AML Conversations

In this week's episode of This Week in AML, John Byrne is joined by Joe McNamara, filling in for Elliot Berman, to flag a wide range of global and domestic developments. They open with OCCRP reporting on an Uzbek security official who secretly acquired Emirati citizenship and millions in Dubai real estate, then turn to New York Times reporting on conflict of interest questions in U.S.-Russia talks on Ukraine.

The conversation then shifts to FinCEN's unusual withdrawal of two proposed rules targeting unhosted wallet transactions and convertible virtual currency mixing, and what that means for institutions with crypto exposure whose SAR obligations remain unchanged. Additional topics include the Comptroller of the Currency's fraud roundtable with community bankers in Minneapolis, the Department of Justice's new memorandum on corporate fraud enforcement, and the first reported AI agent-powered intrusion into major South Korean banks. The episode closes with a preview of the October 22nd webinar on best practices in managing high-risk customers.

Resources Referenced in This Episode:

OCCRP: The Uzbek President's Son-In-Law Secretly Acquired a UAE Passport While Serving as a Top Security Chief

The New York Times: U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine and the Kushner and Witkoff Oil Deal

Federal Register: Proposal of Special Measure Regarding Convertible Virtual Currency Mixing, as a Class of Transactions of Primary Money Laundering Concern; Withdrawal

Federal Register: Requirements for Certain Transactions Involving Convertible Virtual Currency or Digital Assets; Withdrawal

OCC: Comptroller Gould Community Bank Fraud Roundtable in Minneapolis https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2026/nr-occ-2026-86.html

U.S. Department of Justice: Directive 26-12, Corporate Enforcement in the Fight Against Fraud https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1463571/dl?inline

The Wall Street Journal: Hackers Use Chinese AI Tool to Hit South Korean Banks, Exposing New Risk

Marquette University Center for Peacemaking: AI and Ethics with Dr. Michael Zimmer

AML RightSource: AML Voices Webinar: Best Practices in Managing Your High-Risk Customers

In this week's episode of This Week in AML, John Byrne and Elliot Berman examine Canada's newly released FATF mutual evaluation and what it may signal as the AML community awaits the upcoming U.S. assessment. They discuss FinCEN's plans to amend customer due diligence requirements related to immigration status verification, highlighting the operational and compliance challenges that institutions may face.

The conversation also explores escalating concerns surrounding artificial intelligence, including congressional calls for stronger oversight, emerging state-level initiatives, and recent reports of AI-enabled fraud targeting financial institutions. Additional topics include proposed stablecoin regulations under the GENIUS Act, new tools for measuring corruption, sanctions targeting criminal organizations, cybersecurity lessons from the reported FBI data breach, and outgoing SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce's critique of AML and KYC frameworks.

In this week's episode of This Week in AML, Elliot Berman and John Byrne examine how workforce reductions at the OCC could affect bank supervision at a time when new national bank charters are on the rise. They also discuss the OCC's updated cybersecurity supervision framework and its implications for financial institutions.

The conversation then turns global, highlighting a new Egmont Group report on strategic intelligence, the role of Financial Intelligence Units in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, and lessons organizations can apply to their own compliance programs.

Additional topics include emerging state-level AI regulation in New York and California, and allegations that a Kremlin-linked fintech network used forged documentation to move billions through the global financial system.

In this episode of AML Conversations, host John Byrne sits down with former federal prosecutor, 9/11 Commission staff member, and former Department of Homeland Security Inspector General John Roth to discuss the evolution of terrorist financing controls, the challenges facing anti-money laundering professionals, and the critical role inspectors general play in promoting accountability across government.

Drawing on his work co-authoring the 9/11 Commission’s terrorist financing monograph and his experience at DHS, Roth reflects on how AML and CTF frameworks have changed since 9/11, why financial institutions have made significant progress, and why emerging threats such as cryptocurrency, prediction markets, and changes to beneficial ownership transparency continue to present challenges.

The conversation then turns to government oversight and Roth’s recent work on restoring the independence of inspectors general. He explains why independent watchdogs are essential to uncovering waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct, and shares his concerns about the removal of inspectors general, reduced oversight capacity, and the importance of congressional engagement and public awareness.

Joe McNamara sits in for Elliot Berman this week alongside John Byrne. Joe and John discuss the Senate vote that failed to advance the Clarity Act, the interagency proposal to rescind and replace third-party risk management guidance, and the CJEU ruling on Latvia's public shareholder disclosure law and what it signals for beneficial ownership transparency. They also cover the DOJ indictment of a Russian intelligence services network, the Manhattan DA's seizure of 12 deepfake websites and the payment infrastructure behind them, Transparency International's analysis of seven years of EU rule of law reporting, and OFAC's designation of VTB Bank under Operation Economic Outcast. They close with CSIS's look at the terrorism landscape 25 years after 9/11, the shift toward lone actor threats, and the underused potential of 314(a) and 314(b) information sharing.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Senate cloture vote on the Clarity Act: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/15/senate-cloture-vote-on-clarity-act-fails-dealing-regulatory-setback-...
Proposed interagency third-party risk management guidance: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/15/2026-18859/proposed-third-party-risk-management...
CJEU ruling on Latvian shareholder disclosure (Case C-798/24): https://cyprus-mail.com/2026/09/13/european-court-decides-on-public-access-to-shareholder-informatio...
DOJ release on the Russian intelligence services network indictment: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/members-russian-intelligence-services-network-charged-conspiring-fina...
Manhattan DA seizure of 12 deepfake websites: https://manhattanda.org/manhattan-d-a-s-office-seizes-domains-of-12-illegal-websites-selling-ai-gene...
Transparency International, Anti-Corruption Gaps Are Leaving Democracy in Europe Exposed: https://www.transparency.org/en/news/anti-corruption-gaps-leaving-democracy-europe-exposed
Treasury designation of VTB Bank under Operation Economic Outcast: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0629/
Riley McCabe, CSIS, Adapting to the New Terrorism Landscape 25 Years After 9/11: https://www.csis.org/analysis/adapting-new-terrorism-landscape-25-years-after-911
ProPublica reporting on the Trump Jr. wedding financing: https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-jr-wedding-bankrolled-russian-oligarch-umar-kremlev-...