Keeping Up on Financial Crimes
By Travis Birch on ALTCOIN MAGAZINE
AML News Sources
Within the crypto-universe, ideas about the morality and efficacy of anti-money laundering rules differ widely, but the risks of ignoring those rules are severe, and will become more so as regulators adapt to new technologies. Cryptocurrencies are are deeply linked to the formal financial system and are subject its laws and regulations — in the US, exchanges and brokers are considered “money service businesses,” a class that is considered to have higher risk by banks and regulators. A proactive stance toward AML and other laws will lend credibility to a movement that many in the formal sector associate with crime and insecurity, preventing heavy penalties and increasing the likelihood of positive partnerships with banks.
Keeping up with financial crimes and AML regulation trends is essential for exchanges and others in positions of responsibility, but information sources for financial crime and AML regulations are not as plentiful as those for cryptocurrencies. Here are some of the best sources I’ve found for staying on top of trends in AML. Let me know whether you find them helpful, and feel free to reach out with suggestions!
Google Alerts
Multiple Sources | News | Link
The best way to keep your finger on the pulse of any subject is to set up a Google news alert. You can enter search terms and have all new news items for those terms regularly delivered to your inbox or RSS feed. I have 2 alerts open. The first string I added included all sources, and it was just too much information. I added a second string that limited the sources to ones I consider to be of high quality, and it turns up stories with national/international significance.
I pasted the strings I use here; feel free to use them!
WSJ Risk and Compliance Journal
Wall Street Journal | News | Link
The Wall Street Journal is the only major news outlet that has a regular news stream for compliance and financial crimes. Their Risk and Compliance Journal covers money laundering, corruption, reputational risk, regulatory developments, and more, and I’ve found its AML reporting to be more informative and correct than other outlets. The subscription price is pretty steep, and most of their articles live behind paywalls, but they offer a great daily newsletter called the Morning Risk Report with summaries of all the top stories.
Bribe, Swindle, or Steal
Trace International | Podcast | Link
Trace International is an anti-bribery and corruption organization, but their podcast tackles a variety of financial crimes topics, with episodes focused on RICO, sanctions, shell companies, and even illegal wildlife smuggling. Alexandra Wrage, podcast host and president/founder of Trace, is very knowledgable, as are her guests, who are usually lawyers or journalists. I recommend “Secrets in the Sky,” an interview with Boston Globe reporter Kelly Carr about the poor oversight of aircraft registrations in the US.
AML Conversations
AML Rightsource | Podcast | Link
While this podcast is produced by my employer, I can honestly say that I would have recommended it anyway. It is hosted by John Byrne, the former executive vice president of ACAMS, and episodes are usually conversations with high-level authorities he’s associated with working in the compliance world. The show focuses less on the conceptual and more on the practical: shop talk about industry trends and building a career in compliance.
Fraud Talk
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners | Podcast | Link
Though this cast isn’t as well-produced as the others (in my opinion), it fills a niche that the others don’t. Money laundering and fraud are at once very similar and dissimilar, and it’s helpful to cross over and see things from the other side. Has a focus on insider abuses, like embezzlement and insider trading.
Taxcast
Tax Justice Network | Podcast | Link
Tax crime is a massive issue in today’s politics and in the illicit finance space, but the arcane complexity of international tax law poses a serious challenge to non-experts. On Taxcast, experts discuss top news stories and trends, and hearing their perspectives helps me contextualize things. It doesn’t go too deep into law or accountancy, and the topics are always relevant to AML — the latest episode, for example, discussed corporate whistleblower law and shady political contributions in the UK.
ACAMS Free Webinar Library
Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists | Webinars | Link
Most of ACAMS’s webinars cost ≈$500, but a good portion of them are offered free on their site. I’m not sure why some are free and some aren’t, but the webinars on the free list vary somewhat in quality (or at least interestingness). In my experience, the webinars that focus on case and typology studies are more engaging, and those with a regulatory focus are less so. It could be that those are just more relevant to senior-level folk in AML who are writing policy.
SanctionLaw
Ferrari & Associates, P.C. | Blog | Link
Perhaps no other aspect of regulation changes faster than sanctions these days. Every other day sanctions are being added, removed, or otherwise negotiated, and keeping track can be near impossible, especially for the unlearned. This blog is produced by a firm in DC that practices sanctions law, and the posts are quite accessible. New posts are added every month or two, but author Erich Ferrari is active on Twitter to fill in the gaps.
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