Global Disruption of Three Terror Finance Cyber-enabled Campaigns
This week, Vice Chairman John Byrne, and Creative Director Elliot Berman of the AML RightSource staff discuss the announced seizure by the Justice Department, the IRS and other federal agencies of cryptocurrency accounts from several terrorist organizations. The seizures related to terrorist financing campaigns by the Al-Qassam Brigades, Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Independent Testing – Getting this Five Pillars Requirement Right
The reputation of a financial institution (FI) relies heavily on the conceptual soundness of its BSA/AML compliance program. Furthermore, the integrity of a FI’s compliance department depends on its ability to identify gaps and deficiencies in its compliance program. A functional way to identify gaps and deficiencies in a BSA/AML compliance program is through independent testing (one of the five pillars of an effective BSA/AML compliance program[i]).
What are the Cybercriminals Up to Now?
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN[1]) has issued an advisory[2], providing guidance and red flags for cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic. The advisory is intended to, “aid financial institutions in detecting, preventing, and reporting potential COVID-19-related criminal activity.” As you know, there have been numerous alerts issued by various government agencies about crimes and frauds being perpetrated during the pandemic. Links to many of them are available on our COVID-19 resources page - feel free to disseminate them throughout your institution or firm.
The Largest Unregulated Business in the US
This week, Vice Chairman John Byrne, and Creative Director Elliot Berman of the AML RightSource staff discuss the recent report by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on The Art Industry and US Policies the Undermine Sanctions. The report discusses the largest unregulated – from a BSA perspective – in the US and how it is being used to launder illegal funds and evade sanctions.
Combining FIUs in a M&A Transaction
In this episode of AML Conversations, AML RightSource Creative Director Elliot Berman sits down with Will Voorhees, Senior Vice President and FIU Director at Truist Bank. Elliot and Will discuss the challenges in combining the FIU functions of two financial services companies in a M&A transaction. Will offers insights into the planning and execution of the project plan to accomplish this critical function.
How BSA/AML Training Helps Support a Culture of Compliance
In this installment of AML Voices, John Byrne, Vice Chairman and Mike Schidell, Director of Training at AML RightSource discuss how training helps develop and support a culture of compliance in a financial services company.
How Helpful is the Latest FinCEN Guidance on Customer Due Diligence?
FinCEN has issued additional guidance about the responsibility of financial services companies (FIs)[1] relating to customer due diligence (CDD). The guidance takes the form of responses to three frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the requirements of CDD Rule.[2] The FAQs focus on “obtaining customer information, establishing a customer risk profile, and performing ongoing monitoring of the customer relationship.” Let’s look at the details of the guidance and see how this may impact FIs...
The Implications of Ransomware Attacks by Sanctioned Entities
This week, Creative Director Elliot Berman and Special Advisor Tim White of the AML RightSource staff discuss the recent ransomware attack against Garmin and the implications of the attack which was perpetrated by a sanctioned entity.
How to Get to Residual Risk
In this installment of AML Voices, Chuck Taylor, head of Financial Crimes Advisory and Tim White, Director of Sanctions at AML RightSource are joined by Chris Bagnall from Fifth Third Bank, to discuss how to identify residual risk when preparing an OFAC risk assessment.
