commitment to…


A Round of Applause for Our Winners

A Round of Applause for Our Winners

The ACAMS AML Professional of the Month is awarded to anti-money laundering professionals from both the public and private sectors. Every month a member of the AML community…


Resume Tips for the AML Professional

Resume Tips for the AML Professional

Staffing changes are a fact of life, not only for hiring managers but for the employees who seek new employment. Within the anti-money laundering (AML) profession, it is critical for…


Risk Mitigation and HSBC’s Financial Settlement

Risk Mitigation and HSBC’s Financial Settlement

Financial crime is an intensifying concern for law enforcement, government bodies, businesses and financial institutions. Contending with the correlated hindrances of…


Something Ain’t Right: Black hole or not?

Something Ain’t Right: Black hole or not?

Bankers always have doubts whether suspicious activity reports (SARs) are ingested (read and trigger investigations) or digested (deleted and filed in a bottomless black hole). During my…


European Membership Growth in 2016

European Membership Growth in 2016

As we look forward to 2017 with the call for swift transposition of the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive ringing out loud and clear across the continent, I wanted to highlight how our…


ACAMS’ Highest Honors

ACAMS’ Highest Honors

There was no shortage of excitement, energy and enthusiasm at the ACAMS 15th Annual AML & Financial Crime Conference, held in Las Vegas on September 26-28. But at one particular and…


Brian Stoeckert, CAMS: Crime, Tech and Cryptocurrency

Brian Stoeckert, CAMS: Crime, Tech and Cryptocurrency

ACAMS Today caught up with Brian Stoeckert, CAMS, partner at Stratis Advisory, to discuss his role as a consultant for the series StartUp (an American television series that debuted on…


ACAMS Germany Chapter Activities in 2016

ACAMS Germany Chapter Activities in 2016

The ACAMS Germany Chapter has been launched and well received by anti-money laundering (AML) professionals across Germany. With networking events in Frankfurt…


Suspicious Activity and Loans at Community Banks—Are you complying with the BSA when it comes to loans?

Suspicious Activity and Loans at Community Banks—Are you complying with the BSA when it comes to loans?

Despite instances of loan fraud being reported by the media every day, suspicious activity reporting numbers in the loan sector remain low. “Suspicious activity report (SAR) statistics…


Changes to Negative News Search Results May Red Flag Efforts to Evade AML/CTF Detection

Changes to Negative News Search Results May Red Flag Efforts to Evade AML/CTF Detection

CBS News and Newsweek recently reported on how the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has been recruiting previously jailed criminals in Europe. Since negative news may reveal…


Putting Data to Work for the Regulated

Putting Data to Work for the Regulated

Views on compliance are conflicted. While no reasonable financial institution would intentionally place risk on themselves, their clients, or their reputations by impairing their compliance…


Know Your Customer: Enhanced Requirements

Know Your Customer: Enhanced Requirements

Know your customer/customer due diligence (KYC/CDD) requirements have been the focus of regulatory revision processes both in the U.S. and the EU in 2016, leading…


ACAMS’ Middle East Network of Training Partners

ACAMS’ Middle East Network of Training Partners

The Middle East is a unique and challenging environment for anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) and financial crimes prevention professionals. Civil conflict…


Dr. Muhammad Baasiri: Leading by Example in Lebanon

Dr. Muhammad Baasiri: Leading by Example in Lebanon

With the recent circular published by the Banque du Liban (BDL) expanding the recommendation for professional designations, such as the CAMS certification, for a broader range of roles…


The Hidden Challenges of Training

The Hidden Challenges of Training

Training is such an integral part of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) arena that it has been designated as one of the five…


Ignacio Coig: The Making of ACAMS’ Websites

Ignacio Coig: The Making of ACAMS’ Websites

ACAMS Today sat down with Ignacio Coig to discuss web design and ACAMS’ websites. Coig is currently a senior web designer at ACAMS where he oversees the production, design and…


Kimon De Ridder, CAMS—London, U.K.

Kimon De Ridder, CAMS—London, U.K.

Kimon De Ridder is the compliance oversight director for Aviva plc, which provides a wide range of insurance and asset management products. De Ridder is based in London…


Robert L. Goecks, MBA, CPA, CAMS—Golden, CO, USA

Robert L. Goecks, MBA, CPA, CAMS—Golden, CO, USA

Robert Goecks is a consultant to financial institutions and law firms and is a subject-matter expert in financial crime prevention, anti-money laundering (AML) and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)…


Joanna Jenkins—London, U.K.

Joanna Jenkins—London, U.K.

Joanna Jenkins is the European compliance director and money laundering reporting officer at AFEX, a global payments and currency risk management firm. Jenkins is responsible…


Where has your ACAMS Today been?

Where has your ACAMS Today been?

The September-November 2016 edition of the ACAMS Today magazine had the Venice canals as its backdrop while…