Dec ’19 – Feb ’20 Issue

Issue: Vol. 19 No. 1

Featured

Rise and Shout the Winners Are Out

Every year, the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) recognizes and awards several outstanding members for their contributions to the anti-financial crime industry. This year, ACAMS…

Level Up: Video Games and AML

Analyzing how the latest generation of console-based video games and smartphone application games have changed the employment of their financial transaction capabilities provides additional insight into user trends…


From the Director of Editorial Content

Weaponizing Kindness and Compassion

The horrific news in October that 39 people were found suffocated in a lorry…

From the Editor

Emulating Achievers

I received a link to an intriguing article a couple of weeks ago. It posed the question: Are you a doer or an achiever?  My initial…


Inside this Edition

The BSA Officer and Staff are Key to Casino Compliance

Central to an effective anti-money laundering (AML) program is having an experienced Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) officer. A keen understanding of BSA is a must but the BSA officer must also…


Extraction Attacks: Fraud and Money Laundering in the Cryptocurrency Space

Fraud and money laundering go hand in hand and fraudsters are early adopters of new money laundering opportunities; as participation in the cryptocurrency space gains momentum, so…


Mortgage Lenders and their Compliance Duty

Until August 2012, a segment of the financial industry known as non-bank residential mortgage lenders and originators (RMLOs) was exempt from the anti-money laundering (AML)…


2019 in Review: Reflections of Financial Crime Progress

2019 has been a tumultuous year; various countries have made dramatic progress on their anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF) and sanctions journeys. Along…


Mike Stone: The Fluidity of Financial Crime

ACAMS Today  interviewed Mike Stone, director of the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Group of the Department of Internal Affairs, New Zealand. Stone began his career in the health…


Progress of AML in Bangladesh

Bangladesh—despite being a relatively small country—is actually one of the anti-money laundering (AML) pioneers among the South Asian countries for formulating the Money Laundering…


Efficiencies of Enforceable Undertakings

Legislations come into effect the day they are registered. Rules, guidelines and regulations become effective and are expected to be observed by the business community. Enforcement is the…


Exploring Threats to Digital Identity

The remote onboarding of customers—also known as electronic know your customer (eKYC)—has become a central topic of debate among regulators, law enforcement agencies, financial…


Rise and Shout the Winners Are Out

Every year, the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) recognizes and awards several outstanding members for their contributions to the anti-financial crime…


Drumroll, Please! Presenting 2019’s AML Leaders

January’s AML Professional of the Month  was awarded to Rinku Sharma, CAMS. Sharma is recognized for her prolific career of over 23 years in the anti-money laundering (AML) field…


One Part Harmony

During a recent break-in investigation, a detective did not give a second thought to the seemingly excessive amount of cash the storeowner reported stolen. Reporting inflated losses for…


ACAMS Vegas From the Ground Floor

Once again, Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) members from across the globe gathered in Las Vegas for the 18th Annual AML & Financial Crime…


Follow the Money and Then Follow the Behavior

There comes a point in any financial crime where the behavior of the main perpetrator begins to work drastically against them. Much of the discussion around behavioral red flags…


Digital Identity: The Integrity of Information

Establishing digitally sourced trusted identities is not only critical to fighting money laundering by reducing risk, it will also improve the customer experience and save companies significant…


ACAMS Europe Community Continues to Grow

I have been putting off completing this piece for the European Connect column for as long as possible, hoping that it would become clear when the United Kingdom (U.K.) will leave the…


Networking with the ACAMS Chicago Chapter

On Monday, August 19, 2019, the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) Chicago Chapter held its first social event in a number of years at the offices of Crowe…


Keep off the Grass

The Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) Connecticut Chapter’s event, Keep off the Grass: Mitigating the Risks of Banking Marijuana-Related Businesses…


Launch of the São Paulo Chapter

On October 3, 2019, anti-financial crime professionals attended the launch of the first chapter in Brazil, the São Paulo Chapter. The chapter was launched during a morning event at Federação…


Going Back to School: University Series

In 2019, the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) Pittsburgh Chapter was hosting brainstorming sessions to look for new initiatives for their…


Using Process Improvement to Drive Efficiencies in Your AML Program

Any anti-money laundering (AML) program has multiple key processes, such as alert review, suspicious activity report filing and sanctions screening. AML programs are constantly being…


Intelligent Automation—Challenging What is Possible in Sanctions Compliance

The debate over whether financial institutions (FIs) should pursue advanced technologies—including intelligent automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning—to drive sanctions…


Environmental Crime Investigations and Financial Intelligence

Environmental crime is a growing threat that affects natural resources, peace, development and security. For decades, it was not covered in its true essence in many parts of the world…


Level Up: Video Games and AML

Analyzing how the latest generation of console-based video games and smartphone application games have changed the employment of their financial transaction capabilities provides…


Joyce Hsu, CAMS-FCI: Regulatory Strides in the APAC Region

Joyce Hsu has over 25 years of experience in the financial industry and joined the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) as a subject-matter expert in…


Mario E. Aguilar-Nino, CAMS—Brussels, Belgium

Mario E. Aguilar-Nino is a senior compliance officer and the anti-money laundering compliance officer (AMLCO) for Citibank in Belgium. Since 2012, he has also been the deputy AMLCO for…


Corey Reason—Hamilton, Bermuda

Corey Reason currently serves as Clarien Bank’s senior vice president, head of compliance/money laundering reporting officer. He reports directly to the chief risk officer, with…


Nasia Seria—Johannesburg, South Africa

Nasia Seria is a general manager, risk and compliance professional at MTN covering mobile financial services and financial crime. As a qualified chartered accountant, Seria has extensive capital…


Marcin Zdrojowy—Warsaw Poland

Marcin Zdrojowy has 20 years of experience in the financial services sector with a focus on compliance. He started his career at Bank of America in Poland as a junior money market dealer…


Under Scrutiny on the High Seas

The current regulatory landscape is the most complex the world has ever seen, with regulatory changes in the financial services sector occurring every seven to 12 minutes. With 80% of world…


Where has your ACAMS Today been?

Conference attendees at the 18th Annual AML & Financial Crime Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 23-25, 2019 were treated to the ACAMS Today  September-November 2019…