AML Conversations

This week saw virtual currencies be the focus in many venues. John and Elliot discuss statements from the head of the SEC and the fine levied against BitMEX by FinCEN for regulatory violations. They also review the negotiations in the US Senate, during the debate on the Infrastructure Bill, surrounding tax reporting by participants in the virtual currency ecosystem.

John Byrne, Executive Vice President and Vesna McCreery, Managing Director of the AML RightSource staff, sit down and chat about the progression of financial crime compliance over the past 20+ years. They discuss the journey from reputation risk, to transaction monitoring, to comprehensive client due diligence. John and Vesna examine the changes in regulatory focus and expectations and how the financial service industry’s response has evolved over time.

In this installment of AML Conversations, John Byrne sits down with Bill Maggio. In a wide-ranging conversation, Bill, a member of the AML RightSource Advisory Board, and John discuss entrepreneurship, how new and rapidly growing companies help stimulate business communities, and the current expansion activity at AML RightSource.

In this installment of AML Conversations, John Byrne speaks with Markus Schulz, Deputy Global Head FCC & Global Head Change Management at IMG, about the history of technology in the financial crime compliance space and how technology has migrated into the regulatory and examination processes as well.

This week, Tim White and John Byrne discuss the recently imposed sanctions on Cuban officials by the Biden Administration

This week the at a hearing of a subcommittee of the House Banking Committee the risks related to central bank digital currencies. John and Elliot discuss some key risks identified in the testimony, including dollar primacy, economic and trade sanctions, and cybersecurity.

This week the US Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control held hearing on the federal response to the drug overdose epidemic. John and Elliot discuss key themes of the hearings, interesting elements of the testimony, and insights into how the traffickers are moving their ill-gotten gains.

Adverse Media Screening is a powerful tool for KYC and EDD. During this installment of AML Conversations, John Byrne discusses how AMS can be a key part of an effective financial crime compliance program with Adrian Gardner, Head of KYC at Cash App and Eve Whittaker, Senior Account Manager at Arachnys.

This session covers the recently released report by Polaris and The Avery Center on how two financial institutions, working with a human trafficking survivor, were able to develop five themes on how traffickers moved funds derived from their illicit activities.

This week US banking regulators asked for comment on proposed interagency guidance on third-party relationships. The proposed guidance will replace existing guidance, some of which dates to 2009. John and Elliot discuss the proposal, what financial service providers should consider as this proposal becomes final, and how the proposal may impact the examination process.