Sep '11 - Nov '11 Issue

Issue: Vol. 10 No. 4

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Featured

A look-back: 10 years of ACAMS

ACAMS Today brought together the panelists of this year’s first session for a reflections discussion on the past 10 years of ACAMS and the compliance field. John Byrne, Al Gillum, Mike McDonald, Saskia Rietbroek and Dan Soto were all present at the first ACAMS conference in…

Top 10 cyber awareness tips for the AML professional

In the 10 years since the Association of Anti-Money Laundering Specialists’ (ACAMS) birth, digital technology has grown exponentially. This technology has given the AML professional access to a wide array of research…

From the Executive Vice President

10 Years and Counting – Thanks to the ACAMS Community!

We constantly hear people bemoan how quickly time passes on, and all too frequently we neglect to adequately reflect on progress. Well, as we…

From the Editor

Happy 10th to ACAMS

Happy 10th to ACAMS and congratulations to all the members who have contributed to ACAMS’ 10 successful years in the business! It is no secret that I am a sports fan. I especially enjoy…

India – Committed to combating money laundering

India, which joined the FATF in June 2010 as its 34th member, has undertaken a number of efforts to improve its anti-money laundering (AML) regime. Within the context of the Asia/Pacific…

Dubai: The jewel in the crown

For anyone wanting to do business in the Middle East, the first port of call is the small but strategically located Emirate of Dubai, nestled in the breathtaking desert of the Arabian Peninsula…

Where have all the sleeper cells gone?

We as a society mark the passage of time and milestones in our lives in five-year increments — such as our 25th wedding anniversary or 50th birthday. This September, America will mark…

The AML monitoring gap – Insider complicity

Is your bank or credit union ignoring one of its greatest money laundering risks — insider complicity? Such an oversight may not be surprising given the general lack of discourse about how…

In software we trust – or do we?

A current upward trend in global regulatory initiatives is increasing the burden on banks and other institutions to ensure that their anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance programs are not…

Fraud and money laundering: What’s the connection?

Recent headlines have been filled with news stories about all types of fraud from Bernie Madoff’s infamous multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme to Internet phishing scams to mortgage fraud. The…

An (un)healthy paranoia

Andy Grove, the founder and former CEO of Intel, famously said, “Only the paranoid survive.” He also wrote a business book with the same title. Is there evidence that paranoia has reached…

$5.00 to ruin the life of children and women: Internet ad sites used to launder money in promoting prostitution/human trafficking

As incredible as this may sound, as many as 100,000 children in the U.S. are sold into the commercial sex trade yearly, and these numbers may be rising.1 Any reasonable person would ask how…

Malaysia and anti-money laundering

This article provides a brief overview of Malaysia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001 (Act 613), otherwise known as AMLATFA. In particular, it focuses on…

Chairman’s top 10 during 10 years of ACAMS

As we mark our 10 year anniversary as the only association truly dedicated to bringing together AML professionals from all walks of life, I am struck by the magnitude of our accomplishments. We…

Share the wealth of knowledge

Ask any of my siblings about my job and the response will be “she works in a bank.” My banking career has spanned almost three decades and has taken me from branch banking to consumer…

9/11… then and now, 10 years later

There are few events in a lifetime that evoke deep seated emotion and vivid recollection. The terrorist attacks against the United States by Al Qaeda on September 11, 2001, are clearly one of…

A look-back: 10 years of ACAMS

Congratulations to our 11,000th member Hamish MacKenzie!

Hamish MacKenzie is group manager of Internal Audit and Risk at SKYCITY Entertainment Group. SKYCITY is a leading entertainment and gaming business in New Zealand (Auckland…

Francisco Monteagudo: First ACAMS member

ACAMS Today caught up with our first member Francisco Monteagudo for a quick trip down memory lane and an update on how the compliance field has changed in the past 10 years…

Southern California Chapter

The ACAMS Southern California Chapter hosted another successful learning event in June 2011 at the Wescom Credit Union facility in Anaheim, California. The chapter’s third event…

South Florida Chapter

The ACAMS South Florida Chapter organized an outstanding learning event in this second quarter! Continuing to pursue its mission to advance the professional knowledge, skills and…

New York Chapter

The ACAMS New York Chapter community was enthused to attend the summer learning event “Handling a Government Money Laundering Investigation of Your Institution” on July 13. The…

Edmonton ACAMS Sub-Chapter Event

The Edmonton ACAMS Sub-Chapter held their second event on Monday May 30, 2011. Inspector Greg Preston from the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) gave a presentation on…

Chicago Chapter

It has been a busy year for the Chicago Chapter of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), and summer 2011 has been no exception. With a full agenda of…

Australasian Chapter

It has been a busy winter for the Australasian Chapter with several events plus some major regulatory changes both in Australia and New Zealand. The first event of the winter was held in May. The…

ACAMS Canadian Chapter Event — Canadian Money Laundering Case Studies

More than 200 AML professionals attended the ACAMS Canadian Chapter’s first full-day training session on April 14, 2011 in Toronto’s financial district. I found the session to be an excellent…

Paulina M. Zurowska, CAMS Chicago, Illinois USA

Paulina M. Zurowska is a seasoned professional investigator who has been in the banking industry for ten years and retains an extensive background in anti-money laundering. She is…

John Schmarkey, CAMS, CFE Atlanta, Georgia, USA

John Schmarkey is a charter CAMS member and an active Certified Fraud Examiner, who has served in the U.S. Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation for twenty…

Sepideh Behram Gaithersburg, MD, USA

Sepideh Behram is the vice president of Global Compliance and Ethics for Global Commercial Cards at American Express. Prior to joining American Express, Behram was the chief compliance…

Top 10 cyber awareness tips for the AML professional

In the 10 years since the Association of Anti-Money Laundering Specialists’ (ACAMS) birth, digital technology has grown exponentially. This technology has given the AML professional…

PICs in the midst

It is clear that private investment companies (PICs) are one of the most scrutinized financial planning vehicles on the anti-money laundering risk scale. They are defined in the U.S. FFIEC…

Financial crimes convergence – The case for integrating fraud and anti-money laundering processes

The perfect storm of heightened regulatory pressures and sophisticated, high-velocity fraud attacks have created an opportunity for fraud and compliance departments to…

Customer due diligence: Regulatory cost or the cornerstone of good business?

Customer due diligence (CDD) is the cornerstone for all BSA AML programs, a core principle of the 3rd EU Money Laundering Directive, and a common requirement under all AML regimes…

Combating organized crime the old fashioned way: An Al Capone study

Most major cities around the world have assigned groups of law enforcement officers to identify, target and dismantle Organized Crime Syndicates. Usually, the overall thrust of the police’s…

Money laundering a central character in the financial thriller, Clearing House

Clearing House by Michael Lee Cannon Correspondent banking is considered a high risk typology by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for money laundering for several reasons, including the…

Analyzing the impact of FinCEN rules for foreign MSBs

On July 18, 2011, the U.S. Treasury Department Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a final rule clarifying the definition of a Money Services Business (MSB) and applying…