March - May 2020 Archives

AFC Challenges, March - May 2020

Stop the Money Mules, Protect Your Financial Institution

March 10, 2020June 5, 2020 /Leave a comment

In the years since the last ACAMS Today installment on “smurfing” and “money mules,”1 money laundering has advanced, applied new techniques and grown in sophistication and scale. For those unfamiliar, the slang term “smurf” is claimed to have originated to describe Colombian drug cartels’...

Compliance, March - May 2020

1945—The Origins of Currency Transaction Reports

March 10, 2020March 10, 2020 /Leave a comment

History is full of surprises, even in the world of anti-money laundering (AML) compliance. The enactment of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) in 1970 did not constitute the first time the U.S. required financial institutions (FIs) to report currency transactions over $10,000. The first...

European Connect, March - May 2020

Developments in Europe: A Glance at 2020

March 10, 2020 /Leave a comment

2020 is an exciting year for Europe with the addition of the Fifth AML Directive (5AMLD) and new developments regarding Brexit. 5AMLD was transposed into national law in several European countries as of 10 January 2020. One of its key elements requires regulated firms...

ACAMS Connection, AFC Challenges, March - May 2020

Managing the High-Risk Cannabis Industry

March 10, 2020February 2, 2023 /2 Comments

The risks associated with banking hemp companies versus hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) companies versus marijuana-related businesses (MRBs) all differ tremendously; for each, the risk posed by a deposit account differs greatly from the risk posed by a loan. To understand why, the legal and regulatory status...

AFC Challenges, Fraud, March - May 2020

Partners in Crime: Fraud and Money Laundering

March 10, 2020April 26, 2024 /2 Comments

Shortly after coming to Canada in late 2003 to join the Royal Bank of Canada, I presented at a conference in Toronto on competitive advantages in the fight against financial crime. The following were key takeaways from this presentation: Banks operate in silos, not...

From the Director of Editorial Content, March - May 2020

Twenty-Five Years Later

March 10, 2020March 10, 2020 /Leave a comment

During the winter holiday season, I spent some time in Mexico City. As hoped, the museums, the architecture and the archeological sites had the desired effect of “resetting” my outlook on the world. I learned a lot and, as a longtime New Yorker, was struck...

March - May 2020, Meet the ACAMS Staff

Zuley Izquierdo, CAMS: A Proud Participant in the Fight Against Financial Crime

March 10, 2020July 14, 2020 /Leave a comment

ACAMS Today sat down with Zuley Izquierdo, CAMS, customer care training and solutions lead for the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), to chat about the best part of her job and her process toward obtaining the Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) certification. Izquierdo...

March - May 2020, Member Spotlight

Abena S. Agard, CAMS—St. Michael, Barbados

March 10, 2020March 12, 2020 /Leave a comment

Abena S. Agard is a dedicated compliance and financial professional with an extensive regulatory background. Agard joined Barbados’ Financial Services Commission (FSC) in 2012 where she began by supervising and overseeing a portfolio of financial institutions (FIs) in the securities industry. She is currently a...

March - May 2020, Member Spotlight

Michael Dunlop, CAMS-FCI—Dubai, United Arab Emirates

March 10, 2020 /1 Comment

Michael Dunlop is the head of investigations, financial crime threat mitigation and compliance at HSBC Middle East Limited. There, he is accountable for providing strategic direction and oversight of all the investigative programs related to anti-money laundering (AML), anti-bribery and corruption, sanctions, counter-terrorist financing and...

March - May 2020, Member Spotlight

Susanna Mills, CAMS—Helsinki, Finland

March 10, 2020 /Leave a comment

Susanna Mills is a lead anti-financial crime (AFC) specialist at OP Financial Group, the largest financial group in Finland. She holds over a decade of anti-money laundering (AML) expertise within the financial sector. Mills currently works as a business owner in AML transaction monitoring (TM)...

ACAMS Today

The Magazine for Career-Minded Professionals in the Anti-Financial Crime Field

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SAR Optimization: Seeing the Forest Beyond the Trees

March – May 2020

Stop the Money Mules, Protect Your Financial Institution

1945—The Origins of Currency Transaction Reports

Developments in Europe: A Glance at 2020

Managing the High-Risk Cannabis Industry

Partners in Crime: Fraud and Money Laundering

Twenty-Five Years Later

Zuley Izquierdo, CAMS: A Proud Participant in the Fight Against Financial Crime

Abena S. Agard, CAMS—St. Michael, Barbados

Michael Dunlop, CAMS-FCI—Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Susanna Mills, CAMS—Helsinki, Finland