Author Archives: Brian Monroe
Special ACFCS Video Financial Crimecast: Quantaverse CEO David McLaughlin talks AI, AML and compliance in a time of coronavirus
The Skinny: David McLaughlin, the CEO of Quantaverse, talks criminal trends, AI and financial crime and compliance in a time of coronavirus in a special video version of the ACFCS Financial Crimecast. In some cases, the COVID-19 pandemic has crimped certain criminal groups engaged in human and drug trafficking. Conversely, AML alerts at some institutions […]
New White House Executive Order requiring regulators to waive, adjust regulations hampering recovery could come with AML, fincrime tethers
The Skinny: New White House executive order requiring regulators to trim or adjust regulations that can hamper an economic recovery could clash with financial crime compliance duties. The order could pressure federal regulators to publicly, or behind the scenes, nudge banks to pull back on AML requirements now – only to have examiners chastise financial […]
In pandemic fraud, cyber fusillades, more criminals choosing crypto to buy virtual weapons, get paid after successful attacks: FinCEN
The Skinny: FinCEN is putting the virtual value sector on notice that criminals are increasingly using crypto coins and related exchanges to purchase malware packages and reap the profits of COVID-19 pandemic-related phishing, ransomware and other cyberattacks. These illicit actors are also attempting to hide connections to scams and schemes by engaging “anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrencies,” also […]
Special ATII Contributor Report: COVID-19 and Human Trafficking – Exacerbating Modern Slavery with a Global Health Pandemic
The Skinny: The relentless march of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected human trafficking and human smuggling groups in different ways – causing one arena to dry up and another to surge. For some human trafficking operations, they have seen profits fall as communities, states and even full countries lock down and “shelter in place,” so […]
Pandemic has hampered AML supervision, international investigations, cooperation, could help criminals evade CDD: FATF
The Skinny: A global watchdog group is warning that the COVID-19 pandemic is creating hurdles for running financial crime compliance programs, reporting suspicious activities to law enforcement and working together to identify larger, interconnected criminal groups. The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the standard bearer of anti-money laundering (AML) compliance best practices, is also […]
Regional Report – Europe: Fraud, cybercrime, surging now, AML must later look for launderers hiding in economic recovery, volatility
The Skinny: Europe is firmly in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Spain, Italy, France and Germany among the top 10 in countries with the most total cases at more than 750,000 combined – still less than the United States at some 1.1 million. Not surprisingly, with banks facing a massive surge in fraud […]
Regional Report – Asia: India struggles on outsourced AML, Hong Kong fraudsters impersonate banks, Japan regulator reduces onsite exams
The Skinny: In this regional snapshot, Asia is in the spotlight, reviewing how several key powers have worked to counter a global pandemic while not losing ground to criminals, fraudsters and cyber hackers. India, one of the world’s compliance outsourcing capitals, has seen its AML community rush to adapt to working from home – potentially […]
Scholarship Spotlight: Countering human trafficking takes combination of learning criminal patterns, sharing knowledge, helping survivors rebuild, says Emily Bejarano
The Skinny: One of the winners of the ACFCS certification scholarship for fincrime professionals fighting human trafficking shares what drives her in this mission to thwart criminal groups through follow-the-money sleuthing and directly helping victims and survivors rebuild one-on-one. For Wells Fargo anti-money laundering consultant Emily Bejarano, the mission to counter trafficking goes beyond the […]
In chaos of pandemic, more ransomware attacks targeting hospitals, some dark markets struggle to meet user illicit order demands: special ACFCS webinar report
The Skinny: In chaos of coronavirus pandemic, more ransomware attacks are targeting hospitals, even as some hacking groups debate the ethics of going after vulnerable targets trying to save lives, according to details revealed in a joint ACFCS/Chainalysis webinar Friday. Conversely, even as COVID-19 has opened new avenues for scam, spam and ransomware fusillades, some […]
In latest update of interagency AML exam manual, is the U.S. shifting from ‘effectiveness’ to ‘adequate’ compliance programs?
The Skinny: In the latest edition of the interagency fincrime compliance exam manual, some AML professionals see a pullback from gathering global momentum to build “effective” programs to simply “adequate” aims. What the FFIEC AML exam manual says, even down to what words are used, has great import as it is the definitive industry […]
New Treasury guidance on intersection of AML/BSA, SBA and PPP stimulus loans could cause more confusion than clarity
The Skinny: New U.S. Treasury guidance on AML compliance tethers to the coronavirus stimulus package could confuse and add complexity where clarity is needed. The guidance, part of a larger FAQ document and highlighted by FinCEN, details some of the updated expectations for a core component of the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). […]
Moneyval: Fraudsters are impersonating EU AML evaluation group by sending scam emails trying to steal money
The Skinny: In an irony that will no doubt cause many in the fincrime compliance community a momentary chortle and guffaw, fraudsters are trying to impersonate Moneyval. The European group, as is widely known in compliance and law enforcement circles, works to ensure anti-money laundering (AML) compliance at the country level – not foster the […]