Featured
Scanned and Scammed: QR Code Fraud
Criminal elements have always exploited the “cutting edge” of new technologies. During the mid-19th century, organized crime used the recently created telegraph to coordinate criminal activities beyond local jurisdictions. In the early 20th century, organized criminal elements used the automobile for rapid getaways and as a transport “vessel” for stolen goods.
A New Approach to Casino Inherent Risk
This article offers a practical quantitative approach to computing the inherent risk associated with casinos. It allows casinos to isolate money laundering and financial crime risks better and communicate the casino risk profile to senior leadership. Determining inherent risk tends to be the most subjective phase in the casino risk assessment process.
Maximizing AFC Success on a Tight Budget
Tectonic geopolitical shifts in recent years have triggered a domino effect in the global economy. Military conflicts and new sanctions policies have disrupted supply chains, causing inflation, which national banks have raised benchmark interest rates to reduce.
From the Editor
QR Code Madness
Scan here to claim your reward; scan to pay; scan here for the menu; scan to connect to WiFi; scan here to enter your information; scan here to access the store; scan here for instructions on how to use your microwave; scan to donate; scan to get the app; scan for my Venmo information.
A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL CONTENT
Forward in the Fight Against Financial Crime
Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion―“every action has an equal and opposite reaction”―has been applied beyond physical science to understand various social phenomena.
Inside this Edition
- Acceso LatAm
- AFC Challenges
- Europe Express
- Fraud
- Global Financial Crime Review
- Interviews
- Know Your Chapter
- Meet the ACAMS Staff
- Member Spotlights
- Practical Solutions
- Regulatory Initiatives
- Tech Scope
- Understanding AI
How Money Laundering Affects the Environment
Money laundering is a process in which profits obtained from illicit activities are integrated into the legal financial system. This phenomenon does not just affect the economy but it also has a devastating impact on the environment. Illegal activities such as mining, deforestation and the trafficking of dangerous waste are closely linked to money laundering and cause serious environmental damage.
How AML Quality Assurance Has Advanced Over the Years
Quality assurance refers to the systematic process of ensuring that products and services meet specified requirements and standards. To better understand the advancement of quality assurance, one must first understand its origins.
Whales, Sharks and Minnows: B.C. Casino Scandal
In his 2018 study of casino-based money laundering in British Columbia (B.C.), Peter German noted that on July 22, 2015, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigator advised an official with the B.C. Lottery Corporation―the provincial government regulator of lotteries and casinos―that the police had been looking for a “minnow” and instead found a “whale.”
Shell Companies: The Misuse of Business Entities
A major risk to the financial system is the misuse of business entities to mask illicit activities and launder ill-gotten gains. This can take the form of obfuscating the ultimate source and use of funds, as well as the true identity of the beneficial owners.
Addressing the Scourge of Child Labor Trafficking
The United Nations emphasizes the imperative need for a fundamental shift in addressing the pervasive issue of child trafficking, acknowledging the lack of effective measures implemented thus far.
A New Approach to Casino Inherent Risk
This article offers a practical quantitative approach to computing the inherent risk associated with casinos. It allows casinos to isolate money laundering and financial crime risks better and communicate the casino risk profile to senior leadership. Determining inherent risk tends to be the most subjective phase in the casino risk assessment process.
Is AI Incompatible With the GDPR?
ChatGPT suffers from hallucinations―an ailment that its creator, OpenAI, is unable to cure. It is under these pretenses that in April 2024, the Austrian data privacy nonprofit organization, NOYB, founded by privacy activist Max Schrems, filed a complaint against OpenAI with the Austrian Data Protection Authority.
Brexit’s Minimal Impact on the U.K.’s Money Laundering Dilemma
This article will focus on the five characteristics that make Great Britain a singular territory in terms of financial crime and―more particularly―money laundering. The eurodollar market, offshore financial centers, non-bank financial intermediation, the real estate sector (particularly in London) and the legal structures that can be put in place in the U.K. create a specific financial ecosystem.
The Fraud Boom: Examining the Surge
Fraud is the word on everybody’s lips. When speaking to financial crime professionals, they increasingly bring up the subject proactively―with strong opinions expressed on the scale of the problem and the challenges and opportunities for tackling it.
The Money Laundering-Fraud Connection
During an innocuous conversation following a law enforcement briefing, the supervisor of a local police department’s narcotics section lamented about the difficulties he was experiencing in establishing an undercover account with one of the popular peer-to-peer money transfer apps.
Global Push for Beneficial Ownership Transparency
Although legal persons and arrangements in various forms are created for legitimate purposes spanning from separating legal liability, tax planning, effective investments and ensuring business continuity, there is a downside to it―the misuse of channels to layer and hide illegally gained funds by bad actors.
Neil Sternthal: Innovation, Collaboration and the Future of AFC
ACAMS Today spoke with Neil Sternthal, CEO of ACAMS, about the rapidly evolving world of financial crime prevention and the strong leadership skills that are essential to navigate the complexities of compliance, as well as regulation and emerging threats.
Barbara Brick: Observe, Learn and Engage
Barbara Brick is Ocean Bank’s executive vice president, director of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and compliance, heading all functions involved in compliance with the reporting of financial and policy regulations as well as the bank’s adherence to BSA, anti-money laundering and consumer compliance regulations.
ACAMS Eurasia Chapter: June 2024 Event Recap
The ACAMS Eurasia Chapter, in collaboration with LexisNexis Risk Solutions Financial Services and Businesses and Eddwise LLC, hosted a successful second annual Eurasian Forum on Cryptocurrency and International Sanctions Risk Management in Tbilisi, Georgia, on June 27, 2024.
ACAMS South Florida Chapter: Spring Financial Crime Forum
The ACAMS South Florida Chapter hosted its Spring Financial Crime Forum at Florida International University on May 16, 2024. With insightful panels featuring prominent figures in law enforcement and anti-money laundering, the event facilitated in-depth anti-financial crime-related discussions.
ACAMS Central Ohio Chapter: Banking Marijuana
The ACAMS Central Ohio Chapter hosted an event in June 2024 titled “Cannabis and Marijuana-Related Businesses” at BMI Federal Credit Union in Columbus, Ohio.
Ana Acuna: Keeping Pace With Digital Media
ACAMS Today spoke to Ana Acuna, who recently joined the ACAMS Today editorial team as web producer, to enhance the website and add interactivity to future articles. In this role, Acuna also supports the ACAMS moneylaundering.com website with updates to improve the user experience for its members.
Crecentia Curran—North Carolina, USA
Crecentia Curran has been a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent since 2009. She initially investigated white-collar crimes, concentrating on corporate accounting fraud, which included an indictment and conviction of a former Fortune 500 chief accounting officer.
Nicholas Fiori, CAMS—Arizona, USA
Nick Fiori is among an elite group of anti-money laundering compliance professionals working in the casino sector. With more than 29 years of casino experience, Fiori has worked in nearly every aspect of gaming.
Sophie Solange Nsongka Njobe, CAMS—Yaoundé, Cameroon
As an internal control and compliance manager with 12 years of experience in governance, risk and compliance management, Sophie Solange Nsongka Njobe earned a Master of Business Administration in finance from the University of Leicester in the U.K. to permit an in-depth mastery of financial services and a Level 7 Diploma in strategic management and leadership practice from the Chartered Management Institute in the U.K.
The Netherlands and Canada: Mitigating Money Laundering
Canada and the Netherlands share notable similarities in their challenges related to organized crime and their efforts to combat these crimes. However, their approach differs significantly. A comparative analysis of these strategies may yield valuable insights.
Maximizing AFC Success on a Tight Budget
Tectonic geopolitical shifts in recent years have triggered a domino effect in the global economy. Military conflicts and new sanctions policies have disrupted supply chains, causing inflation, which national banks have raised benchmark interest rates to reduce.
FinCEN and BIS: Joint Alerts Put Export Compliance Focus on FIs
On November 6, 2023, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry Security (BIS) and the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published the latest in a series of joint alerts and notices bringing export compliance fully into focus for financial institutions (FIs).
Understanding the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act
On January 1, 2024, the U.S. Congress enacted the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act, a law that “criminalizes the demand side of foreign bribery by prohibiting foreign officials from demanding, seeking, receiving, accepting, or agreeing to receive or accept anything of value from certain individuals and entities.”
Scanned and Scammed: QR Code Fraud
Criminal elements have always exploited the “cutting edge” of new technologies. During the mid-19th century, organized crime used the recently created telegraph to coordinate criminal activities beyond local jurisdictions. In the early 20th century, organized criminal elements used the automobile for rapid getaways and as a transport “vessel” for stolen goods.
AI Outsmarts Fraudsters: Boiler Rooms Busted
Boiler room fraud, wherein brokers employ tactics such as cold calling, pump-and-dump schemes, advance-fee fraud and high-pressure sales tactics to sell stocks of questionable value over the phone, rose to prominence in the 1990s and has lurked in the shadows of the world of commerce ever since.