This article first provides a foundation for understanding OFAC and its mission to administer and enforce U.S. economic sanctions: what is the purpose of sanctions, how they come about, and OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.
Built on direct feedback from compliance professionals, this report provides a clear view into how sanctions screening is being executed today.
This practical playbook shows you how to strengthen AML performance without adding unnecessary complexity or enterprise-level costs for your community bank or credit union.
This whitepaper explores how sanctions and watchlist screening programs must evolve in 2026 to meet expectations and manage real-world risk.
Money Laundering is the process of “cleaning” the proceeds of criminal activity. Learn about the 3 stages.
An in-depth whitepaper delving into 2025 AML compliance trends, uncovered by surveys and interviews with industry experts and professionals.
Check out our free extensive 39-page overview of AML compliance for the banking industry, including best practices and future trends.
An in-depth overview of politically exposed persons (PEPs), including how to define, identify, and screen for these individuals.
Stay up to date with the latest advisories and guidance from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as they are released.
Stay up to date with the latest advisories and notices from Canada’s FINTRAC.
Keep on top of the latest advisories and guidance from the FATF.
View a regulatory compliance checklist for compliance professionals working in the banking industry.
Keep on top of the latest advisories and guidances from Australia’s AUSTRAC.
Learn strategies and tips for complying with the new sanctions against Russia.
This webinar explores one methodology FIs may consider to assess individual countries’ money laundering risk.
Explore how financial institutions can take a risk-based approach to AML, KYC and BSA compliance when working with cryptocurrencies.
In this webinar we explore how a customer’s anticipated transaction activity, products and services can impact their risk score.
What risk factors should you consider when assessing customer risk from a demographic/profile and relationships perspective?
In this webinar we discuss how to calculate risk ratings based on a entity’s profile and relationships.
Learn how to assess the risk associated with a PEP and when and how to conduct the appropriate amount of due diligence.
Learn the basics of this popular credit transfer service and pitfalls faced by compliance.
Filing Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) is a key part of the financial business. However, optimizing these reports and making sure that supporting case reports are
Explore how financial institutions can take a risk-based approach to AML, KYC and BSA compliance when working with cryptocurrencies.
Read BSA/AML compliance requirements, ideas on how to tackle challenges and FinCEN’s proposed new rule and its expected impact on credit unions.
Recently a number of jurisdictions have either introduced new regulations or revised guidance for identifying and screening for politically exposed persons (PEPs) or Heads of International Organizations (HIOs). Read a short summary of what is new in the United States, Canada and Australia.
Dave Jevans, CipherTrace CEO, presents a complete primer for banks and financial institutions on how crypto transactions flow through the financial system, how crypto users and transactions evade detection and how to take a risk-based approach to this emerging financial instrument.
Learn about FinCEN/FATF’s red flags for virtual currency and how they can be applied to your AML compliance program.
Recently a number of jurisdictions have either introduced new regulations or revised guidance for identifying and screening for politically exposed persons (PEPs) or Heads of International Organizations (HIOs). Read a short summary of what is new in the United States, Canada and Australia.
Learn about the mechanics of wire transfers, both in the U.S. and globally, and how wire transfers differ from other types of money movement methods.
As the country’s financial intelligence unit (FIU), FinCEN releases a number of advisories, guidances and FAQs to help financial institutions meet their BSA compliance obligations. This article reviews some of the definitions and material provided by FinCEN for effective compliance to anti-money laundering regulations.
Learn about the fundamentals of what OFAC does and the purpose and categories of U.S. sanctions programs in place today.
Learn about FinCEN’s rules for CVCs and actionable steps within your screening and transaction monitoring processes that you can implement today to reduce your exposure to criminal actors using virtual assets.
Learn about the fundamentals as well as the proposed changes and nuances in implementation that may affect compliance to the rule.
Learn about the FinCEN Travel Rule and how to comply in special situations, including aggregated transfers, transfers for non-customers, and various originator name issues.
Learn how financial institutions can assist in the detection, prevention and reporting of illicit dark web transactions that may be flowing through your organization.
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued extensive guidance for financial institutions regarding what constitutes an effective sanctions compliance program.
The EU’s 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive is now in effect for all member states. Read about the changes.
An anti-money laundering (AML) compliance program is an essential component of a financial institution’s compliance regime. The primary goal of every good program is to
Read what FATF recommends surrounding customer due diligence.
Learn how to effectively detect and monitor virtual currency-related customers and transactions within your financial institution.
Read FATF’s red flag indicators to help detect whether virtual assets are being used for criminal activity.
Learn more about how Alessa and Dow Jones can be used for PEPs, sanctions and watch list screening applications.
CDD is a fundamental component of an effective AML compliance program. Read what U.S. regulators expect.
Learn how the integration of CLEAR ID Confirm with the Alessa solution will make digital onboarding and customer reviews so much easier and reliable. Walk-through specific scenarios so you can see what data is available to you and how results can be incorporated into your AML compliance process.
Here is a sample of some of the cash reporting requirements for different jurisdictions.
In this webinar, compliance leads at TransferWise discuss their experience in working with senior management on enhancing compliance programs.
Understand how virtual currencies are structured and how to take a risk-based approach to mitigate their risks.
In this webinar suspicious activity monitoring programs are reviewed to determine what makes them effective or ineffective.
Learn how Alessa can enhance Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Business (KYB) programs.
Sarah Beth Felix reviews the various types of higher risk customers, what makes them high risk, and methods for effective management.
Jurisdictions are adopting the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) focus on effective outcomes for developing an effective AML/CTF program
Answers to your questions from our recent webinar on managing monitoring rules in light of indictments
We review strategies that allow for dynamic management of emerging typologies and risks within the transaction monitoring process.
Learn how to identify these high-risk customers during onboarding, what to look for during the relationship and potential red flags.
Politically exposed persons are officials who have a prominent public function, such as a political office or senior appointment.
The experts at Thomson Reuters review strategies that various types of FIs can deploy in order to accelerate their adoption of technology to support their onboarding and due diligence processes.
In the fight against financial crimes, today’s organizations must focus on building compliance programs that are increasingly driven by analytics. But how to start?
The experts at Alessa discuss how different automated processes can strengthen anti-money laundering (AML) processes.
In order to combat financial crime, banks, MSBs, credit unions, fintechs, payment providers and other types of financial institutions are required to develop and put in place an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance program.
Regulatory reporting is a big piece of AML compliance. Find out how to automate the creation and filing of these in order to avoid non-compliance, fines and penalties.
Updated Correspondent Banking Due Diligence Questionnaire (CBDDQ) is now available for FIs.
Alessa provides all the anti-money laundering capabilities that banks, MSBs, FinTechs, casinos and other regulated industries need – all within one platform.
A comprehensive checklist for compliance teams, who are looking to implement or update their AML program.
Here are some frequently asked questions about money laundering using information from various sources including FATF, FinCEN, FINRA and FINTRAC, as well as our experts from Alessa
We break down the most common TBML techniques, including the Black Market Peso Exchange, over & under invoicing, and others, using real world case studies.
Anti-money laundering (AML) is the process of combatting money laundering — where criminals work to make their illegal – or “dirty” – money look clean.
AML expert Laurie Kelly, CAMS follows-up with answered questions during her recent webinar on Understanding Money Laundering and Fraud Risks of Wire Transfers.
Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) shows Canada is the top ranked country in the Americas. However, the bad news is the ranking has dropped.
This webinar busts some of the myths around cloud adoption as well as share real-life stories of why financial institutions moved their compliance solution to the cloud.
In this white paper we review key areas that every financial institution should review to ensure that their sanctions screening software is working at its best.
The U.S. government is concerned that too many COVID-19 fraud cases are popping up as criminals find new ways to steal.
This webinar will review the steps in an effective EDD program, whether you are a financial institution or a corporation engaging with global suppliers.
Easy EDD Reports and more. Here is a summary of some of the most notable additions to the latest version of Alessa.
Should rules-based testing be completely abandoned (or become their poor second cousin) in favor of artificial intelligence, predictive analytics and machine learning?
Read about the role of a compliance officer, including typical duties and qualifications.
In this webinar get an overview of current corporate transparency regulations across various jurisdictions and the status of their implementation.
Read key regulatory developments already in force and what 2020/2021 will see in AML/ATF regulatory compliance in Canada.
In this webinar, we will reveal how to avoid some of the common pitfalls in the configuration and testing of screening programs.
Europe has strengthened the rules to fight money laundering with a new directive. Read about the changes in this blog.
Alessa can monitor financial transactions in real time, periodically or by events and using advanced analytics, detect suspicious or fraudulent transactions.
Alessa is a platform that integrates with core systems for real-time due diligence, transaction monitoring, sanctions screening and regulatory reporting capabilities.
Sanctions screening with Alessa protects organizations by identifying high-risk persons and businesses, then enabling them to manage the risk.
In this blog we explain why case reports are such an important tool for compliance teams and what are the sections of a good case report.
In this webinar we share a number of best practices that go along with SARs if they are to be an effective tool for both your FI and for law enforcement.
When combined, Alessa and World-Check offer customers the power to screen in real time during onboarding and for transactions to block potentially high-risk situations.
This webinar provides insightful advice on how to write SAR narratives that are both useful and meet FinCEN’s requirements.
Learn how to assess and factor risk criteria such as regulatory, country, customer and services risks, strategies for increasing detection of real reportable activities and reducing false positives and time for investigations and more
In this webinar, we will walk the audience through a systematic process that every financial institution should go through when evaluating the risks associated with
Canadian financial regulator has issued new guidance for when a suspicious transaction must be reported and how to submit STRs.
There are a number of new and exciting enhancements to assist in investigations and get more out of the solution.
There are a number of new and exciting enhancements to the core features in the latest version of Alessa,
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) says compliance risk related to BSA/AML remains high and poses a threat to the safety and soundness of the federal banking system.
This white paper looks at how to monitor and screen individuals, entities and transactions as well as best practices to optimize the results in order to avoid penalties and fines.
A CFATF Report has found that the Cayman Islands has a significant threat from foreign fraud, evasion of foreign taxes by non-residents and drug trafficking.
AI is expected to save the banking industry more than $1 trillion. But how to get started? This blog will review the phases for implementing AI for AML compliance.
Learn how to identify beneficial ownership; collect, store, manage and maintain beneficial ownership data and perform identity verification for beneficial owners.
Learn how to store, manage and document BO data and opportunities for enhanced transaction monitoring and customer risk scoring.
This five-part white paper explores challenges faced by financial institutions in implementing the beneficial ownership requirement of the CDD Rule as well as recommendations on how to comply.
In this webinar we review the recent Wolfsberg Guidance on Sanctions Screening and provide concrete actions that FIs can take to improve the effectiveness of their AML program.
In this webinar, learn how to overcome some of the challenges associated with detecting and preventing the various forms of bank fraud.
In this webinar you will learn how data science is used to detect anomalies and how responses be used to prevent future suspicious transactions or false-positives.
This white paper looks at key processes respondent banks must have to strength their compliance programs and protect their correspondent relationships.
Read how this bank adopted sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, automated regulatory reporting and more to strengthen their AML program.
This webinar will examine data mining techniques that can be used to identify risk factors, monitor customer activity and provide insights in the business.
What do AI, machine learning and other terms really mean and how are they used to improve counter-fraud and AML strategies?
This webinar will look at how an effective transaction monitoring process can identify unusual transactions for further investigation, reporting and more.
This webinar will review the recent upgrades to our AML compliance solution including new features for those who e-file their regulatory reports.
Every customer you have represents a risk. But do you have the full picture to determine how much of a risk they really pose?
This webinar explores measures respondent banks should use to successfully build correspondent banking relationships.
This webinar describes how our solution eliminates the burden of AML regulatory reporting by auto-populating and validating reports and much more.
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