A few years ago, my mother-in-law was cleaning her basement when she called my husband to ask him if he still wanted his childhood G.I. Joe figures. His mom, a saver, had meticulously stored some of my husband’s favorite toys from his childhood so he could pass them on to his posterity. Seeing these figurines brought back memories of Saturday morning cartoons and the famous words uttered at the end of each G.I. Joe cartoon to all the children watching: “And knowing is half the battle.” This still rings true today.

Knowledge is power and having a greater understanding of something―a problem or how to achieve a goal―is extremely helpful in any circumstance. The cover article, “A new era in financial crime prevention partnerships,” beautifully encapsulates the G.I. Joe saying.

In 2017, AUSTRAC launched Fintel Alliance, a public-private partnership to help fight financial crime. Representatives from both the private and public sectors regularly convene to analyze financial intelligence and exchange their knowledge with each other, creating a safe and effective place for knowledge sharing. By sharing valuable intelligence among the private and public sectors, Fintel Alliance has been able to help the anti-financial crime (AFC) community in Australia by creating financial crime guides, highlighting case studies and emphasizing indicators and threat alerts with a wider audience. Fintel Alliance is a great example of partnerships in action.

The ACAMS Today June-August edition started as the Law Enforcement (LE) Edition and has recently been renamed the “Partnership Edition” to refocus on all types of partnerships within the AFC industry. This is one of my favorite editions as we accentuate how much can be accomplished when we work together for one cause. Another article in this edition that highlights this mission is the article “Public-private partnerships in SAR optimization.” This article demonstrates how partnerships between financial institutions (FIs), LE and regulators can help when filing effective suspicious activity reports (SARs).

Continuing our theme of effective partnerships, the article “Steps FIs can take to improve working with LE,” underlines how communication and cooperation are key to a good working relationship and partnership among those working to fight financial crime, namely FIs and LE.

Award season is upon us, and we would like to encourage all of you to cast your vote for the ACAMS Today Article of the Year and to submit nominations for ACAMS AFC Professional of the Year, ACAMS Rising AFC Professional of the Year and ACAMS Chapter of the Year. Scan the QR code below for more information.

As our favorite G.I. Joe used to say, “And now you know. And knowing is half the battle.” We hope that you will all work together to create, improve or look for partnerships that will help us in the fight against financial crime.

Karla Monterrosa-Yancey, CAMS
Editor-in-Chief
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