BlogCrime Trends & Technology: Reflections & Perspectives for 2021December 16, 2020 by Nasdaq Verafin In a recent year-end presentation, we explored the unrelenting challenges of 2020, the trends and technology developments throughout the year, and offered an overview of how recent industry threats may continue into the future. The following highlights and related resources will... |
BlogDefining Moments in the War on Financial CrimesJune 30, 2020 by Jim Richards Fifty years ago, the law we now call the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) was passed, and the war on financial crimes truly began. The BSA began with the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970. In the years that followed,... |
BlogMoney Mules Moving Illicit Proceeds from COVID-19-Related CrimesJune 11, 2020 by Nasdaq Verafin “In the past, money mules have been viewed as low-level offenders, transferring small amounts of cash. However, organised, sophisticated money mule schemes have evolved as a [professional money launderer] mechanism.” – Financial Action Task Force From economic stimulus payments to... |
BlogDeconstructing the Currency Transaction ReportFebruary 18, 2020 by Jim Richards With FinCEN reporting increases in BSA report filings year over year, it is likely that over 16 million Currency Transaction Reports, or CTRs, were filed in 2019, each one reporting one or more cash transactions made by or on behalf... |
BlogThe Bank Secrecy Act Doesn’t Really ExistJanuary 15, 2020 by Jim Richards Happy New Year! Happy New Decade! But most importantly, Happy 50th Anniversary of the Bank Secrecy Act! Yes, the (so-called) Bank Secrecy Act was passed fifty years ago this October. As every BSA/AML professional knows, the Bank Secrecy Act was first made... |
BlogActionable Intelligence: The Way Forward for the BSANovember 7, 2018 by Jim Richards From its birth on October 26, 1970 as the Foreign Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, through make-overs in 1986 (criminalizing money laundering and structuring), 1990 (establishing FinCEN), 1992 (introducing Suspicious Activity Reports), and 2001 (the biggest make-over with the USA... |
BlogA Brief History of the BSANovember 7, 2018 by Jim Richards From its birth on October 26, 1970 as the Foreign Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, through make-overs in 1986 (criminalizing money laundering and structuring), 1990 (establishing FinCEN), 1992 (introducing Suspicious Activity Reports), and 2001 (the biggest make-over with the USA... |
BlogFinding Renewed Purpose in the Bank Secrecy ActNovember 7, 2018 by Jim Richards From its birth on October 26, 1970 as the Foreign Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, through make-overs in 1986 (criminalizing money laundering and structuring), 1990 (establishing FinCEN), 1992 (introducing Suspicious Activity Reports), and 2001 (the biggest make-over with the USA... |
BlogU.S. Court Case: 60 Funnel Accounts Used by Heroin Trafficking OrganizationSeptember 27, 2017 by Denise Hutchings “Narcotics traffickers will attempt to create elaborate financial networks in an effort to launder illegal drug proceeds.” (James Dorsey, Acting Special Agent in Charge IRS Criminal Investigation, June 2017) Heroin Trafficking Organizations Targeted by OFAC In May 2017, Treasury Secretary... |
BlogU.S. Court Case: 9 Banks and 50 Bank Accounts Exploited by Human Trafficking RingFebruary 21, 2017 by Denise Hutchings “Follow the money and you will find the trafficker… Financial investigation plays a crucial role in successful investigation of trafficking in persons.” An outstanding financial investigation which was conducted in the recent prosecution of a U.S. based human trafficking ring... |