It has been a busy week. FATF released the outcomes from its October Plenary, the Biden Administration issued an Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence, and the US Supreme Court heard arguments about asset forfeiture. John and Elliot discuss the possible impact of these actions and what you should watch for going forward.
Step into the exciting realm of cutting-edge AI technology! Join our host, Rachel Dettmer, as she welcomes back our esteemed Principal Data Scientist, Leandro Loss, for an engaging discussion on Large Language Models. Together, they delve into thought-provoking questions: How will these models revolutionize anti-money laundering and financial crime compliance? Are human investigators at risk of being superseded by these models? Why are regulators apprehensive of their inclusion into compliance p...
FinCEN has issued a new regulation, renewed its real estate geographic targeting orders, and published an alert regarding terrorist financing. John and Elliot discuss this flurry of activity and why each element is important in today’s operating environment.
John and Elliot examine how different things come together in financial crime prevention efforts. They discuss a recent release from AUSTRAC about the connection between cybersecurity and AML/CFT compliance and an interesting blog post from the Council on Foreign Relations on the nexus of human trafficking, democracy, and corruption.
In this episode, Leandro Loss, our Principal Data Scientist, and Kevin Lee, our Director Financial Crime Technology, delve into the trustworthiness of AI, why it's often viewed as an enigmatic 'black box', and why conventional 'white' models are falling short in the battle against financial crime.
It's clear that terrorist financing is still a global problem that demands consistent vigilance. John and Elliot discuss the importance of being vigilant and the challenges nations and organizations face worldwide.
Jonathan Lopez joins John to discuss the state of corruption, how prosecutors see their cases, advice for BSA/AML officers to avoid personal liability, and other white collar issues.
This week Elliot and John come to you from the ACAMS Assembly in Las Vegas. They discuss some of the highlights from sessions at the conference and talk about why the work of the financial crime compliance community is so important.
Kira Zalan, Investigative Editor of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) discusses the continuing need for investigative journalism, the dangers of reporting, and some examples from their various projects and stories.
Learn the fundamentals with our expert and demystify the world of Artificial Intelligence! In this episode, Leandro Loss, our esteemed Principal Data Scientist, unravels the core concepts of Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning. Prepare to delve into the realm of AI as he shares his vast knowledge and discusses the urgent need for data-driven solutions to combat financial crime in today's fast-paced and rapidly changing world.
In a busy week, John and Elliot discuss the corruption and bribery indictment of US Senator Robert Menendez, an adverse ruling in the civil case against the Trump Organization, a recent package of bipartisan legislation from the House Financial Services Committee, and the looming shutdown of the US government.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has published a Small Entity Compliance Guide for beneficial ownership information. A set of FAQs accompanies the guide. John and Elliot discuss the guide, the current compliance deadlines announced by FinCEN, and their thoughts on what may change shortly. They also chat about a recent consent order between FinCEN and an international banking entity in Puerto Rico.
The US Department of State has issued its Implementation Plan for the US Strategy on Countering Corruption. The five-pillar Plan outlines actions for the department, its agencies, and its domestic and international partners. John and Elliot discuss the plan and its impact on global anti-corruption efforts.
The Inspector General from the US Treasury Department has issued an audit report on FinCEN’s BSA data retention processes. The Financial Conduct Authority in the UK is reviewing the treatment of domestic PEPs by financial services companies. Moody’s Analytics issued a white paper on wildlife trafficking. John and Elliot discuss these developments and what you should know about them.
Stef Cassella joins John for the record-breaking third appearance. They discuss: How Stef has been assisting other countries in drafting forfeiture legislation (criminal and civil) and in training their prosecutors and judges, a recognition in countries that are used as money laundering centers that they need a means to deter foreign criminals from using their financial institutions for that purpose What the congressional proposal called the “FAIR Act” would do to the civil forfeiture infrastruc...
The International Crisis Group issued a report on the impact of sanctions on peacemaking. John and Elliot discuss critical insights in the report. They also examine whether or not sanctions against Russia have been effective and several other news items of the week.
The Wolfsberg Group issued a comment letter in the public consultation of FATF’s draft amendments to Recommendation 8 and its Interpretive Note and updates to its Best Practice Paper to Combat the Abuse of NPOs. John and Elliot discuss the comments and the next steps for proposals. They also talk about several other things of interest to the financial crime community.
Kevin Lee, Director, Financial Crime Technology at AML RightSource, captivated the audience at the 2023 European Anti-Financial Crime Summit in Dublin. In this episode, we recap his speech on how technology can best be harnessed for financial crime.
The American Bar Association House of Delegates has approved changes to strengthen a lawyer’s obligations as a gatekeeper. Also, FinCEN issued a Notice about the increase in worker’s compensation insurance and payroll tax fraud in the construction industry, and the US Treasury Department released information about its efforts pursuing wealthy tax evaders. John and Elliot discuss these developments and how they may shape compliance in the future.
This week, Attorney General spoke to the American Bar Association, and OFAC issued guidance on providing humanitarian assistance to Syria. John and Elliot discuss the speech and guidance and look at the recent release of SAR filing data by FinCEN.
Both the US House and Senate have been very active ahead of leaving for their August recess. John and Elliot discuss the Senate proposal to apply the AML/CFT compliance requirements to all the players in the virtual assets space and the proposals that moved to the House floor on stablecoins, limiting public company disclosures on climate change impact, and many other issues.
John Byrne and Shannon Frontanes of Thomson Reuters Special Services and a provenance expert, discuss her insight on cultural artifacts and their use for money laundering and related crimes.
The US Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and Justice recently updated their voluntary self-disclosure policies. The DOJ also announced the sentencing in a case for conspiring to violate Iranian sanctions and an indictment for a fraudulent charitable contribution tax scheme. In Europe, Interpol announced that it disrupted a transnational migrant smuggling network resulting in 62 arrests. John and Elliot discuss these announcements in a busy week in the financial crime prevention community.
The Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions of the US House Financial Services Committee held a hearing this week on the Potential Consequences of FinCEN’s Beneficial Ownership Rulemaking. The hearing focused on the proposed beneficial ownership information registry proposed by FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act. John and Elliot discuss the testimony given by the witnesses and statements of the committee members.
In this episode, Rachel Dettmer, Joshua Gubitz, and Jonathan McIsaac delve into the potential obstacles that can arise during the implementation process. They discuss the warning signs to look out for, pitfalls to avoid, risks to manage, and key areas to pay close attention to in order to ensure a successful implementation. Get ready to learn from the experts!
Europol recently issued its 2023 Terrorism Situation and Trend Report. The US Treasury issued new sanctions against a top Serbian security official. Merrill Lynch was fined and more. John and Elliot discuss the many goings-on this week in financial crime prevention.
Continuing the conversation on implementation support, Rachel Dettmer, Joshua Gubitz, and Jonathan McIsaac discuss the value of having an experienced partner on your side during implementation and how a wealth of cumulative knowledge and varied experience always proves to be advantageous.
The US Department of Justice announced an indictment charging four people with fraud and money laundering. John and Elliot discuss the connection between fraud and money laundering and how the detection of one can lead to the detection of the other.
Implementation Support is a planned approach to integrate new or upgraded software or systems into the existing workflow of an organizational structure to help ensure the success of a business's overall system. In this episode, Rachel Dettmer, Joshua Gubitz, and Jonathan McIsaac discuss why it's beneficial for banks and financial institutions to have implementation support in addition to what's just provided by the system vendor.
John Byrne and Gary Shiffman, Founder of Giant Oak, Inc., discuss his recent article It’s not the algorithm, it’s the ethics. They look at the ethics and morality of adopting machine learning and artificial intelligence tools and how these impact adoption in the financial compliance space.
