Recently, I was laughing with my nephew about his use of slang. He thinks it is funny to teach me the latest slang and I can always get a hearty chuckle out of him by turning around and using one of his newly taught slang terms correctly. I return the favor by teaching him slang from my youth. We both appreciate the sometimes ludicrous nature of slang.

One of his most recent revelations to me was the term “sus.” We laughed at the inherent silliness of needing to shorten the word “suspicious” and the even greater absurdity of teens needing to use “sus” to describe so many people and situations. Unlike anti-financial crime (AFC) professionals, teens are not mired in the murk of illicit transactions all day.

My nephew begrudgingly agreed but said he liked the word and would continue using it.

Suspicion has been on my mind as we put together this edition of ACAMS Today. While I agree with Elvis that suspicious minds are the eventual death of relationships, it is nevertheless of vital importance in uncovering illicit activities. The cover article, “The U.S.-Mexico Border: Behind the Surge in Crime,” makes that abundantly clear. As denoted by the author, suspicion can be the first thread in unraveling a larger mystery.

This edition also highlights our Lifetime Achievement Award winners. A heartfelt congratulations to three titans of the AFC industry: John J. Byrne, Rick Small and Dan Soto.

As is traditional for the end-of-year edition, we are recognizing the other award winners in the article “Honoring the Profession’s Pacesetters.” Congratulations to Chris Bagnall and Sara Crowe, ACAMS Today Article of the Year recipients; Toms Platacis, ACAMS Rising AFC Professional of the Year; Nicholas Schumann, ACAMS AFC Professional of the Year; and the ACAMS Carolinas Chapter, ACAMS Chapter of the Year.

This issue wraps up the end of the year and introduces the new year with well-timed articles dissecting career growth and understanding the importance of self-training, the history of the Egmont Group, the cocaine dilemma in Antwerp’s port, financial crime and gold supply chains, and an interview with Grace Jackson and Maksym Markevych of the International Monetary Fund.

You might have noticed our new look. We have updated the ACAMS Today magazine design and hope you will enjoy the refresher as much as we have.

As we contemplate the closure of another year and with 2024 on the horizon, I hope we run into fewer situations as AFC professionals that appear to be “sus,” and instead have a year filled with success and harmony.

Wishing you all season’s greetings and a happy, healthy, successful 2024.

Karla Monterrosa-Yancey, CAMS
Editor-in-Chief
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