Jun ’21 – Aug ’21

AT_v20_n3

Issue: Vol. 20 No. 3

Featured

From the Director of Editorial Content

Digital Assets’ ‘Brave New World’

Looking back, 2020 was the year of COVID-19, cybercrime and cryptocurrency. The three, of course, are connected….

From the Editor

Breaking the Cube

Some of you might remember when the Rubik’s Cube was all the rage. In my house, we had all sorts of puzzles and board games to keep us kids entertained…


Inside this Edition

Crypto Terrorism: The Virtual Battlefield

When Charles Darwin created his theory: “survival of the fittest,” no one would have thought that man-made threats would take precedence alongside biological and evolutionary threats…


Soaring to Effective SARs

The world of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) seems to get busier and more intense each year. If BSA was busy and intense before COVID-19, the money from the coronavirus relief bill and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans has everyone piled up with work and putting in even longer hours…


The New Age of Investment Fraud

Investments have quickly become synonymous with the fintech industry. Robinhood, Moneybox and now even traditional banking institutions are increasing the ability for consumers to invest, save and grow their money…

Letters to FinCEN: Bank Comments on Proposed AML Standards

Last September, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) requested comments on a proposed regulation in an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) that would—for the first time—create efficacy standards for anti-money laundering (AML) program…


Stimulating Innovation and Change in AML/CTF

Engaging with emerging technology in anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF)—both addressing its risks and seeking to exploit its potential—has become an increasingly important part of the international agenda in recent years…


Defining Risk in Sanctions Compliance

Although enterprises in a variety of sectors—including finance, counseling and even manufacturing—have discussions on “sanctions compliance risk management,” it lacks an academic definition…


A Guide to Leadership Success: Elmer Irey and the Six C’s

Tracing the origins of the U.S. anti-money laundering and Office of Foreign Assets Control regimes undoubtedly will lead back to Elmer Lincoln Irey…


Origins of an Investigation

Picture this: Professionals are gathered at an anti-money laundering (AML) conference where cases ripped from the headlines are being presented by senior industry and law enforcement officials…


Dollarization: Fueling Zimbabwe’s Looting Machine

Narcotics traffickers in Colombia and Mexico invented and improved the Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE), making it arguably one of the largest money laundering schemes in the world. In a variant of the BMPE…


Greater St. Louis Chapter: Gateway to the West

The ACAMS Greater St. Louis Chapter is proud to support its community through learning and networking events. Did you know that St. Louis ranks 13th in the U.S. as one of the headquarters for Fortune 500 companies..


Jason Weinstein: The Proactive Blockchain Industry

ACAMS Today spoke with Jason Weinstein of Steptoe to discuss the formation of the Blockchain Alliance (BA), the BA’s overall goals and its role in the blockchain community…


Heather Carroll: An E-Learning Pioneer

ACAMS Today interviewed Heather Carroll to discuss her career in instructional design and the most important component of a certificate/certification…


Alicia Hurd, CAMS, J.D.—TX, USA

Alicia Hurd, CAMS, J.D., has over 15 years of regulatory compliance experience in the financial services industry. She is currently the head of compliance for the Policy and Program Office at MoneyGram International, Inc…


Orlando León, CAMS—AZ, USA

Orlando León is a Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance and bank operations professional. He was recently promoted to senior operations manager at Western Alliance Bank…


John F. Tobon, CAMS—HI, USA

In his position as special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Honolulu, John F. Tobon oversees criminal investigations in an area of responsibility encompassing the five island counties of the state of Hawaii…


Professional Matchmaking: Harmonizing Law Enforcement Investigations

Deconfliction. Private sector institutions often assume there is a primary deconfliction tool that all law enforcement in every location, from domestic to international, can access and use to connect with any and all agencies that share the same person of interest..


Deep Into the Weeds: Cannabis and Compliance

One of the few highlights in the U.S. economy in 2020 was the skyrocketing sales of legal cannabis, with the average store revenue increasing by 52% to 130% across the nation1


Post-Pandemic: Forging Partnerships for the Fraud War

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the globe in late 2019, few thought it would still rage well into 2021.1 As the world faces the prolonged fallout from this virus, law enforcement and other entities are starting to take stock of the future state…


How to Add Foundational Value to Your AML Program

How does one measure value when value is different for everyone? Look at the non-fungible token, the digital work of art that sold for $69.3 million at Christie’s,1 or the Beanie Babies craze of the 1990s…


Micro AML and Partnerships

Is improving law enforcement’s financial investigation literacy on the “micro” level of illicit financial activities the key toward achieving “macro” results from Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) compliance efforts?…


Four Ways the AMLA Will Reduce Compliance Risk and Costs

Either by explicit design or indirectly, several provisions in the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA)1 are expected to reduce compliance costs and compliance risks2 for banks..

Cashless Societies: Changing Times for AML Professionals

Cashless societies have become less of an abstract idea and more of a tangible reality since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic…


Data Analytics and a Good Old-Fashioned Investigation

This article covers two case studies where a bank effectively deployed data analytics as part of an anti-money laundering (AML) investigation…