AML Conversations

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.

This week, the Basel Institute on Governance published its 2023 Annual Report, OFAC published regulatory changes about Cuba, and MONEYVAL’s issued an update to its mutual evaluation of the Holy See. John and Elliot discuss these items and their meaning for the financial crime compliance community.

John and Elliot discuss the 2024 National Illicit Finance Strategy, FinCEN’s new Exchange series to fight fentanyl trafficking, the second stage consultation on reforming Australia’s AML/CFT regime, and several other items. They share their insights on how these reports and actions impact the financial crime prevention community.

This week, John and Elliot discuss a new report from the OCCRP about global bad actors using Dubai real estate, the World Wildlife Crime Report from the UN Office of Drugs and Crime, a report from FINTRAC on virtual currency ATMs, a report from the Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group, and more.

John and Elliot discuss several recent announcements and actions significant to the financial crime prevention community this week. These include the indictment of Congressman Henry Cuellar on money laundering and bribery charges. The US sanctioned the LockBit ransomware group, Remarks by Andrea Gacki at the SIFMA AML conference, a new FinCEN advisory on Iran-backed terrorist organizations, and more.

Join Joe McNamara (AML RightSource), Elena Christopher (HFS Research), and John Byrne (AML RightSource), on a deep dive into the recent joint market impact report, “Driving the Evolution of Financial Crime Compliance: The People and Tech Imperative”. Joe, John, and Elena discuss some of the report’s interesting findings on the evolution of financial crime compliance, the driving force behind the survey, as well as a few practical insights found between the lines of the report. Discover how technology, when merged with expert human insights, is revolutionizing anti-money laundering efforts, particularly as we navigate the complexities of digital assets and expanding regulatory frameworks. Tune in for a compelling discussion on fostering effective collaborations between compliance professionals and law enforcement to tackle financial crimes more efficiently in today's dynamic environment.

This week, the White House released a new National Security Memorandum on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience. The Attorney General recommended reducing restrictions on marijuana. Global Financial Integrity and several other organizations released a report identifying 25 cases in which illegal, allegedly illicit, or suspicious funds were funneled into commercial property in the US. John and Elliot discuss these and other events of the week that are important to members of the global financial crime prevention community.

This week, John and Elliot discuss several items issued by FinCEN, including elder financial abuse and environmental crime, Treasury Undersecretary Nelson’s visit to Puerto Rico, and BaFin’s fining of Commerzbank.

If transaction monitoring thresholds are too sensitive or not sensitive enough, financial institutions run the risk of missing genuine criminal behavior. Likewise, without periodic tuning and optimization, systems may fail to detect emerging criminal methodologies or comply with the latest AML rules. In this episode, our advisory experts, Joshua and Jonathan, take a deep dive into the technical process of tuning and optimizing, sharing best practices and insights to ensure systems operate effectively and support a risk-based approach.

FinCEN issued a Notice about fraud schemes using counterfeit US passport cards this week. The FBI uncovered a complex money laundering strategy using casinos, sportsbooks, and FanDuel accounts. New bi-partisan stablecoin legislation was introduced in the US Senate. John and Elliot discuss these and more happenings and how they impact the financial crime prevention community.