The ACAMS Connection is a bi-weekly e-newsletter exclusive to ACAMS members. It provides members with a snapshot of anti-money laundering (AML) current events, the latest trends in financial crime and updates on what is new to the ACAMS community. The ACAMS Connection is the trusted source by ACAMS members for staying on top of industry best practices.
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In September 2021, El Salvador made global headlines by becoming the first nation to embrace bitcoin as legal tender—an unprecedented move that sent ripples through traditional financial systems. This historical decision, orchestrated by President Nayib Bukele’s administration, has positioned El Salvador at the forefront of...
On August 23, 2023, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made waves at the annual BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations summit with a common currency proposal for BRICS countries to reduce dependency on the U.S. dollar, resulting in concerns that...
This month’s anti-financial crime (AFC) guru, Lindsay Lindmier, CAMS, CAFP, is the director of Financial Crimes and Bank Secrecy Act/Office of Foreign Assets Control (BSA/OFAC) officer at Security National Bank in Omaha, Nebraska. Security National Bank, which is a privately owned bank with an asset...
In this episode of “Financial Crime Matters,” Kieran Beer talks with Kenneth Rijock, a former Miami-based lawyer who spent a decade as a bag man for drug traffickers, investing their cash in accounts in the Caribbean and other offshore secrecy havens. Rijock describes some of...
In May 2023, blockchain analytics and cryptocurrency monitoring firms Elliptic and Chainalysis both released new findings that offer a glimpse into the role of cryptocurrency in the global fentanyl trade, specifically, the wholesale supply of precursor chemicals to fentanyl producers around the world. Both Elliptic...
As a seasoned anti-money laundering (AML) expert specializing in high-risk sectors, I have witnessed firsthand the sophisticated money laundering methods employed by criminals to profit from their illicit activities. However, my recent experience at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) St. Louis Division, Kansas City District...
In this episode of “Financial Crime Matters,” Kieran Beer talks with Carly Yoost, CEO and founder of the Child Rescue Coalition, which has created technology that enables law enforcement (LE) to identify instances of online child exploitation and locate its perpetrators. During their discussion, Yoost...
ACAMS Today had the opportunity to speak with Henry “Hank” Hernandez, U.S. senior business manager for Global Payment Solutions at HSBC, about his experience as a U.S. veteran, his work with counterterrorism and intelligence analysis and what he sees as the most important transferrable skill...
Anti-financial crime (AFC) guru Marbel Guilamo Peña, who has 20 years of experience in banking, is the manager of the Ethical Compliance, Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Division at Banco de Reservas (Banreservas). His work has contributed significantly to the areas of banking regulation, compliance operations, corporate...
Any professional in the Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering (AML), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) space is quite familiar with the audit requirement outlined as a pillar of the USA PATRIOT Act. The annual audit serves as a litmus test of current processes, procedures...
