Mar ’21 – May ’21

AT_v20_n2

Issue: Vol. 20 No. 2

Featured

From the Director of Editorial Content

Death to Tick the Box, Long Live Catch the Bad Guys

Over the almost 15 years that I have been with ACAMS, the phrases “tick the box” and “catch the bad guys” have been constants...

From the Editor

“I Never Played for a Draw in my Life”-Sir Alex Ferguson

For me, one of the all-time greatest coaches is Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United F.C. The secret to Sir Alex’s success was his ability to know exactly what each player needed in order to triumph...

Inside this Edition

Ransomware on the Rise

Ransomware attacks targeted against organizations, ranging from government departments to multinational corporations including financial institutions (FIs) and their customers, were the top cyberthreat story of 2020...


Human Trafficking in the Era of COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the globe, criminals continue finding new and manipulative ways to exploit the crisis...


Regulating NPOs for Suspicious Activity

Growing terrorism fears are a major concern worldwide. Terrorist attacks have dismantled entire communities and thwarted the continued development of countries...


Revisiting Musings From Quarantine: Chapter 2

I wrote the first chapter of “Musings From Quarantine” for ACAMS Today’s Career Guidance column shortly after the U.S. declared a national emergency on March 13, 2020...


Be Heard: Participating In Federal Rulemaking

When it comes to the U.S. regulatory process, one must admire the unique nature of the government and private sector partnership that exists within the federal rulemaking process...


AMLA: The Gamechanger

The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA)―included within the 4,517-page-long conference report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA)1...


Surviving and Thriving in Uncertain Times

Even during the best of times, anti-money laundering (AML) professionals are under great stress and strain from constantly changing regulatory and tactical environments...


Improving AML in ESAAMLG Member Countries

In 2013, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) significantly changed its methods for assessing anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) regimes...


Northern Ohio Chapter: Virtually Thriving

January 21, 2021, marked another Northern Ohio ACAMS Chapter virtual learning event titled “Trafficking in Arts and Antiquities.”...


Scott Liles: Change Starts With Us

ACAMS Today had the opportunity to speak with Scott Liles, president and managing director of ACAMS, to discuss his career evolution and the future of the association...


Matthias Greiller, CAMS-RM, CTMA, CGSS, CKYCA―Zurich, Switzerland

Matthias Greiller, CAMS-RM, CTMA, CGSS, CKYCA has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, mainly in private banking...


Michelle Majid, CAMS―Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Michelle Majid is a dedicated compliance and financial professional with over 14 years of regulatory and supervisory experience...


Mark Newfield, CAMS―Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Mark Newfield, CAMS is an active member of the anti-financial crime (AFC) community and is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS)...


Case Management: Doing More With Less

The cost of financial crime operations has steadily climbed due to two main factors: increased volume of alerts and the way operational units are managed...


Exam-Ready AML and Sanctions Programs

After 13 years of working in the anti-financial crime (AFC) field for three financial institutions (FIs)—each with a different regulator—in addition to working closely with peers from all types of FIs, it has become evident that the description “one size fits all” does not apply to anti-money laundering (AML) and economic sanctions regulatory exams...


Technology Will Not Save Us―Rethinking Risk Might

There is no more low-hanging fruit than reducing the cost of anti-money laundering (AML) transaction monitoring (TM)...


Diversity Can Strengthen Anti-Financial Crime

Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. Although you may have seen these three words more and more over the last year, it is important not to gloss over their meanings too quickly...


The Keys to a Successful Conduct Agenda

On September 10, 2020, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued its “Guidelines on Individual Accountability and Conduct.”1...


CBDCs: The Time Has Come

For better or worse, digital currency is here to stay. Within the last decade, the use of virtual currencies has increased significantly, with retailers such as Whole Foods and Starbucks accepting payment in bitcoin...


Enhancing China’s AML/CTF Framework

Since the 2019 People’s Republic of China (China) mutual evaluation report (MER) by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the country has taken a number of actions to strengthen its anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) framework...