Featured
Project Hades: Dark Web Revealed
One of the biggest responsibilities of our time is to protect the most vulnerable, especially in the anti-human trafficking and anti-child exploitation space. The Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative (ATII), a nonprofit organization, is continually expanding its presence and systems to combat human trafficking and child exploitation. One of its current initiatives is Project Hades, a dark web search platform.
Sustainability: Converging AML and ESG
As discussions on sustainability continue to push toward center stage in the corporate world, the time has come for anti-money laundering (AML) professionals to reassess their day-to-day responsibilities through the lens of environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets so that they can not only be included in the burgeoning movement but furthered because of it.
From the Director of Editorial Content
Looking Back, Looking Forward
There is a lot to celebrate as we recognize the 20th-anniversary of ACAMS and the launch of ACAMS Today . I believe it is fair to say that the award-winning magazine you’re reading now, together with the ACAMS members who have exchanged their work, insight and expertise in these pages have played an instrumental role in the creation of a global anti-financial crime (AFC) revolution.
From the Editor
The Hallmarks of a 20-Year Celebration
A couple of years ago I started looking into vintage jewelry. Why do I like vintage jewelry? I enjoy the provenance that comes with each piece, the fact that each one has a story to tell through its prior ownership and design. As you focus on the hallmarks, the metals and gemstones, each piece unfolds the full extent of its beauty and becomes more unique with time.
Inside this Edition
- A Letter From the ACAMS President
- AML Challenges
- Practical Solutions
- Compliance
- Tech Scope
- 20 Years of Celebration
- Women in AFC
- Global Financial Crime Review
- Interview
- Know Your Chapter
- Meet the ACAMS Staff
- Member Spotlights
ACAMS at 20: A Road Less Traveled and the Friends We Made Along the Way
In the ever-changing world of compliance, a decade or two can seem like several lifetimes. Twenty years ago, instead of debating the vulnerabilities of crypto or discussing how to integrate artificial intelligence into compliance systems, regulators were beginning to assess whether bearer shares and correspondent accounts posed financial-crime risks. Instead of contending with ransomware threats from halfway around the world, bankers were wondering aloud how they could be expected to know if a branch transaction had ties to terrorism.
Sustainability: Converging AML and ESG
As discussions on sustainability continue to push toward center stage in the corporate world, the time has come for anti-money laundering (AML) professionals to reassess their day-to-day responsibilities through the lens of environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets so that they can not only be included in the burgeoning movement but furthered because of it.
Compliance Convergence Within Financial and Physical Supply Chains
In 2005, the then leading global trade management firm, Vastera, was acquired by JPMorgan Chase, the world’s largest financial management services provider,1 thereby combining Vastera’s logistics and trade compliance businesses with the bank’s treasury service unit.
A Modern Playbook for Trade Activity
Trade activity is fundamentally changing, and as a result, the inherent risks that financial executives faced in the past have evolved. Increasing market volatility—coupled with a higher frequency of trading and the wider adoption of digital assets—has introduced a greater degree of complexity and pushed the industry toward a precipice.
BSA: The History of Casinos as FIs
Who should control casinos—the states or the federal government? This question spurred the congressional hearings when casinos became a popular avenue for laundering illicit funds. These hearings were held on February 10 and June 21, 19841, and were chaired by New Jersey Congressman William J. Hughes.
The Transformation of AML Risk Management: From Containment to Contribution
Mobile banking is coming to the forefront of customer interaction in financial services and along with it, the pace of change in the digitization and mobilization of financial services can be best described as rapid.
A One-Two Punch: Action and Guidance for Ransomware Compliance
In the wake of ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure and important business interests, it is now clear that threat actors—rogue nation-states—have moved to the digital battlefield with cybercriminals. Ransomware is malware that locks and encrypts data on a victim’s computer network until a ransom is paid—this is not new. In fact, the first ransomware attack was reportedly launched through a floppy disc in 1989.
Terrorist Financing: A 20-Year Retrospective
Congratulations to ACAMS on reaching its 20th-anniversary of publishing ACAMS Today. This is a great milestone for the anti-money laundering (AML) community. ACAMS Today has consistently provided a platform for thought leadership through a wide range of outstanding content and has regularly addressed a myriad of meaningful issues relevant to all AML stakeholders.
Periodic Reviews at a Glance
Periodic reviews (PRs) form an integral part of an organization’s anti-financial crime (AFC) controls. Ultimately, the object of the PR is to assess whether the organization should continue its relationship with the customer. Information obtained during client onboarding and account opening may not be current. Therefore, learning about making effective PRs is only one step in strengthening an organization’s AFC defense.
DeFi Compliance: A Galaxy Not Far Away
The power and promise of cryptocurrencies as a decentralized, permissionless, cross-border value transfer at the speed of the internet is to build a more democratic and complete financial system. Decentralized finance (DeFi) takes the promise of crypto and builds on it, creating an entire on-chain Wall Street—a digital financial services industry. But how do you build compliance for an entirely decentralized ecosystem?
Green Compliance: Adding Potential Complications to Your KYC Onboarding
“Green” is all the rage right now. Professionals are seeing increasing public discourse around climate change, environment, social and governance (ESG), diversity and inclusion and corporate social responsibility. Governments and regulators are taking note and even proposing guidelines as well as regulations to address the various green initiatives. Investors and the public are increasingly demanding that companies identify climate-related risks in their financial results.
Reading the Compliance Job-Board Tarots
Acompliance professional’s day would not be complete without checking the trends in regulation, enforcement and consent orders. Those are the traditional bellwethers of where things are heading and what needs to be done for appropriate and responsive compliance activities. As unnoticed signposts, job boards may be the most revealing yet ignored sources on the state of anti-money laundering (AML) and regulatory compliance.
RPA Deployment in the AML World: Lessons Learned
Robotic process automation (RPA) has become increasingly popular as banks and other financial institutions (FI) look to quickly generate efficiencies. According to an early study, RPA supported operations cost from as little as a third of an offshore full-time employee (FTE) and as little as a fifth of an onshore FTE.1
Project Hades: Dark Web Revealed
One of the biggest responsibilities of our time is to protect the most vulnerable, especially in the anti-human trafficking and anti-child exploitation space. The Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative (ATII), a nonprofit organization, is continually expanding its presence and systems to combat human trafficking and child exploitation. One of its current initiatives is Project Hades, a dark web search platform.
Innovation in the Ever-Evolving AFC Industry
Anti-financial crime (AFC) professionals had little idea of how vastly the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and financial crime would develop domestically and internationally in the years following the 9/11 terrorist attack.
Editorial Committees: Words of Inspiration
tarting with one editorial committee, ACAMS Today has expanded to five publications, seven online columns and numerous articles published on ACAMSToday.org since its inception in 2002.
20 Covers Over 20 Years
Since its start as a newsletter, ACAMS Today has grown vastly, publishing six magazine editions a year in six languages; in addition to publishing articles exclusively on ACAMSToday.org and two biweekly newsletters in two languages: ACAMS Connection and ACAMS Conexión.
Chapter Celebrations: Past, Present and Future
Every edition of ACAMS Today highlights one of the 61 ACAMS chapters worldwide in the “Know Your Chapter” section, where the chapters discuss events, updates and more.
Career Advancement for Women Through Sponsors and Mentors
When I started working in the financial services sector years ago, I was the only female lawyer in a firm specializing in banking, commercial credit and compliance. Every other woman employed by the firm held lower-level administrative positions. Fast forward to the year 2022, it is refreshing to see that the same office location—now with a different law firm—has three strong female lawyers advising a mutual client.
Player Substitution: Transnational Criminal Organizations and Money Launderers
Money launderers treat their illegal services the same way business owners treat their service offerings, and they continuously look to improve their services. As such, different money launderers charge different commissions or fees, utilize unique methodologies and networks and return illegal monetary proceeds in different amounts of time. Each is unique and offers diversified services to present a higher value for their clients.
Kaleidoscopic Compliance: How DEI Became an ACAMS Priority
It may be old saw to say it, but it is true: diversity is a strength in anti-financial crime (AFC) compliance. For ACAMS, it is also a priority, thanks to the work headed by Lashvinder Kaur, vice president of global strategic communications, who in 2020 pushed to make improving diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) a goal for the association and its over 90,000 members across the globe.
ACAMS Australasian Chapter: Our Journey
In Sydney on June 2007, an ACAMS introductory reception was hosted on how to form a chapter by the co-founder of ACAMS, Charles A. Intriago. In October of that year, Rick Small, current co-chair of the ACAMS advisory board, hosted a reception in Sydney to formally launch the chapter.
ACAMS Japan Chapter: Celebrating its First Year
The ACAMS Japan Chapter, founded in January 2021, is moving successfully to its second year. The Chapter is a voluntary organization run by ACAMS members in Japan, where any local ACAMS member can join by paying an annual membership fee of $25 to participate in a number of events. Here is a look back on Japan’s first year of activities.
ACAMS Today Editorial: The Women Behind the Magazine
Behind every issue of ACAMS Today, there is a dedicated team of editors. From updating the ACAMS Today website, to sending out biweekly newsletters featuring new content and updates, to publishing every issue of ACAMS Today, the editorial team is constantly working to improve the quality of anti-financial crime (AFC) content offered to its members.
Paul Camacho, CAMS—California, USA
After serving six years as the vice president of anti-money laundering (AML) compliance for Station Casinos, Paul Camacho became the vice president of compliance for Yaamava’ Resort and Casino in May 2020.
Alessia Bräutigam—Dublin, Ireland
Alessia Bräutigam has over 12 years of experience in anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF) and anti-financial crime (AFC) areas, specifically in the fintech and regtech industries.
Derick Mostert, CAMS—Pretoria, South Africa
Derick Mostert is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS). His current role is manager for systems and planning in the monitoring and analysis (M&A) division of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) of South Africa. Mostert will be starting a three-year secondment contract with the Egmont Group Secretariat as senior officer.