AML Conversations

This week on This Week in AML, Elliot Berman and Joe McNamara examine a series of reports and regulatory updates highlighting the growing sophistication of global financial crime.

The discussion begins with a new United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) threat assessment that details how Southeast Asia has become a hub for interconnected criminal ecosystems, with organized crime groups increasingly offering “fraud as a service” at enterprise scale. Elliot and Joe explore how criminal organizations are evolving from trafficking goods to operating highly sophisticated criminal services businesses.

They also discuss FATF’s latest targeted update on virtual assets and VASPs, including concerns about stablecoins, regulatory gaps, and ongoing challenges in implementing the Travel Rule across jurisdictions. The conversation highlights how organized crime networks are leveraging crypto assets to move illicit funds globally.

The episode then turns to new guidance from the Wolfsberg Group on managing risks associated with non-bank payment service providers, AMLA’s growing focus on vulnerabilities in the non-financial sector, and ongoing concerns about real estate as a money-laundering vehicle.

In this week's episode of This Week in AML, John Byrne and Elliot Berman discuss the renewed push for a bipartisan U.S. sanctions bill targeting Russia and compare its approach to the European Union's existing sanctions framework. They also examine new guidance from federal banking agencies on lending to non-work authorized.

The conversation explores a notable difference in the Federal Reserve's proposed AML program rule, highlights key findings from Europol’s latest EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report, and reviews a Transparency International report examining the illicit finance risks associated with cryptocurrency and stablecoins.

John and Elliot also discuss developments involving a high-profile IRS lawsuit and Florida's proposed designation of certain organizations as terrorist entities.

In this week's episode of This Week in AML, John Byrne and Elliot Berman unpack a wide-ranging set of developments shaping the financial crime compliance landscape. They discuss the evolving geopolitical environment, including sanctions activity involving Iran, Russia, and North Korea, and examine new reports highlighting how cryptocurrencies are being used to evade international sanctions.

The conversation also explores the rise and risks of meme coins, recent SEC efforts to combat retail investor fraud, FINRA's independent review of its enforcement program, and the Federal Reserve's proposed AML program rule. John and Elliot further discuss policymakers' growing interest in AI governance, including questions surrounding financial crime prevention, customer identification, and responsible adoption of emerging technologies.

Whether you're focused on AML, sanctions, fraud prevention, regulatory policy, or AI in compliance, this episode delivers timely insights on the trends reshaping financial crime risk management.

In this episode of AML Conversations, host John Byrne sits down with longtime DOJ prosecutor and anti-corruption expert Jonathan Rusch to unpack a rapidly shifting enforcement landscape.

From the scaling back of DOJ anti-corruption resources to the growing use of presidential pardon power in bribery cases, Rusch offers a candid assessment of what these changes signal for accountability in the U.S. and globally. He also breaks down why anti-corruption still matters—highlighting its economic, political, social, and legal impacts—and what happens when those guardrails weaken.

Drawing on his experience at the Justice Department and in the private sector at a major global bank, Rusch shares practical insights for financial institutions navigating today’s environment: balancing deregulation pressures, evolving expectations around “de-banking,” and the enduring realities of laws such as the FCPA.

The conversation closes on a note of cautious optimism—exploring what resilience looks like for compliance professionals, regulators, and institutions committed to maintaining integrity in uncertain times.

In this week's episode of This Week in AML, John Byrne and Elliot Berman examine major developments shaping the financial crime compliance landscape. They discuss newly released presidential financial disclosures, FATF's priorities under new President Giles Thomson, and a new FATF report on terrorist financing risks tied to social media, messaging apps, and streaming platforms.

The conversation also covers the Rome Statement on Art Market Integrity, Binance's licensing challenges under the EU's MiCA framework, FinCEN and FBI actions targeting cartel-linked fuel theft and human smuggling networks, and the UK's evolving crypto asset regulatory regime.

Additional topics include Europol's latest assessment of organized crime networks, the SEC's enforcement action against Merrill Lynch for SAR reporting failures, and the potential business and regulatory implications of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision affecting independent federal agencies. The episode concludes with a preview of upcoming AML RightSource content, including a discussion on AI and financial compliance.