ACAMS Today September-November 2020 Issue

The ACAMS Today magazine is a quarterly publication for career-minded professionals in the financial crime detection and prevention fields and it is an exclusive benefit for ACAMS members. The ACAMS Today is dedicated to keeping members up to date on the latest anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing challenges, legislative, regulatory and international developments in financial crime prevention, and practical solutions to compliance problems.

Our cover article for this edition stresses the idea that all high-risk customers should not be viewed through the same lens, as there are several traits that could affect this including whether or not they are U.S. residents, lending activities, and trust and asset management services. The illustration of people on the cover and in the spread represent the various customers that compliance professionals must review for risk characteristics. The ones that have been knocked down represent the customers that have been filtered from the financial institution for their risk characteristics. Other articles in the issue include an article on wildlife trafficking with a spread highlighting various spoils of this illegal trade including elephant tusks, a bear carcass, and even a tiger cub; an article on human trafficking and terrorist financing that depicts figures in cages and their illicit funds; and an article on corruption in Venezuela that features the flag prominently throughout, as well as in a stack of television screens. What do all these articles have in common? Each crime was committed by a customer who should have been flagged as a high-risk client or customer.