Pre-Paid Cards – The (Reloadable) Money Laundering and Terrorist Tool Everyone is Nervous About But Few Want to Discuss


Their ease of acquisition, pervasiveness and anonymity make pre-paid cards a potent and challenging new frontier in the money laundering and terrorist financing fields. If they are “reloadable” and part of an “open system” they are more menacing. Pre-paid cards are available to virtually anyone and effectively unregulated. They permit the easy, undetected movement of money across national boundaries. When they are limited in value, criminal groups can skirt the limits by using modern-day “smurfs,” whose ancestors gained fame years ago by structuring large sums of cash to avoid government reports. The U.S. and other governments are worried about the $3 billion pre-paid card industry because they realize that traditional controls, like transaction and suspicious activity reporting, won’t achieve much. They are also concerned about digital cash by which companies, such as PayPal, move billions of dollars in international commerce for millions of people without disclosing credit card or bank account information. In this panel, you will learn from top industry and government experts about the uses and abuses of these products, what is being done to bring them under money laundering controls and what AML measures financial institutions can employ in transactions with these products.

Panelists: Brian Buckley, Cherie Hamblin, William Langford, Jeffrey Ross

Moderator: Charles Intriago

The Seven Deadly (AML) Sins of ABN AMRO, AmSouth, Arab Bank, Bank of New York, Lehman Brothers and Oppenheimer & Co. – and Their Lessons

Another year has passed and more cases with invaluable lessons are available to teach you what not to do. This year’s crop reveals eye-opening transgressions of money laundering laws and regulations by well-known financial institutions in different parts of the world. When these cases occur, they sometimes reach landmark status but also provide illuminating lessons on what you should do to avoid similar debacles. The cases this year brought to public display money laundering issues ranging from the proper handling of correspondent accounts to the treatment that the funds of a corrupt public official should receive to the steps that should be taken to determine if a customer has terrorist ties. Major institutions and regulatory agencies, including those of New York and Illinois, played leading roles in this year’s cases, which led to tougher examinations and stiffer penalties for other institutions. The lessons apply to several components of a financial institution, including human resources, security and the board of directors, who are now viewed as targets at their personal risk and expense, by regulators and stockholders. Here you will learn how these institutions went astray and, more importantly, how to avoid emulating them and how to spare yourself of similar financial and reputational pain.

Panelists: David Caruso, Cindy Eldridge, Ann Jaedicke, Robert Serino

Moderators: Charles Intriago and Peter Djinis

How to Build a Suspicious Activity Reporting Program That Regulators (in Any Country) Will Applaud

Weak suspicious activity reporting programs are an element in almost all cases of regulatory sanctions against financial institutions. ABN Amro paid $80 million in United States civil penalties; Israel Discount Bank paid $25 million in U.S. penalties; and Arab Bank paid $24 million in penalties to the U.S. They are three recent examples of that truism. SAR compliance, which regulators say is the essence of good AML controls, has been in the crosshairs of the authorities in the U.S. and elsewhere for several years. Fearful of regulatory sanctions, U.S. institutions have engaged in “defensive filing,” meaning they file SARs even when not required under the regulations. Regulatory agencies respond by saying their examiners do not evaluate the quantity but rather the quality of SARs filed. The new U.S. interagency AML Examiners’ Manual provides a wealth of official guidance on how to structure a good SAR program and, in effect, gives a syllabus for employee training on the SAR function. The manual is also helpful to non-U.S. institutions because suspicious activity reporting is a staple of most national AML laws. Here, top private and public sector experts tell you what a comprehensive SAR program should consist of and how it should operate. You will learn how the U.S. Examiners’ Manual saves you time, money and provides cover in the operation of a SAR program.

Panelists: Lisa Arquette, Sharon Farrell, James Richards, Andrew Zembles

Moderator: Lynne Federman

Latin America and the Caribbean – Hot Button Issues in Money Laundering Controls

Almost every country in the region has now implemented an anti-money laundering regime, including suspicious transaction reporting and recordkeeping requirements. But questions remain about how they are being implemented and enforced. Deep corruption in the public and private sectors effectively stifles efforts to bring laundering controls in many countries in line with international standards. Even the three Latin American countries that were selected for full membership into the Financial Action Task Force in 2000 have not all credibly implemented the high standards of that organization. Several countries in the region, notably Panama, serve as attractive offshore havens for corruption proceeds and other dirty money. Complicating things are the legal, unregulated parallel markets that rival formal financial systems in the sums of money that flow through them and across borders. Here, experts examine the money laundering control regimes of the region, explain how some nations are attempting to upgrade their controls and how developments in the region affect your operations.

Panelists: Shonda Forde, Hector Hernandez Gatica, Ariadna Rojas

Moderator: Susan Galli

Effective Risk Scoring Techniques for Customers, Operations and Products

The new U.S. Examiners’ Manual makes it easier to perform risk-based assessments of an institution’s money laundering and terrorist financing vulnerabilities. It facilitates risk assessment of customers, accounts, operations and transactions by providing risk factors as well as risk mitigators. What risk-based approach do the regulators recommend and what should the risk-scoring model of a financial institution or money services business look like? Is it fair for U.S. regulators to rank the money laundering risks of other countries when their own State Department ranks the United States as the world's leading nation for money laundering? What are the appropriate procedures to mitigate specific risks that your institution faces? How should due diligence be enhanced to meet the risk a certain customer or product presents? This new trend in AML controls, which Money Laundering Alert has been preaching since 1992, receives in-depth treatment by this panel’s experts. You will learn effective risk scoring methodologies for diverse customers, products and transactions and how to make your risk scoring systems efficient and productive.

Panelists: Tom Atkins, Ami Kim, John Wagner

Moderator: Peter Djinis

Achieving Top OFAC Compliance With Help from the United States Government

For the first time, the United States government has provided direction and guidance to financial institutions and other businesses on the elements of a good program for compliance with the requirements of the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control. Through the uniform U.S. Examiners’ Manual that guides examiners of the five bank supervisory agencies, financial institutions now have a clear blueprint and training resource for OFAC compliance. Since 9/11, OFAC’s role has grown in the effort to track down terrorist assets and persons suspected of terrorism and drug trafficking. In the past year, OFAC has taken a more visible role in explaining its programs and how institutions should comply. In this panel, regulators and other experts show you what a sound OFAC compliance program looks like, the factors on which to base your institution’s risk profile and how to deal with penalty actions.

Panelists: Samar Baasiri, Jamal El-Hindi, Sharon Farrell

Moderator: Christopher Myers

Middle East and Asia: Emerging Laws and Growing International Cooperation

In the past few years, the nations of the Middle East and Asia have actively sought to correct deficiencies in their money laundering controls. They have worked together to create regional cooperative bodies modeled after the Financial Action Task Force, such as MENA-FATF, which covers the Middle East-North Africa region. Until mid-2005, three of the six nations still listed on the FATF’s non-cooperative list were in Asia. Many institutions in the region have affiliates in the United States and the European Union who are sharing their experience in money laundering and terrorist financing controls to assist the region in bringing its controls up to global standards. No one can ignore the important role China is playing and will play in world affairs, including the development of international money laundering controls and challenges. China has instituted its own money laundering controls for the banking, securities and insurance sectors. Here, experts dissect the region’s top laundering and terrorist financing issues and explain how the developments affect you and what is on the horizon.

Panelists: Samar Baasiri, Marc Hambach, Peter Hazlewood

Moderator: Saskia Rietbroek-Garces

Basic Training on Money Laundering and the United States Legal Requirements

Anyone who is new to the money laundering control field or who wants a better understanding of the interplay of issues and a clear, expert explanation of the key United States laws and regulations should attend this panel. This abbreviated version of moneylaundering.com’s acclaimed seminars, which have trained many thousands since 1990, will give you expert instruction on how money is laundered, what the U.S. laws and regulations require, and an overview of risk analysis and mitigation. You’ll find out what consequences you face if you do not comply with the legal requirements, and how your assets and those of your customers can be forfeited by the government. Three experts lead this invaluable mini-seminar and will also offer tips on building cost-effective compliance programs to safeguard yourself and your organization.

Presenters: Victoria Fimea, Les Joseph, Christopher Myers

Facilitator: Mike McDonald

How to Assure Good Value From Your Investments in AML Technology

It is now a staple of anti-money laundering compliance programs of financial institutions and businesses that they cannot adequately comply with legal requirements without the assistance of software of one type or another. The software you choose to assist your organization in meeting its AML requirements can be very expensive and challenging in many technical and non-technical ways. It can be a savior or a scourge. In some countries, the use of automated monitoring programs is mandatory, but some institutions have not grasped the notion that no turnkey program eliminates the human factor that is critical to effective laundering controls. In the United States, regulators require institutions to ensure that their software is “Patriot Act-compliant.” Financial institution examiners now probe whether the software an institution installs measures up to AML regulatory and promised standards. Here, you will learn how to deal with artificial intelligence software, filtering solutions for terrorist suspect lists, and other technologies that promise to help institutions and businesses meet a variety of AML duties. Top experts share their knowledge and guide you on how to implement technology-driven AML programs to get a good return on investment.

Panelists: Patricia Potts, John Pyrik, Leonard Steinmetz

Moderator: James Richards

Canada – Money Laundering Regulation and Enforcement Enter a New Phase

Canada has taken the lead with a proposal to require regulated institutions to perform enhanced due diligence procedures on domestic as well as foreign “Politically Exposed Persons,” or PEPs. The nation will be in the international limelight in the coming year as it undertakes the duties of the presidency of the Financial Action Task Force in Paris in 2006. It has proposed other domestic initiatives, including the requirement of national registration by money services businesses, imposing AML regulations on jewelers and precious metal dealers, and sanctioning by penalty the institutions that violate money laundering control regulations. The nation’s financial intelligence unit, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC), is now fully operational and is developing policies and procedures aimed at disclosing to local and foreign enforcement and intelligence agencies the information it receives from financial institutions and government sources. Experts from Canada guide you on these important developments and what they mean to you.

Panelists: John Ibbotson, John Pyrik, Jane Simmons

Moderator: James Richards

Conducting Good Independent AML Program Audits to Identify Problems Before the Examiners Do

A requirement of most national money laundering controls, including the United States, is that the anti-money laundering programs of financial institutions be examined by an independent source to assure that they are performing as required by regulation and as the institution envisioned when they were created. The independent inspection process can shed much light on the money laundering preparedness of an institution and how well it is fulfilling regulatory and internal requirements. Institutions must be able to promptly rectify AML control deficiencies and to document the steps it has taken. By doing so, it can go a long way toward preventing many serious problems from regulators and prosecutors. In this panel, experts will show you the key elements of a good independent audit of the classic four-pronged AML program and offer tips and tools you can use to identify problems before the examiners do.

Panelists: Tom Atkins, David Caruso, John Wagner, Valerie Regnault

Moderator: Mike McDonald

How Far to Rely on Intermediaries for Customer Identification and Due Diligence

Outsourcing customer identification, monitoring and due diligence duties about customers and transactions may be convenient but how safe is it? Are the money laundering and regulatory risks for those who outsource tolerable? What are the regulatory reprisals for you if the outsourced entity does not do the job the regulations require? Do the new U.S. standards on enhanced due diligence for the accounts of foreign correspondent banks and private banking customers raise new questions about the work that intermediaries are typically assigned to do? What due diligence must you perform on third party intermediaries to ensure that they are equipped to adhere to the rules for which your financial institution is ultimately responsible? You will learn how to structure third party contract terms and conditions and which responsibilities you should not delegate to outsiders. You’ll also learn what controls to impose on intermediaries without losing the strategic and cost benefits of outsourcing. Here, experts examine the use of software and other financial institutions to perform elements of your AML program and show you cost-saving due diligence measures that do not require outsourcing.

Panelists: Lisa Arquette, Ami Kim, Daniel Soto

Moderator: John Byrne

Self-Help – Fighting Back in Court (for Money and Vindication) When You Are Hurt by the Money Laundering and Neglect of Others

If the stockholders of a bank or securities dealer that has gone through a damaging and costly prosecution or regulatory sanction suffer a loss in the value in their shares because of the scandal, can they hold the institutions’ board of directors responsible? Can they sue the directors personally in court and recover money and other remedies?

If state insurance commissioners acting as receivers of failed insurance companies must pay hundreds of millions of dollars in pending claims because the fraudsters who pillaged the companies fled with company assets they kept in accounts at a bank the commissioners allege had neglected its AML duties, can the commissioners sue the bank for the money they pay in claims?

Or, if the people of a country victimized by a corrupt “Politically Exposed Person,” or PEP, want to get the testimony, review the records of the United States bankers who handled the political figure’s dirty money, and see the account records, are there legal tools by which a foreign nation can obtain information and recover the looted funds?

It will surprise many people that United States courts are receptive to those claims and support them with favorable rulings under various theories of law. Wringing your hands on the sidelines and bemoaning your fate are no longer the only remedies. There are effective actions that permit vindication of rights and recovery of money. Ask the stockholders of Bank of New York and Riggs Bank who recovered large sums from members of their boards of directors. Here, you will hear from the lawyers who achieved success in these landmark cases as well as a receiver who tracks the assets of launderers and crooks around the world.

Panelists: Robb Evans, Pedro Martinez-Fraga, Rob Michaels, Seth Rigrodsky

Moderators: Charles Intriago and Sharon Farrell

How the Securities and Exchange Commission, NASD and NYSE Are Examining U.S. Broker-Dealers for Compliance

The complexity and volume of transactions make securities dealers an attractive target for money launderers. Now, nearly two decades after federal regulators began examining banks for compliance with money laundering laws and regulations, the massive United States securities industry faces the same unpleasant and routine experience. Broker-dealers have been required to maintain an anti-money laundering program and report suspicious activity under Bank Secrecy Act regulations since 2002. Their compliance with those and other duties, such as the regulations of OFAC, is examined by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Association of Securities Dealers, the New York Stock Exchange and other “self-regulatory organizations.” Unlike the bank supervisory agencies, the SEC and the SROs do not reveal their AML Examiners’ Manuals. With the $2.8 million fine that FinCEN imposed on Oppenheimer and Co. in December, broker-dealers have begun to feel the sting of major civil money penalties that banks have felt since 1985. In this panel, representatives of the SEC, NYSE and NASD and industry experts dissect the present examination process, tell you what broker-dealers should expect, reveal common deficiencies the examiners have found, and show you how broker-dealers should prepare for examinations.

Panelists: Alma Angotti, Karen Buck Burgess, Steve Ganis, Michael Rufino

Moderator: Saskia Rietbroek-Garces

The Broad (and Costly) Exposure of Non-United States Institutions to U.S. Laws and Regulations

The United States money laundering laws and regulations reach other countries directly and indirectly. For example, they require banks and other financial institutions that wish to maintain correspondent accounts in the U.S. to agree to stringent measures, such as “certification” and compulsion to turn over specified internal records to the U.S. government. In a more ominous context, the U.S. criminal money laundering laws, which are distinct from the Bank Secrecy Act, are the world’s most powerful. They are broad and, by their terms, have “extraterritorial” reach. Forfeiture of assets by the U.S. government, especially from institutional “interbank” accounts, is also a clear and present danger. The wide-ranging rules of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) put all non-U.S. institutions on notice of special risks. International institutions everywhere, which cannot avoid using the dollar clearance facilities of the United States, must understand the terms and reach of these laws and regulations. The financial sectors of some nations, notably European banks, have begun exploring retaliation. Here, top experts show you how the U.S. laws and regulations work and how they apply to international organizations around the globe.

Presenter: Pete Hazlewood, Bridget Neill, Richard Weber

Moderators: Charles Intriago and Les Joseph

How to Comply With the 3rd European Union Directive If You Operate Within or Outside the Continent

The Third European Union Directive on Money Laundering, adopted in September 2005, may not be revolutionary in scope but it comes at a time when several EU member nations have not yet implemented the Second Directive of 2001. With the recent entry into the EU of 10 new Eastern European nations and several others in the wings, many of which are decades behind in money laundering controls and are overrun with corruption, how will the Third Directive fare in implementation and enforcement? The continent faces money laundering challenges across the board from the attractiveness of the Euro whose 500 note is a favorite currency of international criminal organizations and their bulk cash smugglers. Severe organized crime problems still afflict many member states and the ongoing threat of terrorism and its funding sources must be fought daily. No major or mid-size financial institution anywhere in the world can avoid contact with the EU. Knowledge of its money laundering control regimen is essential. Top experts here will guide you on major EU changes, developments and hot topics and show how they apply to you.

Panelists: Steve Hancock, Pamela Johnson, Valerie Regnault

Moderator: Saskia Rietbroek-Garces

How to Construct a Good AML Program for a U.S. Securities Firm

According to the National Association of Securities Dealers and the New York Stock Exchange, 25% of the 2,000 U.S. broker-dealers that they examined in the year ending July 31, 2004 had deficiencies in their money laundering controls. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission found a greater rate of non-compliance in its examinations. How can a broker-dealer maintain a good AML program that will keep it off those lists? What are the elements of a sound compliance program? How do broker-dealers overcome the enormous challenge of knowing their customers in the face of the millions of online accounts that are opened and the anonymous Internet transactions that are conducted every day? How do they resolve compliance issues when there are conflicting testing rules being proposed by the NASD and the NYSE? Here, top experts guide you on dealing with these challenges and offer valuable guidance and knowledge on building and maintaining a successful anti-money laundering program for a broker-dealer.

Panelists: Alma Angotti, Steve Ganis, Michael Rufino, Steve Shine

Moderator: William Langford

Best Practices for Correspondent Banking Due Diligence and Monitoring Under the New Patriot Act "Section 312 Rule"

The new United States regulation that takes effect April 2006 requires certain due diligence procedures of U.S. banks, securities dealers, mutual funds and others for the correspondent accounts of foreign institutions. It marks a revolutionary departure from the inter-institutional international practices of the past and was brought about by Section 312 of the USA Patriot Act. Tens of thousands of financial institutions around the world are affected by its provisions and have much at stake, including access to the U.S. financial markets. How should the required due diligence be conducted and how can it be made cost-effective? What are the best due diligence and monitoring practices that have already emerged? What are the consequences of non-compliance for the U.S. institutions – and their foreign correspondents? Already, banks in other countries are complaining about the lengthy self-devised informational forms that their U.S. correspondents require them to fill for the “certification” the U.S. authorities require under the USA Patriot Act. What outcries may we expect when the Section 312 regulation takes effect and the real probing begins? Experts here will share invaluable insight and guidance on how you should comply with this landmark rule whether you operate in the United States or outside.

Panelists: Susan Galli, William Langford, Bridget Neill, Jane Simmons, Daniel Soto

Moderator: Saskia Rietbroek-Garces

Since the USA Patriot Act was enacted in 2001, anti-money laundering rules have gained a high profile among regulators, enforcement agencies, and the wide range of businesses now required to implement AML programs. As money laundering regulations continue expanding and are imposed on more industries, financial institutions and other businesses are faced with the need to shore up their AML programs by taking a more comprehensive look at their customers. Institutions must carefully examine the complete customer life cycle from account or policy application through all subsequent activities and transactions. Which AML strategies work well across different types of institutions? Which strategies need to be tailored to specific industries, products, and companies? What are the best practices that can help you build a secure AML compliance program? What are the critical strategies, issues, and potential pitfalls that should be considered and avoided? Actimize CEO David Sosna shares with you real-world experiences and explores proven strategies and best practices for building successful end-to-end AML programs.

(Seating availability limited. Please visit Actimize at booth #404 for your admission pass.)

Speaker: David Sosna, Chief Executive Officer, Actimize, Inc.

How Life Insurance Companies Will Be Examined for Compliance – Who Examines and What They Will Look For

The new Bank Secrecy Act regulations for life insurance companies, including suspicious activity reporting, are a revolutionary and long-anticipated concept for the trillion dollar United States industry. Two federal agencies, the Examination Division of the Internal Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission, will likely conduct the compliance examinations. The IRS Examination Division already examines some 50,000 money service businesses, jewelry and precious metal dealers, automobile and airplane dealers and other “trades and businesses” for BSA and cash reporting compliance. Whether it can take on the new complex task of supervising the life insurance industry, which has no federal “functional regulator,” is an open question. Presently, about 400 IRS examiners perform the agency’s entire AML national supervisory duties. The SEC is expected to examine insurance companies that sell annuities, but many issues arise from that situation, also. In short, it is a situation in flux and much of the credibility of the United States AML regulations hinges on how this supervision is carried out. Here, you will hear top experts decipher these questions and guide you on what insurance companies can expect, what the components of a BSA examination will be and how captive and independent agents fit into the examination picture.

Panelists: Victoria Fimea, William Langford, Eileen Mayer, Maureen Sanders, Steve Shine

Moderators: Charles Intriago and Saskia Rietbroek-Garces

Due Diligence Duties for Private Banking Accounts and PEP Customers Under the New U.S. "312 Rule"

The new U.S. FinCEN “Section 312 regulation” on due diligence for the private banking accounts of non-U.S. persons revolutionizes that very lucrative banking service that many institutions provide to the very wealthy, including those called “senior foreign political figures,” or PEPs (Politically Exposed Persons). How long do corruption proceeds maintain that taint? Does the definition of a “senior foreign political figure” extend to mistresses, cronies and other fronts? What about family members and “close associates” of PEPs? How about non-PEP, non-U.S. private banking customers? How deeply must you probe the source of wealth of those wealthy, sought-after customers? How far do you dig to identify the “beneficial owners” of private banking accounts and offshore entities? What new best practices have emerged? Tens of thousands of persons and institutions in the United States and other countries are affected by this rule. They want answers to these and other questions as the rule’s effective date approaches in April 2006. The institutions are now developing policies and procedures to comply with this controversial Bank Secrecy Act regulation mandated by the USA Patriot Act. Experts here guide you on these and other questions and show you how the government expects you to comply, whether yours is a bank, securities dealer, mutual fund or commodities dealer.

Panelists: Steve Ganis, Ann Jaedicke, William Langford, Maureen Sanders

Moderator: Charles Intriago

Managing the Risks of Money Services Businesses Effectively

In the minds of some bankers and government regulators, money transmitters, check cashers and other money services businesses are perceived as especially vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing. As a result they have been labeled “high risk” with the consequence that many banks have closed the accounts of money transmitters thus putting their existence in jeopardy. However, much like banks, MSBs in the U.S. and elsewhere are required to maintain an AML program, report suspicious activity, file registration papers with FinCEN, obtain licensing from the states where they operate, maintain an OFAC compliance program and meet other AML duties. MSBs have an added risk of dealing with agents in other countries whose credentials and integrity are sometimes difficult to verify and monitor. Over the years MSBs have been disproportionate targets of U.S. government investigations and enforcement actions, partly because their transactions are easier to decipher by government investigators than those of securities dealers who are far less frequent targets. Here, experts guide you on these risks and how to mitigate them and how MSBs should comply with their Bank Secrecy Act and OFAC duties, select and monitor foreign agents, and deal with the government scrutiny their operations receive.

Panelists: Gina Adelphia, David Landsman, Anthony Rodriguez

Moderator: Mike McDonald

Closing Remarks

In today's complex regulatory landscape, the government requires that financial institutions identify and verify the identities of high risk entities by building a comprehensive profile of your customers. The government has recommended that financial institutions take a risk-based approach to verifying the identity of new and existing customers. For example, institutions need to identify if they are doing business with businesses in high-risk industries such as money services businesses. Companies that do not comply face financial risks and regulatory penalties as well as significant damage to their reputation. Attend this session to learn more about best practices and how you can leverage a third party source to comply with government regulations.

(Seating availability limited. Please visit D&B at booth #307 for your admission pass. )

Speaker: Keith Webster, Managing Director, Enterprise Risk and Compliance Solutions, D&B

How to Follow the Money in Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Cases

Advances in technology and the increasing velocity of global money flows make it easier for money launderers and other criminals to earn, store and move their money anonymously. Money laundering and terrorist financing methods are becoming more creative – online banking, transfer pricing schemes, debit cards, prepaid cards, digital cash, black market peso exchange and hawala are some of the methods criminals use to distance themselves from their money. Here, front line law enforcement experts show you how to identify and trace illicit money flows to their sources using real-life cases. Learn about the latest international laundering and terrorist financing methods and how different types of financial institutions and businesses serve money launderers, and possibly terrorist money movers, unwittingly.

Presenters: Brian Berntson, Jeffrey Breinholt, Jeff Ross

How MSBs Can Conduct Good Audits of Their AML Programs to Satisfy Regulators and Banks

In the past year, many major banks have decided to close their doors to money services businesses as customers for fear of the due diligence and regulatory costs they may present. External audits by independent firms are expensive and often are cost-prohibitive to thousands of small businesses that make up the MSB industry. But, often that is the only way to show a commercial bank that the AML controls of the MSB are of sufficient strength to justify the approval of an account for the MSB is a risk-safe proposition. What does it take for an MSB to open and maintain a bank account? Here, experts go through the various steps you can take to do so. They give you cost-effective guidance that will help you show your commitment to AML compliance to the regulators and to the banks on whose services you must rely to operate.

Presenters: David Landsman, Mike McDonald, Anthony Rodriguez

Finding Enlightenment Through Good Internal Investigations to Prepare for Tough Questions

Perfect your investigative skills in this lively workshop. Work on real cases and learn the techniques that private sector investigators use to identify and root out money laundering concerns and problems inside an institution. You will discover effective case management techniques to show the regulators that you mean business when it comes to identifying and blocking illicit funds from entering your financial institution or business. The three seasoned veterans here, including former government agents, will give you invaluable knowledge of how to conduct interviews to obtain essential information on accounts, customers and employees – a key skill in all good investigations. As more institutions appear in headlines or courtrooms and government offices, it is essential that you find and resolve wrongdoing within your institution before the government does and that you perfect the vital investigative tools you need.

Presenters: Greg Baldwin, David Caruso, Peter Hazlewood

Certification Examination of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS)