AML Conversations

This week, John and Elliot discuss several developments impacting the financial crime community. These include the results of the recent FATF Plenary, a new statement from the Wolfsberg Group on effective monitoring for suspicious activity, the proposed rule from FinCEN to strengthen and modernize AML/CFT programs, and other items.

The U.S. State Department's new Trafficking Persons Report uncovers shocking trends in human trafficking. EU sanctions against Russia target the liquefied natural gas sector while raising concerns about human trafficking linked to migration. Spotlighting Iran, recent U.S. sanctions expose a shadow banking network laundering vast sums for defense. Investigative journalism plays a crucial role in revealing these issues. Finally, discussions on AML compliance highlight the need for community involvement and regulatory updates to enhance financial crime prevention.

AMLRS Advisory Board member and former OSFI official shares his expert views on changes and challenges for AML in 2024.

This week, the US Department of Justice made two announcements about repatriating funds seized from criminal actors. The Federal Reserve issued a cease and desist order regarding banking as a service. FinCEN issued a reminder about the importance of detecting elder financial abuse. John and Elliot discuss how these items impact the financial crime prevention community.

Kim Grauer, Director of Research for Chainalysis, discusses the 2024 Crypto Crime Report in the podcast. Topics include ransomware, sanctions evasion in regions like Russia and North Korea, decreased funds stolen in hacks, rise of romance scams in crypto, and impact of pandemic on crypto utilization and crime.

This week, the US Department of Justice issued a fact sheet on its Initiative to Combat Transnational Human Smuggling and Trafficking Networks. The Egmont Group published the outcomes from its recent plenary. The FinCEN held an outreach session on implementing the beneficial ownership information reporting requirements in Phoenix. The US Treasury published a request for information on the Uses, Opportunities, and Risks of Artificial Intelligence in the Financial Services Sector, and FinCEN issued its Year in Review from 2023. John and Elliot discuss these items and others and their meaning for the financial crime compliance community.

Josh and Jon return for our third and final segment on tuning and optimization. They discuss tuning and optimizing for sanctions and customer risk rating models, how this process can differ from transaction monitoring, and conclude with some valuable departing knowledge on the series as a whole.

John Byrne talks with well-known Australian AML Expert Aub Chapman on the AG’s proposal, key themes, and his insight on the potential for real success upon completing the process.

This week, Europol announced a successful crackdown on money mule service providers. The BASEL Institute for Governance released a paper on informal networks and anti-corruption. The US Treasury issued an Illicit Finance Risk Assessment of Non-Fungible Tokens. The Council of the European Union approved its new AML/CFT regime. John and Elliot discuss these items and several others and their impact on the financial crime prevention community.

This is a broad-based investigation into how Dubai remains a destination for illicit funds moved by drug lords, corrupt public officials, and money launderers. We discuss the methods behind and the results of a recently announced investigation by 70 media outlets worldwide.