Here you will find the AML-ology curriculum, our monthly curated articles, to help any BSA professional stay up-to-date on the latest trends and learn answers to timeless challenges. We share articles written by a number of industry sources that we believe take an academic approach to the challenges anti- money laundering (AML) professionals face, and actual solutions for you to implement. These articles are published monthly and sent directly to you when you sign up to be an AML-ology Scholar!
A Brief Summary Oddly, despite its significance in the BSA/AML/CFT/OFAC Compliance universe, the BSA Risk Assessment has no statutory requirement even though it is the foundation of any Compliance Program. As compliance professionals, we construct our transaction monitoring systems, OFAC filtering programs, and our whole Compliance Programs, on the risks that we have determined based […]
This is one of those questions that keep OFAC Officers up at night. Due to the complexity of the OFAC sanctions and the scope of application, it is a challenge to create a robust program and think of everything. However, with the potential of fines with even one violation, and the size of fines being issued for multiple violations, it is imperative that financial institutions have a strong OFAC program. A strong program must […]
There has been a problematic lack of merchant payment solutions and access to banking services for the cannabis industry in the United States since its inception. There are many prevalent misconceptions and myths about why this gap in banking services persists, despite the growing success of the cannabis industry in the United States. While it […]
Whether we like it or not, regulatory examinations are a fact of life for all banks and bankers. Accommodating examinations from the regulators including the associated costs is something that has been dealt with for decades – some might say ad nauseum! Nonetheless, we are stuck with it! It is going to be around for […]
A core tenet of economic sanctions is that they are more effective when they are imposed multilaterally, as that presents fewer alternatives for the targeted parties to continue their sanctioned activities. The past year, however, has shown few, if any, attempts at coordinated action. In fact, if anything, 2020 was more of a year in […]
A global problem. What can we do as US financial institutions to help bring it to an end? Last month we discussed the global blight of human trafficking under its various names. It is second only to global drug trade in terms of its profitability for the criminals who traffic in persons. It produces well […]
Consider the following: On October 23, 2019, the bodies of 39 Vietnamese people—29 men, 2 boys, and 8 women — including 10 teenagers; the youngest were two 15-year-old boys—were found in the trailer of a refrigerated trailer in Essex, United Kingdom. The trailer had been shipped from Belgium, to UK. Although it was a refrigerated […]
If this year taught us anything, it is that we do not really know what is going to happen next. We heard about COVID-19 and then our entire way of life changed overnight. Some financial institutions were better prepared than others. For example, those who had employees working remotely when the pandemic hit, were positioned […]
Every quarter we conduct a survey on important topics to anti-money laundering (AML) professionals. A recent survey covered the topic of the use of BSA/Transaction Monitoring software. Although having an automated transaction monitoring software is not required for financial institutions, having a technology—whether it be a manual process through spreadsheets, or something through an automated […]
Introduction How do you know if the thresholds are set correctly in your OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) Sanctions Filtering or BSA (Bank Secrecy Act) Transaction Monitoring system? That is certainly an important question, and a mystery in the world of anti-money laundering (AML). Commonly in the financial industry, and for the purposes of […]
