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Now available: The State of Financial Crime 2025

Knowledge & Training

In our State of Financial Crime 2023 survey, more than one in three senior compliance professionals cited reputational risk as the factor most likely to drive change within their organization. This was a 6 percentage point rise from the previous year. Indeed, reputational risk was the only factor to see a year-on-year increase.  

2022 was a year defined and shaped by sanctions on an unprecedented scale. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the most comprehensive sanctions were imposed against a major power since the end of the Second World War, with the US, European Union (EU), and others coordinating their actions in new ways.

Protests across Ottawa and US-Canada border crossings in 2022 brought global awareness to the problem of crowdfunding platforms being used to finance extremist groups. Crowdfunding has also supported terrorist financing (TF) – notably, for Islamic State (IS) operatives in Syria.

In our 2022 survey of global compliance professionals, 45 percent of financial institutions said supply chain risk is the area their organization is most focused on improving. Much of this concern is likely driven by the intersection of complex supply chains with a volatile economic environment.

Our annual global compliance survey doesn’t just look at the anti-money laundering (AML) implications of hot topics like the uncertain global economy and Russia’s war in Ukraine, important though those are. It also takes an extended view, exploring the longer-term trends that shape how compliance professionals go about their work. 

2023 was supposed to be the year we escaped the shockwaves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the results of our annual survey of 800 C-suite and senior compliance decision-makers across the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia suggest otherwise. 

Unsurprisingly, due to the war in Ukraine, Russia topped this year’s list of geopolitical hotspots firms are most concerned about. The development of sanctions against Russia in 2023 is likely to hinge on developments on the battlefield in Ukraine itself.

When asked which area of their compliance function would be at risk in an audit, 48 percent – the highest proportion – told us it would be their knowledge of regulations. This blog explores the evolving anti-money laundering regulatory landscape, examining several global trends and themes in major economies.

On November 30, 2022, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued its inaugural report on money laundering from fentanyl and synthetic opioids. Co-led by the US and Canada, the report includes recommendations for prosecutors and law enforcement authorities on countering […]

The “Three Lines of Defense” describes how financial institutions should manage and structure their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) risk. Firms can use this framework to mitigate risk management gaps and duplication of unnecessary risk coverage. Part 5 of […]

Risk management activities in financial crime prevention include preventive, detective, and corrective controls. Preventive controls include robust due diligence, recordkeeping, and record retention. Detective controls include reporting suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities. Corrective controls include the eventual dismissal of […]