Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Compliance

“Money laundering” is the process whereby the proceeds of crime are transformed into ostensibly legitimate money or other assets.  In a number of regulatory systems the term “money laundering” has become conflated with other forms of financial crime, and sometimes used more generally to include misuse of the financial system, such as terrorism financing, tax evasion and avoidance of international economic sanctions. Money obtained from certain crimes, such as extortion, insider trading, drug trafficking, illegal gambling and tax evasion is “dirty.”  It needs to be cleaned to appear to have derived from non-criminal activities so that banks and other financial institutions will deal with it without suspicion.

“Anti-money laundering” (AML) is a term used to describe the controls that require financial institutions and other regulated entities to prevent, detect, and report money-laundering activities.  AML guidelines came into prominence globally as a result of the formation of the establishment of the intergovernmental organization, the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) in 1989 and the promulgation of an international framework of AML standards.

An effective AML program requires a jurisdiction to have criminalized money laundering, to have given the relevant regulators and police the powers and tools to investigate; to be able to share information with other countries as appropriate; and to require financial institutions to identify their customers, establish risk-based controls, keep records, and report suspicious activities.

We can help you implement an AML program tailored to the specific risks faced, including the drafting and updating of policies and procedures, the provision of training and education, and the periodic auditing of existing programs.