Author Archives: Brian Monroe
World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 2021: ACFCS offers key tips, tactics, resources to counter criminals, empower fincrime compliance teams
Artwork courtesy American Artist Kendall Alaimo, a survivor of child trafficking and international activist to support victims. To see more of her artwork and hear her story, click here. The Skinny: World Day against Trafficking in Persons is held on July 30th each year, an annual event to bring awareness to a crime generating massive revenues […]
How to launder $1 million easily, quickly and quietly – and without catching the attention of global authorities: a view into global AML vulnerabilities through the eyes of ‘The Infiltrator’
Image Courtesy: HC Movie Reviews. The Skinny: In a response to the fincrime compliance community throwing down the gauntlet in a serious, not-so-serious query of, “how would you launder $1 million,” a former government agent who went undercover to take down Mexico’s most powerful narco cartels takes up the challenge. In this theoretical organized criminal […]
Regional Report – Europe: In aggressive AML overhaul, EU unsheathes new fincrime compliance authority, stronger rules to illumine crypto, stamp out ownership opacity
The Skinny: In expansive European Union anti-money laundering update, some big changes to improve fight against financial crime, including a compliance super regulator that can pressure large, international banks – and member state regulators, a ban on anonymous crypto wallets and a limit of paying more than 10,000 euros in cash, for anything. Those are […]
Special ACFCS Report: The Front Lines – The Investigations Series: Information Overload – What is OSINT, part 1 of 2
The Skinny: ACFCS unveils a new series, “The Front Lines,” by Erin O’Loughlin, Senior Director of Training for ACFCS. She is a former front-line investigator and manager for multiple large financial institutions, a crypto currency exchange, as well as a former intelligence officer for the U.S. Here she will tackle issues that directly affect your […]
In FinCEN release of AML priorities, Wolfsberg metrics of effectiveness, a glimpse of the future of financial crime compliance
The Skinny: The future of financial crime has “effective” compliance teams generating “highly useful” and “relevant” intelligence for investigators in focused, shifting defined “priority areas,” both broad generators of illicit income, like corruption and cyber-enabled fraud, but also attuned to the actions and reactions of international threat actor groups. Those are just some of the […]
Fincrime Career Tips and Tricks: To grow, rise in field, look for knowledge gaps, niches to specialize, set yourself apart
The Skinny: In this new initiative, ACFCS engages the fincrime compliance community for wisdom and practical insights on how to enter and rise in a fulfilling but demanding and everchanging field. Some of the questions: How can you take the first steps launching a career in the midst of a pandemic? And for those already […]
Special ATII Report – How Human Traffickers Exploit International Economics: Cryptocurrencies, Banks, and Credit Cards (Part 2 of 4)
The Skinny: In this second piece in a four-part series by the Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative (ATII), the group tackles how criminal groups exploit the gaps between, in and around brick-and-mortar banks, crypto and credit cards. In a growing number of cases, trafficking groups are swimming together multiple laundering techniques to make it as difficult […]
Austrac faces parliamentary inquiry over AML effectiveness, financial institution oversight ‘failings’
The Skinny: The central pillars of Australia’s defenses against financial crime, including the country’s financial intelligence unit, banking regulators and financial institutions, are facing fresh scrutiny by lawmakers after a series of scandals led to international embarrassment and billions of dollars in compliance penalties. The broader context is that, ironically, in recent years, Austrac has […]
Fincrime Career Tips and Tricks: How to go from teller to top AML position? Going behind the scenes to learn laws, counter fincrime scofflaws
The Skinny: In this new initiative, ACFCS engages the fincrime compliance community for wisdom and practical insights on how to enter and rise in a fulfilling but demanding and everchanging field. For this tip, we travel to the Windy City, Chicago, to a bank commanding some $5 billion in assets with roots going back more […]
ACFCS Member Spotlight: For Louie Vargas, success in sanctions compliance means never stop learning, adjusting to outfox evaders
The Skinny: For Louie Vargas, getting into the field of financial crime and compliance did not just fall into his lap. He fought for it. After several years as an executive administrative assistant, he started to push, bite and scratch into a field that more suited his intuitive, inquisitive and analytical nature: financial crime […]
Special ACFCS Report: The Front Lines – The Investigations Series Part One, ‘The Suspicious Mind’
The Skinny: · ACFCS unveils a new series, “The Front Lines,” by Erin O’Loughlin, Senior Director of Training for ACFCS – former front-line investigator and manager for multiple large financial institutions, to include a crypto currency exchange, as well as a former intelligence officer for the U.S. · Here she will tackle issues that directly affect your everyday work life, […]
ACFCS Exclusive Contributor Report: The Corporate Transparency Act Introduces Beneficial Ownership Disclosure Requirements for Investment Funds
The Skinny: A just-passed piece of legislation crafted to bolster countercrime defenses and crack open beneficial ownership bastions, a historical haven for criminals of all stripes, has lesser-known tethers for certain segments of the investment sector – a critical pitfall that should not be lost on compliance teams. The recently-passed National Defense Authorization Act […]