The Europe Express column features anti-financial crime-related content with a regional focus in Europe from subject-matter experts. If you would like to contribute to this column or have any topics you would like to suggest, please email editor@acams.org.
Our award-winning regular contributor is Stefano Siggia, CAMS, senior consultant at the Brussels-based regulatory and compliance consultancy firm Pideeco. Siggia was born in Italy but grew up in Bangladesh, China, Germany and Belgium, where he currently resides. After earning his bachelor’s degree in international affairs from Vesalius College and a master’s degree in international relations from the Brussels School of International Studies
(University of Kent), he worked at Banca Monte Paschi Belgio.
“Hi mum, I lost my phone. This is my new number.” That simple, familiar message was all it took to spark a wave of deception across Luxembourg in early 2023. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The message came from a Luxembourg mobile number, written...
Just a short drive from the tourist streets of Naples, Italy, the soil bears witness to an unnatural death toll. The towns of Acerra, Nola and Marigliano, once idyllic rural communities, have earned the grim epithet of “the Triangle of Death.” This lethal zone created...
The European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) is officially in business. With a newly appointed chairperson, executive board and a 257-meter-high skyscraper in Frankfurt, it began laying foundations to become the key pillar of the EU’s fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. One of its...
Anti-money laundering (AML) regulations in the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (U.K.) have undergone significant changes in recent years, reflecting the emergence of new technologies, evolving financial crime risks, the expansion of digital assets and the increasing importance of data transparency. As financial...
Rapid technological development, digital society, mass globalization, migration and political turbulence are confronting the fight against crime with new challenges. Despite small fluctuations depending on geographical area and crime types, traditional methods seem ineffective. Crime is increasing, becoming more transnational and organized. In addition, criminals...
An African grey parrot, a common boa, a pangolin … these are not just animals in the wild; they are commodities advertised and sold on social media every day. Once confined to shadowy backroom deals, the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) has gone digital, thriving on...
For as little as 250 euros ($273) a month, anyone could run their own phishing empire. This is what the Dutch LabHost network offered—an all-in-one fraud-as-a-service (FaaS) platform that sold tools to create fake banking and government institution websites to scam victims worldwide. For as...
Among the most widely discussed topics today are the opportunities provided by artificial intelligence (AI) to improve efficiency and to reduce costs. This also stands true for anti-financial crime (AFC) processes. Know your customer and transaction monitoring processes work with large amounts of data. Because...
Ten seconds―that is all it takes to break payment barriers across European borders under the European Union’s (EU) new Instant Payment Regulation (IPR). Entered into force in April 2024, it requires all payment service providers (PSPs) to receive instant payments as of January 9, 2025,...
The purpose of the fight against money laundering, as we know it in the world of compliance, is based on the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force recommendations. Financial investigations are often triggered following suspicious activity reports transmitted to the local financial intelligence unit...
Our award-winning regular contributor is Stefano Siggia, CAMS, senior consultant at the Brussels-based regulatory and compliance consultancy firm Pideeco. Siggia was born in Italy but grew up in Bangladesh, China, Germany and Belgium, where he currently resides. After earning his bachelor’s degree in international affairs from Vesalius College and a master’s degree in international relations from the Brussels School of International Studies
