Sanctions and AML Insights

The role of the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is to implement and manage US economic and trade sanctions against specific foreign governments and regimes, terrorists, drug traffickers, and dubious organizations. OFAC aims to encourage and check that people or organizations who trade in US goods and services develop and implement a routinely updated sanctions compliance program (SCP).

Money laundering has been around for thousands of years. The reasons for laundering money are largely unchanged – people want to disguise the true source of their income. However, the methods used to launder money change with business trends and technology. Technology has exploded in recent decades, and with it opportunities to launder money. In many ways, technology benefits anti-money laundering (AML) efforts because we have the tools to stay ahead of criminals. However, those money launderers are using the same technology to benefit their money laundering operations. Preventing money laundering may seem like “someone else’s” job. The truth is, we can all make a difference in AML efforts by knowing what to look for and how to prevent money laundering. It is especially important for business owners to understand how money laundering may impact their businesses. Each year new trends emerge in AML. This outline serves to help you stay ahead of money launderers by understanding key AML risk trends for 2022. Learn about the top four AML trends, signs to look for, and how to prevent money laundering schemes.

After more than a decade, cryptocurrencies have risen to prominence in global finance, promising more security, value, and convenience through the blockchain. In response, governments stepped in to provide consumers with further protections. We’ve previously discussed AML frameworks, which help increase the level of transparency in transactions and lower the risk that crypto will be used for money laundering and terrorist financing.

The global market for non-fungible tokens hit $42bn this year as digital images fast became popular investment assets, rivaling the size of the fine art world.

Trade-based money laundering (TBML) is estimated to account for $2 trillion of the annual $20 trillion in global trade. This article gives an high level overview of the nature of TBML, common techniques and risk indicators that help to detect TBML.

Your CRM system is the single source of truth for all your customer and business partner data and hence it is a great place for integrating your Sanctions screening process right there.

For many customers a logical starting point for Sanctions checks is their CRM system. This makes completely sense as most business relationships begin even before any transaction or customer onboarding process happens.

Sanctions impose restrictions on commerce with specific individuals, entities, and states, and export controls impose limitations on the distribution of particular products and services, including software and applications.

The Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, has recently issued new sanctions compliance guidance for virtual currency. Understanding these requirements is crucial for any organization in the crypto industry, and this comprehensive guide is here to help.