ACAMS Launches Broad Initiative to Strengthen Law Enforcement Investigations and Prosecutions with Financial Intelligence

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Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS)

Jul 12, 2023, 08:00 ET

The new initiative includes training and educational opportunities designed to increase convictions of criminals exploiting banks, money services businesses, cryptoasset companies, and other firms

WASHINGTON, July 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to help U.S. federal, state, and local authorities maximize the use of financial intelligence, ACAMS is launching a suite of training and educational initiatives to strengthen law enforcement investigations and prosecutions of profit-driven crimes. The ACAMS Law Enforcement Ecosystem draws on the expertise of seasoned investigators and prosecutors to offer an extensive training curriculum on leveraging anti-money laundering (AML) data to identify evidence of illicit activity, an intensive bootcamp program designed for officials seeking to become Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (CAMS), and a new online resource hub to keep agents apprised of current financial-crime analysis and emerging threats.

Divided into five modules that can be taken successively or tailored according to need, the ACAMS Law Enforcement Curriculum equips officials with the knowledge and skills to utilize financial intelligence throughout the lifespan of a criminal case, from the legal considerations of obtaining crypto-related search warrants and seizure orders to recommendations on culling leads from baseline account activity and bank statements to guidance on assessing and documenting evidence to support prosecutions. The instructor-led courses, which can be taken in-person or live online, serve to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the financial institutions that monitor global money flows and report on criminal activity ranging from simple fraud schemes to sophisticated crimes such as trade-based money laundering and ransomware attacks.

Law enforcement officials can separately choose to take part in the CAMS Bootcamp, an initiative that trains up to 30 agents at a time on how financial institutions deploy AML and counterterrorism financing (CTF) compliance controls to identify, track, and report suspicious activity. Bootcamp participants will earn their CAMS certification following the completion of two webinars, a 4-week self-study period, and a 5-day immersive training, as well as the successful passing of the certification exam.

For those seeking to stay abreast of emerging financial-crime typologies and analysis, the Law Enforcement Hub offers a gateway to a host of relevant resources, including ACAMS Webinars, Best Practice Guides, Toolkits, the award-winning ACAMS Today magazine, and premium AFC news site Moneylaundering.com. Visitors can also consult the hub's calendar of ACAMS conferences and seminars featuring representatives of national financial intelligence units, regulatory bodies, private-sector organizations, and law enforcement agencies.

"ACAMS has previously collaborated with U.S. law enforcement to address emerging threats with public-private partnerships, support institutions in investigating organized retail crime networks, alert anti-financial crime professionals to pig-butchering red flags and assist agents in writing effective subpoenas for compliance data," said ACAMS CEO Scott Liles. "We are now strengthening our offerings with an initiative that will help map criminal organizations, trace suspicious transactions across traditional financial firms and cryptoasset businesses, giving officials additional tools in their pursuit of bad actors."

"The ACAMS Law Enforcement Ecosystem is a reflection of our belief that we can fight financial crime more effectively if we share our knowledge and collaborate across sectoral divides in new and impactful ways," he said. "This is an important step in our ongoing partnership with the U.S. law enforcement community, and it's one that is certain to make a difference for those on the frontline of the fight to safeguard our financial system and protect the innocent."

Find out more about the ACAMS Law Enforcement Ecosystem, including how to enroll in the curriculum and bootcamp, through the new hub: https://www.acams.org/en/the-acams-law-enforcement-hub

About ACAMS^®

ACAMS is a leading international membership organization dedicated to providing opportunities for anti-financial crime (AFC) education, best practices, and peer-to-peer networking to AFC professionals globally. With over 100,000 members across 180 jurisdictions, ACAMS is committed to the mission of ending financial crime through the provision of anti-money laundering/counterterrorism-financing and sanctions knowledge-sharing, thought leadership, risk-mitigation services, ESG initiatives, and platforms for public-private dialogue. The association's CAMS certification is the gold- standard qualification for AFC professionals, while its CGSS and CCAS certifications are for sanctions professionals and AFC practitioners working in the crypto space, respectively. ACAMS' 60+ Chapters globally further amplify the association's mission through training and networking initiatives. Visit acams.org for more information.

SOURCE Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS)