This Week in AML

This week, the US Department of Justice made two announcements about repatriating funds seized from criminal actors. The Federal Reserve issued a cease and desist order regarding banking as a service. FinCEN issued a reminder about the importance of detecting elder financial abuse. John and Elliot discuss how these items impact the financial crime prevention community.

Repatriated Funds, Banking as a Service, and Elder Financial Abuse (Archive Edition)

This episode originally aired on July 26, 2024
John and Elliot discuss several developments impacting the financial crime community this week. These include a report on foreign investment in the US, the interagency statement on the AML/CFT program proposal, and the regulatory agenda for the Treasury Department. They also talk about the report from the House Financial Services Committee working group on AI, new sanctions on fentanyl producers, and a Europol report on migrant smuggling.

Foreign Investment in the US, Fentanyl Sanctions, A Europol Report on Trafficking (Archive Edition)

This week, John and Elliot discuss the Transparency International report on the best places to hide dirty money, several actions in the sanctions area including relief from some sanctions on Syria, the DOJ’s distribution of $1billion to victims of state-sponsored terrorism, several bank regulatory actions, recent court decisions relating to the Beneficial Ownership registry and the Corporate Transparency Act, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

Best Places to Hide Money, Compensation for Terrorism Victims, and Regulatory Enforcement Actions

This week, John and Elliot discuss the forthcoming  Crypto Crime Report for 2024 from TRM Labs, various sanctions focused on the Russian energy sector and cross-border payments between actors in Russia and China, civil money penalties against former senior officials at Wells Fargo, penalties issued against Robinhood by the SEC, insights from counter-terrorism experts at the Atlantic Council, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

Terrorism, Sanctions, Crypto, and Cybersecurity

This week, John and Elliot discuss some of the pardons issued by the new administration, actions taken by several state financial service regulators, the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act, sanctions and export control penalties levied against a US automated equipment company, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

Pardons, State Regulatory Action, Cybersecurity, and Sanctions

This week, John and Elliot discuss FDIC’s recission of job offers to 200 new examiners, an alert about check fraud through theft of US mail, an announcement that Belize is the most compliant with FATF’s 40 recommendations, FINTRAC’s operational alert about Laundering the proceeds of illicit synthetic opioids,  the Senate Banking Committee’s inquiry into debanking, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

FDIC Staffing, Check Fraud, FATF, Fentanyl and Gambling, and Debanking

This week, John and Elliot discuss remarks by the president of the Basel Institute on Governance on its new priorities in addressing corruption, environment, and climate challenges. They also reviewed the FATF 2023-2024 Report, new expectations from the FCA on fraud reimbursements, progress on the EU’s new anti-corruption legislation, congressional hearings on debanking, turmoil at the FBI, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

Basel, FATF, FCA, EU, FBI, and Debanking

This week, John and Elliot discuss corruption, including the dropping of charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, the Basel Institute on Governance’s new quick guide on strategic corruption, and the DOJ’s pausing enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. They also discuss issues raised by BaFin about AI-based fraud, actions by Europol on cybercrime, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

Corruption, AI-based Fraud, Cybercrime, and Changing Priorities

This week, John and Elliot discuss more about corruption, including the fallout from the effort to drop the charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, another publication from the Basel Institute on Governance on the UK’s process for compensating victims of foreign bribery, and a statement from the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition. They also discuss the recent staffing changes at the IRS and other federal agencies, Operation Shamrock, a group dedicated to raising awareness of pig butchering and disrupting networks of transnational organized criminals, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

More on Corruption, Staffing Challenges, and Operation Shamrock

This week, John and Elliot discuss the results of the February FATF Plenary, GAO reports on BOI, and Assessing Progress on Countering Criminal Activity, new sanctions issued by the UK and EU against Russia, the latest on the requirement to file BOI with FinCEN, priorities of the Acting Comptroller of the Currency, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

FATF Plenary, GAO Reports, EU & UK Russia Sanctions, and a BOI Update

This week, John and Elliot discuss the latest pronouncements from the US Treasury about the Corporate Transparency Act, the new head of the Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, the case of theft from a non-profit to support cancer patients, the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index from Transparency International, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

The Latest on the CTA, a New Head of TFI, Stealing from Cancer Patients, and the Corruption Perceptions Index

This week, John and Elliot discuss the Geographic Targeting Orders issued by FinCEN, a letter from two senators to the US Treasury about the Corporate Transparency Act, a new report on the looting of Latin American antiquities by cartels, legislation introduced combat debanking, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

GTOs in the Southwest, Debanking, Still More on the CTA, and Antiquities Looting in Latin America

This week, John and Elliot discuss the 2024 Annual Report from ICIJ, OCCRP’s reporting on the UK’s enhanced enforcement activities, FATF’s Second Public Consultation on Recommendation 16, the Basel Institute on Governance’s Project Falcon, the New Zealand national risk assessment, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

ICIJ Annual Report, OCCRP, FATF, Basel, and New Zealand

This week, John and Elliot discuss the OCC’s announcement that national banks will no longer be examined for reputational risk, an FTC report on the growth of payment fraud, a report from the University of Trier in Germany showing that money laundering directly causes an increase in housing prices, the decision to stop funding a national database tracking domestic terrorism, hate crimes and school shootings, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

Reputational Risk, Fraud, ML and Home Prices, and Tracking Domestic Terrorism

This week, John and Elliot discuss Transparency International’s Opacity in Real Estate Ownership Index, FinCEN’s alert on bulk cash smuggling by Mexican cartels, IRS-CI’s release of 2024 BSA metrics, and its CI-FIRST initiative, Congressional hearings by a House Financial Services subcommittee, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

Transparency in Real Estate, Bulk Cash, Congressional Hearings, and CI-FIRST

This week, John and Elliot discuss FinCEN’s Financial Trend Analysis, on fentanyl-related illicit finance, the OCC’s disclosure of an email breach, the Department of Justice’s announcement of a change in focus of its policy on prosecuting crypto crime, the fines against Revolut Bank, the increase in real estate by oligarchs in New York, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

FinCEN on Fentanyl, OCC Email Breach, Crypto Enforcement, Revolut, and Oligarch

This week, John and Elliot discuss the SEC’s statement on offerings and registrations of securities in the crypto asset markets, the UK requirement for identity verification for corporate directors and controlling owners, FinCEN’s renewal of geographic targeting orders relating to residential real estate, FCA’s updated Financial Crime Guide, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

SEC on Crypto, UK Director Checks, Real Estate GTOs, and FCA Financial Crime Guide

This week, John and Elliot discuss the UNODC’s technical policy brief on the expanding activity of Asian crime syndicates, a policy brief on high-level corruption from Project FALCON, a blog post from the FACT Coalition how high gold prices are fueling guerilla warfare in Columbia, the NCA’s effort in 2024 to interdict fraud and its focus on online fraud involving AI, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

UNODC Report, FALCON Policy Brief, NCA Anti-fraud Efforts, and OCC Reorganization

This week, John and Elliot discuss remarks for the former head of CISA and an open letter from JP Morgan Chase’s CISO about cybersecurity, allegations from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office about corruption in the European Court of Auditors, a GAO report about the need of Inspectors General for beneficial information to detect fraud in federal programs, reports of law enforcement opposition to the rollback of the CTA, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

Cybersecurity, GAO Report, European Court of Auditors, and Law Enforcement Reaction to CTA Rollback

This week, John and Elliot discuss a large fentanyl bust at the southern border, a fraud case, and an AML case in Charlotte, remarks by the AMLA Chairman about the organization's top three priorities, activity at the House Financial Services Committee about cryptocurrency, a paper from the Basel Institute for Governance on the importance of asset recovery in the current environment, and other items impacting the financial crime prevention community.

Fentanyl, Trouble in Charlotte, AMLA’s Top Priorities, and Crypto

AML Conversations is dedicated to inform professionals and those interested in anti-money laundering about conversations happening in the government, private sector, and internationally. Throughout the series John Byrne, AML RightSource Vice Chairman, will interview industry experts or participate in live programming or panel discussions related to the industry.