Dec ’15 – Feb ’16 Issue

Issue 15.1

Issue: Vol. 15 No. 1

Featured

Winners’ Gallery

Winners’ Gallery

ACAMS is proud of all of our members who help make ACAMS a premier association. We would like to take this time to publicly thank you all for your continuous contributions to ACAMS. Every year, ACAMS...

Dear Board

Dear Board

Below is a letter from an imaginary Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) officer. The BSA officer and the institution are completely fictitious. Although the case studies are true, the following letter is fictional and does not depict any...

From the Executive Vice President
An ACAMS Call to Action for 2016

An ACAMS Call to Action for 2016

Having just returned from Denver to join the Colorado Chapter with their one-year anniversary, I had the opportunity to speak on an issue very close to me—getting...

From the Editor
Gal·ler·y

Gal·ler·y

Beauty, creativity, inspiration. Throughout history we have been interested in viewing and being close to these qualities. Mankind has long collected pieces...

Inside this Edition
Sanctions and the Financing of Proliferation: Identifying Circumvention Typologies

Sanctions and the Financing of Proliferation: Identifying Circumvention Typologies

Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) needs to be financed. Whereas much information is publically available regarding procurement of proliferation-sensitive goods...


Financial Sanctions on Iran and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

Financial Sanctions on Iran and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

U.N. Resolution 2231 (2015) endorses the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreed by Iran and the P5+1. On Implementation Day, all U.N. sanctions resolutions will be...


Risk Assessment in the Great White North

Risk Assessment in the Great White North

It has been a busy few months for anti-money laundering (AML) professionals in the Great White North: The summer of 2015 kicked off with a fantastic ACAMS conference in Toronto...


The Challenges of ID Verification When Accepting Clients

The Challenges of ID Verification When Accepting Clients

Fraud involving identification documents, commonly known as ID fraud, affects a growing number of individuals and organizations around the world. Worse, the interconnected nature of today's...


Two Cents Worth

Two Cents Worth

You toss your remaining two pennies into the tip cup on the counter at the coffee shop. Although you are feeling a bit cheap with this tip you have run out of coins. You become...


Dual-Use Technology Facilitation by Import/Export Companies

Dual-Use Technology Facilitation by Import/Export Companies

For Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) professionals, the issue of dual-use technology is not often explored. After all, how many times has one come across such a...


V Maslamani: AML Compliance Challenges in Malaysia

V Maslamani: AML Compliance Challenges in Malaysia

ACAMS Today had the opportunity to interview V Maslamani, chief compliance officer of Al Rajhi Banking and Investment Corporation, to discuss sanctions and anti-money laundering...


Who is the true “us” and “them?”

Who is the true “us” and “them?”

Today’s financial compliance environment in many ways mirrors the dynamic, hyperspeed and often confusing world in which we all live. It is often difficult to gain a clear perspective of the...


An Ineffective Audit Department’s Impact on Corporate and Personal Liability

An Ineffective Audit Department’s Impact on Corporate and Personal Liability

With so many regulatory enforcement actions impacting America’s corporate landscape today—especially citing failures to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) requirements—has...


Dear Board

Dear Board

Below is a letter from an imaginary Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) officer. The BSA officer and the institution are completely fictitious. Although the case studies are true, the following...


Upcoming Plans for Europe

Upcoming Plans for Europe

In this issue’s European Connect, I want to share our plans for CAMS in Russian and in French, to let you know about our recent and upcoming chapter launches and networking events, and...


Judge Frank D. Whitney: Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture

Judge Frank D. Whitney: Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture

ACAMS Today sat down with U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney for the Western district of North Carolina, to discuss the evolution of money laundering (ML), asset forfeiture and the...


Winners’ Gallery

Winners’ Gallery

ACAMS is proud of all of our members who help make ACAMS a premier association. We would like to take this time to publicly thank you all for your continuous contributions to ACAMS...


ACAMS Ireland Chapter Announcement

ACAMS Ireland Chapter Announcement

Senior anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) professionals from Ireland’s financial services and FinTech sector met to establish the ACAMS Ireland Chapter...


Monica da Rosa, CAMS: AML/CTF Trends and Challenges in Latin America

Monica da Rosa, CAMS: AML/CTF Trends and Challenges in Latin America

ACAMS Today had the opportunity to speak with Monica da Rosa. Mrs. da Rosa is the event producer for Latin American conferences and training at ACAMS. As the producer for...


Bill Campbell, CAMS—Tampa, FL, USA

Bill Campbell, CAMS—Tampa, FL, USA

Bill Campbell is currently a senior financial investigator (contractor) assigned to the Asset Forfeiture Division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa, FL. He assists federal investigators...


John Hodgens—Boston, MA, USA

John Hodgens—Boston, MA, USA

John M. Hodgens Jr. is the chief anti-money laundering officer (CAMLO) for Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and Manulife Financial Corporation. He has served as the...


Lawrence Kentz, CRCM, CAMS—Abilene, TX, USA

Lawrence Kentz, CRCM, CAMS—Abilene, TX, USA

Lawrence Kentz is the chief compliance officer for First Financial Bankshares, Inc., located in Abilene, Texas. Along with the typical alphabet soup of consumer protection regulations, he is also...


Philippe Obiang, CAMS—Douala, Cameroon

Philippe Obiang, CAMS—Douala, Cameroon

Philippe Obiang is a qualified attorney in both Nigeria and Cameroon. In 2008, he moved from private legal practice with some of the topmost law firms in Cameroon into banking. He...


Samantha Sheen, CAMS—London, England

Samantha Sheen, CAMS—London, England

Samantha Sheen is a financial crime risk professional who recently completed work with a global insurer based in Milan, Italy, where she focused on enhancing its financial crime...


Jacqueline Shinfield—Toronto, ON, Canada

Jacqueline Shinfield—Toronto, ON, Canada

Jacqueline Shinfield is a partner in the Financial Services Group at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. Shinfield has extensive experience providing advice in respect to Canada’s anti-money laundering...


The Anti-Corruption Triangle

The Anti-Corruption Triangle

As Prime Minister David Cameron so succinctly put it, “Corruption is the cancer at the heart of so many of the problems we face around the world today.” A look across the globe yields...


Expanding Beyond Operational Metrics to Measure BSA/AML Programs

Expanding Beyond Operational Metrics to Measure BSA/AML Programs

Many financial institutions are in the midst of transformative, often costly, improvements to their Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) programs with the goal of meeting...


Financial Crime Risk Assessment

Financial Crime Risk Assessment

Legislation in force to prevent financial crime has become more risk focused, requiring organizations to fully understand the risks their organization faces based on their business model and...