Prevent Organizational Money Laundering

Since the dawn of the digital age, instances of money laundering have steadily become more frequent and its techniques have become increasingly more sophisticated.

As stated by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), money laundering transactions have continued to reach up to 2 trillion US dollars a year, with the UK accounting for at least £1.5 billion worth of transactions per annum.

Now more than ever, it has become of utmost importance that businesses know how to protect themselves from the constant threat of money laundering by understanding their business and adhering to strict AML compliance. With that being said, here are a few ways you can help prevent criminals from using your company for organizational money laundering.

Learn about the different methods of money laundering

Money laundering has evolved quite a bit since it originated, thanks to the continuous evolution of technology. For you to stay one step ahead of criminals and their new tactics. You’ll have to learn all there is to know about the different techniques they utilize and make sure that information is properly disseminated to the rest of your team.

Prepaid credit cards and online auction websites, for example, are commonly involved when money laundering schemes are concerned. So transactions using either of them may warrant more in-depth investigation.

Use technology to your advantage

The processes of money laundering may have gotten more complex over the years, but so has Anti-Money Laundering technology. Make sure to fully utilize the resources at your disposal and understand which parts of your system are safer being automated instead of being done manually.

One of the things automated technology can assist with is conducting constant searches. Artificial intelligence can help isolate false positives when searching for threats, leaving far less work for the AML officials.

Ensure your AML program is tailor-fit for your business

A lot of third-party consultants offer businesses off-the-shelf AML programs that don’t necessarily accurately reflect the nature of the company. It is important that business owners implement an AML program that’s developed specifically for their organization in order to ensure that the system caters to all of the company’s activities.

Investigate thoroughly

Make sure to properly investigate anyone involved in transactions with the company, including clients, vendors, consultants, potential partners, etc. Background checks are essential in these cases in order to find out. If they’ve ever been involved in a crime or have been investigated before for suspicious activities.

Conduct reviews regularly

Businesses should undergo an independent review conducted by a third-party. The frequency at which the reviews occur should be directly related to the risk level of your business activities.

If your business is regularly exposed to risky transactions. Then it only makes sense that independent reviews should be conducted more frequently. So as to ensure that the company is satisfactorily identifying money laundering risks.