Post By: Adam Turteltaub

The numbers on money laundering are shocking. Monica Ramirez Chimal, Partner at Asserto reports in this podcast that between $3 and $7 trillion is laundered annually. Despite the large number of dollars, enforcement tends to lag, with only a small fraction of cases reviewed by authorities or even caught by compliance programs.

Part of the challenge, she reports, is that compliance programs are often not up the challenge. Controls are not as strong or comprehensive as they could be. In addition, the pandemic is creating new opportunities for money launderers. There are less face-to-face meetings and transactions may have less documentation, and what documents there are may not be reviewed as closely as they should be.

At the same time money launderers are changing their tactics, using students and housewives, for example, to open dummy accounts. They are even taking advantage of the explosion in pet ownership, passing money to people while they are out walking their dogs.

Listen in to learn more about the complexities of this issue and what organizations can be doing to ensure that they are not caught up in a money laundering scheme.