Sep ’23 – Nov ’23

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Issue: Vol. 22 No. 4

Featured

From the Editor

Just Say No

It seems that almost everyone in my family was born in September. While I was frantically doing some birthday shopping for multiple family members, I came across a vintage “just say no” t-shirt. The echoes of my youth flooded my memories. I remember being taught the “Just Say No” campaign in school during the early ‘80s and ‘90s.

A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL CONTENT

A Community Convenes—Again

We are publishing this issue of ACAMS Today in conjunction with our biggest assembly, taking place October 2-4, in Las Vegas. So, if you are reading this in Las Vegas, welcome! If this is your first ACAMS Assembly, I hope the opportunity to engage with more than 2,000 dedicated anti-financial crime (AFC) professionals is as energizing and enlightening for you as it is for me when I attend ACAMS events throughout the year.


Inside this Edition

Deterring Financial Crimes While Respecting Data Sovereignty

Financial crimes such as money laundering, fraud and terrorist financing continue to pose significant risks to the stability and integrity of the global financial system. Governments and regulatory bodies have responded by implementing strict measures to detect, prevent and report such activities.


Structuring: AML’s Reddest Flag

There seems to be regular if not constant debate in anti-money laundering/Bank Secrecy Act (AML/BSA) compliance circles about finding ways to reduce the “burden” of filing suspicious activity reports (SARs) based on structuring (also known as smurfing). Structuring currency seems to have taken on a persona that it is more of a nuisance to AML detection and compliance efforts than a potentially valuable investigative lead with which it is more often associated.


A Look at the Latest Cryptocurrency Criminal Cases

Cryptocurrency has become increasingly entrenched in our society and the financial system for the past 10 years. Popular cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Monero (XMR), have grown exponentially both in value and application since 2016. Bitcoin, for example, has skyrocketed to a price over $30,000 between 2021 to 2023, now towering over its price from 2017 to 2020.


BNPL: A Road Map for AML Compliance Officers

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) technology has significantly changed consumer purchasing behavior. The financial service allows consumers to buy a product or service “now” and pay “later” in installments over a specified period, with little or no interest, becoming one of the fastest-growing e-commerce services in the world. However, the rapid expansion of BNPL introduces concerns about its vulnerability to money laundering and other financial crime.


Health Care Payments: The Challenges and Risks

Recent trends have highlighted a troubling reality: Criminals are becoming aware of a new gold mine in the health care payments industry, and many health care providers are ill-equipped to stop them. There are more than 900 operating businesses in the U.S. that are paying on behalf of health care plans.