Employee Spotlight: Arlene Eley
We are very excited to highlight a staff member each month from our team of superb employees. AML RightSource May Employee Spotlight: meet Arlene Eley! Ms. Eley is the Human Resources Business Partner in our Mississauga Office and provides strategic human resource support and counsel to the management team and employees in that office. Ms. Eley is a Certified Human Resources Professional and has her Bachelor of Commerce Degree, Majoring in Human Resource Management, from the University of Ottawa.
Sometimes Things Need a Fix: AML Look-backs and Remediation Projects
What are the root causes leading to a look-back or remediation project? What are the challenges of a look-back or remediation? How do you create a winning strategy to approach a look-back or remediation?
COVID-19 Also Impacts Financial Access
“Time won’t let me”[I] The need to move quickly.. As the AML community grapples with increased fraud and financial crime during this global pandemic, previous regulatory challenges can become even more pronounced. Continuing problems that seem to be exacerbated at this time include de-risking or other limits to financial access, hurdles such as delays in funds transfers to humanitarian groups, and the chronically underbanked.
National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing Webinar Recap
In this installment of AML Voices, Elliot Berman and John Byrne of AML RightSource are joined by Chip Poncy from K2 Intelligence / Financial Integrity Network to discuss the National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing. In this selection from the original livestream in the 1st quarter of 2020, our panelists discuss the three goals of the 2020 Strategy, its implications for identifying beneficial ownership of client accounts, and its focus on risk-based supervision.
Red Flags Associated with the Illegal Gold Rush
In 2016, illegal gold mining operations in Peru accounted for an estimated $2.6 billion in black market trading, surpassing cocaine as the country’s most valuable illicit export1. The bulk of this illegal mining is conducted in the depths of the Amazon by ramshackle teams of criminals; human trafficking, drug trafficking, child labor, and vast environmental destruction follow in their wake. The illegal miners use an unsophisticated method of processing, utilizing mercury to form flecks of gold into an amalgam chunk, then removing the gold by boiling and dumping the mercury wastewater back into the wild at a detriment to the local flora and fauna.
The April 2020 Updates to the FFIEC BSA/AML Manual
“Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings” [i] As the AML community clearly knows, the Federal Financial Examination Council (FFIEC) has been working for quite some time on the updates to the last iteration from 2014. Now we have the first in what promises to be a series of updates, released on tax day. The changes in wording and other modifications are encouraging, but only time will tell regarding their impact in practice.
Challenges for Community FIs Participating in the PPP Loan Program
A mixture of government assistance, and exponential increase in need on behalf of customers, and the continuous need to remain compliant has left many financial institutions (FIs) stretched thin, and scrambling. As I have written several times recently, the COVID-19 pandemic is creating a very complex operating environment for financial services companies and their customers.
Pandemic Scams - Profiting from Panic
The world is currently facing a viral pandemic that threatens personal health, employment, and financial markets. Local and national news media are tasked with issuing public service warnings and updating citizens on continuously changing rules that affect everyday life and liberty. In short, it’s an unprecedented and at times, stressful situation.
FinCEN Guidance in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The operating landscape during the COVID-19 pandemic is constantly changing. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN[1]) has issued guidance twice in the last three weeks. The first, issued on March 16, 2020[2] focuses on two areas – the ability of banks to timely file required Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reports and identifying potential scams arising out of this current environment. The second, issued on April 3, 2020[3] provides information to assist FIs in complying with BSA obligations and announces a process for making direct contact with FinCEN for “urgent COVID-19 related issues.”
