Author Archives: ihatemoneylaundering

Fishy business

Posted on January 27, 2021 by ihatemoneylaundering

For years, the AML community has been trying to get their message heard at the highest levels of the regulated sector.  Business schools have various terms for it, from “tone from the top” to “business culture” to “the rotting fish” … Continue reading →

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All in the mind

Posted on January 20, 2021 by ihatemoneylaundering

I have a daily Google alert that sends me anything containing the phrase “money laundering”, and earlier this month it sent me down the rabbit-hole of reading about “mental money laundering”.  It’s not – as sometimes happens – the simple … Continue reading →

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Piggy’s Progress

Posted on January 13, 2021 by ihatemoneylaundering

At the end of each year I do a stock-take of my piggy sales – by which I mean, I add up how many copies of I have sold of my two suites of AML books for non-exec directors (i.e. … Continue reading →

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Head, brick wall, etc.

Posted on January 6, 2021 by ihatemoneylaundering

I first started designing and delivering AML training in 1996.  That’s a full quarter-century ago.  And can you imagine how many times I have said, over those twenty-five years, things like “check regularly for PEPs – regulators are hot on … Continue reading →

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Let’s risk it for a Brexit

Posted on December 30, 2020 by ihatemoneylaundering

Better late than never, I suppose – the UK’s third National Risk Assessment, due in October 2019, was finally published on 17 December 2020.  When discussing risk assessment with MLROs, I describe it as a focussing exercise: you start big, … Continue reading →

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Ho-ho-ho and CDD

Posted on December 23, 2020 by ihatemoneylaundering

I am assuming that one or two of you might be at work today, so let us turn our AML minds to an important seasonal matter: conducting CDD on Father Christmas.  For this particular individual even the most basic identity … Continue reading →

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Shady trade-y

Posted on December 16, 2020 by ihatemoneylaundering

Right at the start of my working life, just after the Industrial Revolution, I did one of those early personality tests.  I’m struggling to remember what it was called (something about umbrellas, or maybe anchors?) but it was meant to … Continue reading →

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It’s just how we’re made

Posted on December 9, 2020 by ihatemoneylaundering

In a normal AML training session I do not have time to deal with the more philosophical aspects of the subject, but when I run extended workshops – as I have been recently – there is scope for delving into … Continue reading →

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Great-grandpapa’s billions

Posted on December 2, 2020 by ihatemoneylaundering

Like many of you, I have been reading “Kleptopia” by investigative reporter Tom Burgis.  It’s both wonderfully well-written and terrifically depressing.  If there’s a British PM in the past twenty years who hasn’t been advising foreign kleptocrats on how to … Continue reading →

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Desperately seeking Regulations

Posted on November 25, 2020 by ihatemoneylaundering

* Alert!  This is a long, ranty post – you may need a Jaffa Cake or two to stay the course…* I’m quite bright.  Not “University Challenge” winning team bright, but I have a couple of degrees, I can sometimes … Continue reading →

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