Without doubt, Financial Crime – represented by Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Fraud – is a hot topic in 2011. It is high on many agendas, principally those of Governments, Central Banks and the whole of the international banking industry covering Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Private Banking and Investment Banking. Until comparatively recently, Financial Crime was dismissed as a “victimless crime” on the basis that it doesn’t really matter if a few banks lose money through Money Laundering or Fraud. But the dreadful impact of the terror attacks in New York in 2001 – and since then throughout the world – coupled with the more-recent international economic downturn has raised its profile once again.

This excellent face-to-face training course highlights the national and international action being taken to identify and prevent Financial Crime. It also focuses on the day-to-day activity required in banks to ensure that they and their honest customers are protected from any aspects of these crimes.

By the end of the course, delegates will be able to:

• Understand the latest legislative and regulatory developments, at the national and international levels, on Financial Crime

• Assess the impact of these developments on a bank’s strategy, regulatory-risk management, and client relations

• Recognise “red flags” for new, rapidly changing, and forms of Financial Crime – and be able to react to them

• Devise appropriate risk controls, compliance strategies, and early-detection mechanisms.

Session 1:

Understanding Money Laundering

• What is Money Laundering?

• Why does the international community need to combat Money Laundering?

• The Criminalisation of Money Laundering – and how more crimes are now interpreted as Money Laundering

• The expansion of Money Laundering: from drugs to corruption to terrorism

Session 2:

The Stages of Money Laundering

• Types of products and services used by Money Launderers

• Money Laundering techniques explained:

• Placement

• Layering

• Integration

Session 3:

The International Community’s response to Money Laundering post-9/11

• Combating Terrorist Financing (CTF)

• OFAC: the Office of Foreign Assets Control – which has global reach

• The US Patriot Act – which also has global reach

• International Sanctions

Session 4:

Compliance with Anti-Money Laundering Legislation

• The International Anti-Money Laundering Effort

• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF):

• FATF’s membership categories

• FATF’s 40 Recommendations on Money Laundering

• FATF’s guidance on CTF

• UK Regulations and Legislation and how they have become the template for many countries legislation

• The Problem of Offshore Finance and Tax Havens

Session 5:

Individual Banks’ / Companies’ Compliance Strategies

• Internal Controls, Procedures and Policies

• Arrangements required to combat Money Laundering

• Compliance Monitoring

• Cooperation with the Authorities and the Regulators

• “ Know Your Customer” Rules

• Identification and Verification (ID&V)

• Impact on Strategy, Client Relations and Human Resources

Session 6:

Recognising and Reporting Suspicious Transactions

• Statutory Obligations

• Internal reporting of suspicious transactions

• External reporting procedures

• Record-keeping

• Document retention

• Document retrieval

Session 7:

Money Laundering Detection Techniques

• Prevention, Detection and Due Diligence

• “ Red Flags” on client transactions

• Suspicious transactions

• Early-Warning Mechanisms

Session 8:

Financial Intelligence

• Profiling a company’s clients

• Using the information companies have about their clients to try to predict who might be involved in Financial Crime

Session 9:

Bribery & Corruption

• What are Bribery & Corruption?

• The UK’s Bribery & Corruption Act 2010

N.B Although this is a piece of UK legislation its impact is truly global: it “catches” all UK companies’ overseas offices and all UK nationals working for companies outside the UK

Session 10

Dealing with Financial Fraud

• Recognising those clients most likely to become involved in Fraud

• Recognising Types of Fraud

• Detection, Red Flags and Early-Warning Mechanisms

Session 11:

Major Fraud Types

• Payment Fraud

• Plastic Card Fraud

• International Trade Fraud – especially in Documentary Letters of Credit

• Prime Bank Instrument Fraud and Ghost Money

• … and, of course, fraud that is perpetrated by bank staff: Internal Fraud

Session 12:

Other Financial Crimes

• Identity Theft and “Phishing”

Course Close