Sep ’21 – Nov ’21

AT_v20_n4

Issue: Vol. 20 No. 4

Featured

Ransomware: The Digital Battleground

Ransomware: The Digital Battleground

In the age of the internet, a hack meant the loss of personally identifiable information (PII). In the 2018 hack of Facebook, 50 million users...

September 11: The 20-Year Journey

September 11: The 20-Year Journey

Certain events are etched in our minds forever. For those of us who were working in the public or private sector on September 11, 2001, the attacks against the U.S. by al-Qaeda (al-Qaida) were clearly...

From the Director of Editorial Content

Twenty Years Later: What We Lost, What We Gained

Most of us can vividly recall where we were 20 years ago on September 11, 2001...

From the Editor

Reflections of 9/11

This year marks the 20-year anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil. We all remember where we were when we heard the news...

Inside this Edition

Nonprofits: Know Your Donor’s Asset Origination

Nonprofits: Know Your Donor’s Asset Origination

When learning about new trends in money laundering from financial crime prevention experts, one usually does not consider the nonprofit sector and the risk of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in facilitating illicit transactions...


Riddle Me This: Export Controls?

Riddle Me This: Export Controls?

As governments seek to accomplish national security and foreign policy goals, the regulatory focus has increasingly turned to export control compliance...


Cryptocurrency Exit Scams—What They Are and How to Avoid Them

Cryptocurrency Exit Scams—What They Are and How to Avoid Them

Throughout the years, cryptocurrency has become a very controversial topic of discussion, mainly through the two opposing forces that try to navigate within the space...


Data’s Impact on Compliance and AFC Operations

Data’s Impact on Compliance and AFC Operations

Threats against financial institutions (FIs) continue to rise. Add to that the pressure of ever-evolving regulatory and compliance requirements and it makes for a trying environment in which to do business...


The Nexus Between Ransomware, Cryptocurrency and Money Laundering

The Nexus Between Ransomware, Cryptocurrency and Money Laundering

In May 2021, American motorists across the states of Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina panicked as they scrambled to fill their vehicles at gas stations. The run for fuel was a result of...

How to Incorporate Money Laundering Risk into Risk Management: Part One

How to Incorporate Money Laundering Risk into Risk Management: Part One

Relevant provisions have regulated the incorporation of money laundering and terrorist financing risk (hereinafter referred to as money laundering risk) into the overall risk management of financial institutions (FIs). These provisions include...


Musings From After Quarantine Chapter 3: Job Seekers Strike Back

Musings From After Quarantine Chapter 3: Job Seekers Strike Back

I have been recruiting in the anti-money laundering (AML), compliance and regulatory space for 13 years and have experienced two recessions during that time. The most valuable lesson I have learned is...


Twenty Impacts Over 20 Years

Twenty Impacts Over 20 Years

ACAMS Today is kicking off the celebration of ACAMS’ 20-year anniversary with a list of the 20 most transformative anti-financial crime (AFC) events of the last 20 years...


Ransomware: The Digital Battleground

Ransomware: The Digital Battleground

In the age of the internet, a hack meant the loss of personally identifiable information (PII). In the 2018 hack of Facebook, 50 million users...


September 11: The 20-Year Journey

September 11: The 20-Year Journey

Certain events are etched in our minds forever. For those of us who were working in the public or private sector on September 11, 2001, the attacks against the U.S. by al-Qaeda (al-Qaida) were clearly…


Elder Financial Exploitation: A Monumental Crisis

First the ingredients: One coronavirus that forces people to isolate in their own homes; add increased reliance on telephones and computers as means of communication; then remove layers of protection by eliminating home visits from…


The European Cybersecurity Ecosystem: A War on Cybercrime

The European Cybersecurity Ecosystem: A War on Cybercrime

On June 23, the European Commission announced a proposal to establish a Joint Cyber Unit in response to large-scale security incidents related to cybercrime. The proposal is part of a vast and seemingly endless array of...


Analyzing South Korea’s ‘Nth Room’ Case

Analyzing South Korea’s ‘Nth Room’ Case

In 2020, the global lockdown saw an increased supply and demand of online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) accessed through social media, instant messengers, chatrooms and online games by users looking to...


Greater Phoenix Chapter: Pivot, Evolve, Adapt!

Greater Phoenix Chapter: Pivot, Evolve, Adapt!

The ACAMS Greater Phoenix Chapter hosted a virtual webinar in June titled, “Terrorist Financing in the Crypto Age: Regulatory and Law Enforcement Framework.” The event had over...


Winnie Yuen: Communication for Effective Collaboration

Winnie Yuen: Communication for Effective Collaboration

ACAMS Today chatted with Winnie Yuen, global marketing operations manager, about her marketing experience throughout the years and the keys to a successful marketing campaign...


Sandra Edun Watler, CAMS—Cayman Islands

Sandra Edun-Watler, CAMS—Cayman Islands

Sandra Edun-Watler is an attorney-at-law and the head of the compliance and reporting services for Mourant Governance Services in the Cayman Islands. In this role...


Muhammad Rizwan Khan, CAMS-FCI, CGSS, CTMA, CKYCA—Pakistan

Muhammad Rizwan Khan, CAMS-FCI, CGSS, CTMA, CKYCA—Pakistan

Muhammad Rizwan Khan was recognized for his dedication to the anti-financial crime field. Khan has achieved several compliance certifications from ACAMS, including...


Howard Spieler, CAMS—NY, USA

Howard Spieler, CAMS—NY, USA

Howard Spieler, co-chair of the ACAMS New York Chapter, has nearly 20 years of compliance-related experience. Throughout his career...


Casinos and the Why of Money Laundering

Casinos and the Why of Money Laundering

Casino employee observations are a critical component of a casino anti-money laundering (AML) program because, unlike banks, almost all...


Strengthening Your DPMS Toolkit

Strengthening Your DPMS Toolkit

The dealers of precious metals and stones (DPMS) sector as well as the commodities traded within it, are often poorly understood by financial institutions (FIs)...


A Guide to Surviving an Audit

A Guide to Surviving an Audit

For compliance professionals, there is an addition to the adage that the only things in life that are certain are death and taxes―make that death, taxes and audits...


Best Crisis Management Practices for Data Breaches: Part One

Best Crisis Management Practices for Data Breaches: Part One

In recent years, many companies have had to respond to a crisis related to unauthorized access to confidential information. These data breaches are not the only crises an organization may face...


The Right Data for KYC Success

The Right Data for KYC Success

In today’s world of financial crime compliance, there is a concerted effort from regulators to push the limits―at least in the minds of many know your customer (KYC)...


The New Whistleblower Program AML Professionals Should Know

The New Whistleblower Program AML Professionals Should Know

The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA) is the most significant change to the U.S.’ anti-money laundering (AML) laws in more than a decade...


Making Event Trigger Reviews Work

Making Event Trigger Reviews Work

Event trigger reviews (ETRs) or event-driven reviews are part of the anti-financial crime (AFC) controls of ongoing monitoring or ongoing reviews...