Mar ’12 – May ’12 Issue

Issue 11.2

Issue: Vol. 11 No. 2

Featured

From the Executive Vice President
Recognizing 10 years of providing unequaled AML direction

Recognizing 10 years of providing unequaled AML direction

As you peruse and dive into this edition of ACAMS Today (and our online content from acamstoday.org) I want to thank the ACAMS community for giving us the…

From the Editor
Happy Birthday ACAMS Today!

Happy Birthday ACAMS Today!

I can’t believe ACAMS Today and I share a birthday month. ACAMS Today was born 10 years ago in March of 2002. As I pulled out the old issues of ACAMS Today from storage and flipped through the many…


Inside this Edition
SADC-UNODC—A Regional Initiative to Combat Crime in Southern Africa

SADC-UNODC—A Regional Initiative to Combat Crime in Southern Africa

Not only do international organizations such as the United Nations have an important role to play in developing frameworks for combating crime and enforcing prevention, regional…

What is the real money laundering risk in life insurance? High-risk, low-risk or no risk – that is the question

What is the real money laundering risk in life insurance? High-risk, low-risk or no risk – that is the question

Worldwide, the life insurance industry generates a massive flow of funds — some of it might not be as clean as we would like to think. Thankfully, the vast majority of our clients are serious and…


The momentum and hurdles of the African compliance community

The momentum and hurdles of the African compliance community

The energy was palpable at the inaugural ACAMS AML/CTF Conference–Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa this past November. With participants from over 12 African…


Self-fulfilling prophecy

Self-fulfilling prophecy

A gentleman, who we will refer to as customer A, walks into a branch of a local community bank and opens a routine personal checking account with an initial $300 cash deposit. The…


Domestic high-risk geographies–An emerging challenge for AML compliance

Domestic high-risk geographies–An emerging challenge for AML compliance

AML compliance departments are being pressed to identify higher risk geographies within the United States. If a financial institution solely bases its domestic high-risk strategy around regions…

Penerapan Anti Pencucian Uang di Indonesia

Penerapan Anti Pencucian Uang di Indonesia

Terkait anti pencucian uang, Indonesia sudah melakukan regulasi tersebut sejak tahun 1992 dengan cara melarang penyetoran modal bank yang berasal dari hasil pencucian uang yang disusul…


Anti-money laundering implementation in Indonesia

Anti-money laundering implementation in Indonesia

Indonesia’s initial regulation on anti-money laundering (AML) began in 1992, when the legislation was enacted prohibiting the endorsement of bank paid-in capital derived from potential…

New York Chapter Update

New York Chapter Update

The New York metropolitan area is home to ACAMS’ oldest (founded in November of 2004) and largest chapter with almost 400 active members representing both the public and private…

Enforcement actions target employees who fail to report suspicious activity

Enforcement actions target employees who fail to report suspicious activity

I have been working in anti-money laundering (AML) for more than a decade and rarely have found public actions as interesting as two published by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority…

Time tested, AML approved

Time tested, AML approved

ACAMS Today had the opportunity to interview four key people who have played an integral part in shaping ACAMS and ACAMS Today. ACAMS Today spoke with John J. Byrne, the current…

Money laundering and snowflakes

Money laundering and snowflakes

Larissa C. Bernardes has been with MoneyLaundering.com /ACAMS since 2007. Previously, she worked as a senior supervisor at SunTrust Bank, where she handled customer service inquiries…

Sharon McCullough, CAMS, Toronto, Canada

Sharon McCullough, CAMS, Toronto, Canada

Sharon McCullough is currently senior manager, Training Communications and Awareness in the Global Anti-Money Laundering Unit with TD Bank. The bank offers a full range…


Rafael David (Roy) Melnick, CAMS, Johannesburg, South Africa

Rafael David (Roy) Melnick, CAMS, Johannesburg, South Africa

Roy Melnick is an associate director at PwC (previously PriceWaterhouseCoopers), where he is in the process of establishing an anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism…


Kyran McCarthy, CAMS, Hong Kong, China

Kyran McCarthy, CAMS, Hong Kong, China

Kyran McCarthy is the head of KPMG’s Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Services practice in China. He has been based in Hong Kong for over 35 years and he has more than 16 years…


Dr. Buno E. Nduka, BSc; MSc; MBA; Ph.D; CAMS, Ponty Dakar, Senegal

Dr. Buno E. Nduka, BSc; MSc; MBA; Ph.D; CAMS, Ponty Dakar, Senegal

Dr. Buno Nduka is the director of programs and projects at Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), an Economic Community of West…

Pizza logic

Pizza logic

At a suspicious activity report (SAR) Review Team meeting a case is presented about a pizza shop repeatedly making daily cash deposits of $9,900. When asked who among the law enforcement…


From terabyte to petabyte: Finding the bad guys in the age of big data

From terabyte to petabyte: Finding the bad guys in the age of big data

Information overload has become a two-way street. We are exposed to a constant stream of data every day — consuming it from social networks, mobile phones, PDAs, the Internet and…


Critical incident management: Roles & responsibilities of AML/compliance leaders and officers

Critical incident management: Roles & responsibilities of AML/compliance leaders and officers

Data intrusion, Ponzi schemes, natural disasters, health pandemic emergencies, branch robberies, terror threats and attacks, cyber attacks, and “occupy” events, among others, pose risks to assets…

Revenue enhancing legislation: FATCA or Fiction

Revenue enhancing legislation: FATCA or Fiction

The U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act(FATCA) is designed to stop the flow of money from the United States into untaxed offshore accounts and raise revenue by collecting unreported…


Iran sanctions: A big deal

Iran sanctions: A big deal

Those who have visited the northern Tehran suburb of Lavizan can attest to the magnificent beauty of its park. Lavizan is home to one of the finest parks in Iran’s capital city. But its natural beauty…

The Other 364 Days

The Other 364 Days

As we all know, training is one of the four pillars of a successful compliance program. The question is, how sturdy is that pillar? As training day slips into the past, does your organization retain the…