What ℱIs a Certified Anti-M⛄oney Laundering Specialist?

A Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) is a professional who is skilled at trackin𝓡g cash that originates in fraud or other crimes but has been subjected to complex financial maneuvers in order to obscure its origins. From day to day, the work of a CAMS professional is focused on preventing such activities from slipping through the global banking system.

Modern criminals stash their cash in banks, like everyone else, but it arrives th𒅌ere via a series of financial transaction🐟s that is deliberately complex in order to conceal its origins. Through further manipulation, the money is then made available to the criminal from a source that appears to be legitimate.

Understanding the CAMS Specialist

An anti-mone🥃y laundering specialist is trained to detect, investigate, and un🎐ravel financial crimes.

The Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) offers courses and certification in this specialty. Candidates for the test must meet certain eligibility requirements regarding educational background and work experience.

An anti-money laundering specialist may have a different job title, such as banking compliance officer, financial consultant, or Bank Sܫecrecy Act analyst. They are employed by financial institutions or brokerage houses, large corporations, and the federal🍌 government.

A Short History of Money Laundering

In the U.S., money laundering beca𒅌me an issue during the Prohibition era of the 1920-30s, when crime syndicates grew rich and powerful selling illegally imported alcohol. Money-laundering was a solution to a simple problem: How does a criminal who has no obvious means of support explain a big wad of cash and a luxurious lifestyle?

The answer, often, was to open a storefront for a business that might or might not actually do any business𓄧. Any number of fake invoices could be created to account for the wads of money that actually came from rum-running.

In modern times, the gl💫obal banking system enables and often requires far more sophisticat🐬ed maneuvers, but the end result is the same. A criminal has a plausible explanation for where all the money came from or, at worst, has created such confusion that no one knows what questions to ask.

Regulatory Requirements

The response of financial institutions and corporations to the problem of money-laundering often is structured as compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970. This act, also known as the Currency and Foreign Transactio𒉰ns Reporting Act, requires financial institutions to cooperate with government efforts to combat money laundering.

The Bank Secrecy Act got an update of sorts in 2001 with the Patriot Act, which adds regulations aimed at thwarting money-laundering by terrorist groups. The act ensures that there is a paper trail or, more likely, an electronic trail for every sizeable banking transaction.

The Patriot Act was a response to the fact that the criminals have changed, too. Today, it is not only drug dealers b𝕴ut terrorists who have vast sums of money that need to be laundered.