Captagon: A Dangerous Pill to Swallow

In early September 2022, Syria’s Ministry of Interior released a video showing dozens of seized hummus bowls. A bowl is subsequently picked up and peeled with a knife, revealing that the bowls were concealing an illicit drug called Captagon. According to the Ministry, pills had...

Child sexual exploitation (CSE), child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) and child sex trafficking (CST) are serious crimes that adversely impact children being coerced or manipulated into engaging in sexual activity for financial gain. The ACAMS Today Back-to-the-Basics article, “Beyond The Headlines—A Real Look at Trends...
Cleaning Up Dirty Money in the Art Trade

The art market’s vulnerabilities to financial crime have recently become a growing concern in the U.S., Europe and the U.K. Increasingly, authorities have turned their attention to art market transactions, acknowledging that—like other high-end assets—the art trade is ripe for money laundering.1 Scrutiny has been...
Human Trafficking in Times of Conflict

The trafficking of human beings increases dramatically in times of conflict, and the combination of conflict and migration leaves a significant number of unaccompanied migrant and refugee children at high risk of institution-related trafficking, as well as various forms of abuse and exploitation. Orphanage trafficking...
Germany’s New AML Authority and Its Uphill Battle

When Lisa Paus, a financial expert in Germany’s Green Party, tried to identify the owners of the Kundamm-Karee ‘Fürst’ project, she hit a wall. The approximately 635,071-square-foot urban area that would house office spaces, retail stores and art galleries at Kurfürstendamm, one of Berlin’s most...

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid drug used for analgesic (pain relief) and anesthetic purposes in both human and veterinary medicine, in addition to treating patients with severe or chronic pain. Launched in 1963 by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, founded by Belgian Dr. Paul Janssen, fentanyl is...

In the Latin America region, efforts to combat financial crimes must consider contextual factors, such as poverty, financial education, internet access, corruption and impunity. For governments facing these contextual challenges, cryptocurrencies may add another layer of complexity, regardless of the regulatory approach in that country....