Anti-Money Laundering 2022: Risks, Due Diligence and Compliance in an Evolving Legal World

The PLI Anti-Money Laundering Conference—held live and virtually this year—will tackle critical issues in Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Counter-Financing of Terrorism (CFT) compliance and money laundering enforcement.

Peter Hardy, Co-Leader of our AML Team, will chair the event and moderate the panels. The three panels will be:

Recent Trends in Money Laundering and Enforcement

The Department of Justice continues to bring major money laundering indictments and civil forfeiture actions. The panel will discuss:

• Emerging enforcement trends and the current preferred vehicles of choice for those attempting to launder funds.
• Alleged foreign financial schemes and the role of the Administration’s Strategy on Countering Corruption.
• The implications for financial institutions and their AML programs, including risks and the red flags for potentially problematic customers.

Digital Assets and AML: Evolving Regulations and Enforcement

Regulators are scrambling to keep up with the fast-paced technologies of Blockchain, digital assets, and cryptocurrencies. The panel will discuss:

• Regulatory and enforcement developments — sanctions, ransomware, and more.
• Application of the “Travel Rule” to crypto transactions: does it work, and if so, how?
• Transaction tracing and investigations of illicit crypto schemes: illicit funds, hacking, and more. How can crypto transactions be traced and “bad guys” be identified – from the perspective of scheme victims, government investigators, and financial institutions?
• The (near) future of crypto: what is the likely regulatory landscape going forward?

The AML Act: Beneficial Ownership, Regulatory Priorities, Effective AML Programs, and More

Congress passed the expansive AML Act on January 1, 2021. The Act has been heralded as a groundbreaking piece of BSA/AML legislation – but its potential promise inevitably will be tempered by its real-world implementation by regulators and affected stakeholders. The panel will discuss:

• The Corporate Transparency Act and beneficial ownership reporting by businesses upon incorporation. Will the CTA reduce the abuse of shell corporations to launder money, and what is the impact of the CTA on existing customer due diligence requirements for financial institutions?
• FinCEN has announced its national AML priorities. How can they be acted upon in a meaningful way?
• The BSA now requires by statute “effective” AML programs to be “risk based.” What does that mean, in practice?
• The AML Act seeks to maximize effective BSA reporting, such as SARs and CTRs, and government/industry information sharing. How can the AML Act and ensuing regulations best realize these broad goals, which have been discussed for years?
• The new BSA whistleblower provision, FinCEN “no action” letters, and more.

Click here for more information and to register.