Robert Frimet - What Is AML?

Anti-Money laundering, or AML, is a specialized program employed by financial institutions to detect, report and prevent the act of money laundering. AML regulation are enforced by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen), as the basis for anti-money laundering regulations. Anti-money laundering specialists, like Robert Frimet, protect their clients from money laundering crimes and ensure that those clients follow AML policies and procedures.

Some of the crimes that AML programs help prevent include:

• Drugs
• Human Smuggling
• Illegal Weapons
• Structuring
• Trade-based money laundering
• Casino- and gambling-based money laundering
• Real estate-based money laundering
• Digital currency misuse

Many countries produce annual reports that estimate the amount of money laundered during the reporting period. This practice became more wide-spread after the FATF began prompting countries to improve their anti-money laundering laws and the enforcement of those laws. Countries were prompted to criminalize money laundering, to encourage the investigation of potential money laundering, to work with other countries to solve money laundering cases and to require their banks and other financial institutions to keep reliable customer records.

Banks and other financial institutions are heavily regulated by AML guidelines, typically by mandate of national mandate. Most nations require financial institutions to scan for, and to report, any suspicious transactions. It is for this reason that customers are required to present a valid ID for all financial transactions.

Outside of the implementation of AML policies within financial institutions, Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (CAMS) like Robert Frimet help business owners avoid problems with federal regulations regarding AML. CAMS stay up-to-date on the latest AML laws within a given nation, which allows them to provide the most useful services to their customers.