ACAMS

🏆 Congratulations to the 2026 ACAMS Award winners! 🏆 Each year, we recognize exemplary contributions to the anti-financial crime community through the ACAMS Awards. This year’s winners reflect the extraordinary impact AFC professionals have across our industry and the communities we serve. AFC Professional of the Year: Alison Jimenez Alison’s research into how financial sextortion of minors is monetized has helped educate AFC professionals, law enforcement and policymakers. Her work has influenced FinCEN and FATF guidance, and this year she advised the U.S. Department of State on the UN resolution on financial sextortion, adopted in June 2026. Rising AFC Professional of the Year: Renata Furst Renata founded the Child Identity Theft Working Group within the ACAMS New York Chapter, and the Child Without Debt movement in Brazil, which supports more than 200 victims. Her advocacy helped inspire legislation to criminalize child identity theft in Brazil. Chapter of the Year: ACAMS U.S. Capital Chapter Congratulations to the entire Chapter, and a special thank you to Co-Chairs Dennis Lormel and Sepideh Rowland for their leadership. This year's highlights include the Digital Assets Forum and the 25th anniversary commemoration of 9/11. Article of the Year: Andrew Rudd, CAMS-FCI and Kate Wilson, authors of "Strategic Alliances: Public-Private Partnerships Against Financial Crime" Andrew and Kate’s article demonstrates why public-private partnerships are crucial for combating technology-enabled financial crimes, pointing to tools like Section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act and the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance as an example of an effective partnership. Congratulations again to all our winners and thank you for helping make the financial system safer 🎯 #ACAMSAssembly

The National Fraud Enforcement Division at the U.S. Department of Justice has been in operation for approximately 180 days. Today at The Assembly Las Vegas, Colin M. McDonald, Assistant Attorney General and Department Head, took the stage to give us a rundown of priorities. Here is his overview.   #ACAMSAssembly

BREAKING NEWS: FinCEN "in the coming days" will take further steps to carry out an executive order calling for financial institutions to routinely verify the immigration status of their customers. Read in front of the paywall at ACAMS moneylaundering.com, here: https://lnkd.in/giB4APCm #AML #immigration #regulation #Trump #moneylaundering #banking #banks #Treasury #FinCEN

“The ‘N' in FinCEN is for ‘network.’” - Jenna Casanova, Acting Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as she spoke to a packed room of 2,300+ AFC professionals. Today, The Assembly Las Vegas officially kicked off 🎉 In the opening keynote, Jenna Casanova gave her first public speech in her role as the Acting Director of FinCEN, laying out where the organization is headed under her leadership. Her message was clear: FinCEN is focused on proactivity and providing operational feedback to institutions and other partners. Under her leadership, FinCEN has two main priorities: - Make intelligence sharing less burdensome for financial institutions - Circulate feedback to financial institutions, so they understand what information = value for law enforcement Jenna called out Operation Economic Outcast, a whole of U.S. government campaign to layer tools and effects to cut off revenue streams to Iran and its proxies. Next up, our roundtable of regulators representing FinCEN, the FDIC, Federal Reserve Board and OCC. The panel highlighted the need for institutions to understand their unique risk profiles, involve AML teams early when launching new products and services, and maintain strong oversight of third-party relationships. Regulators encouraged institutions to engage proactively when navigating emerging technologies like digital assets, stablecoins, and digital identity. It’s only Day One and one thing is clear: this community is exactly how we stay ahead of criminals. Check out #ACAMSAssembly to join the conversation and catch other insights from the event.

It is no longer sufficient to treat fraud as a series of isolated victim reports, local investigations or one-off consumer harms. Earlier this year, fraud was elevated to a core priority for the global anti-financial crime community under the U.K. presidency of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). While the AFC industry's acknowledgement of the fraud threat is persistent, law enforcement agencies face challenges to keep pace with victim reports for a few reasons: - Fraud defies the traditional geographies of police investigation - the “victim-offender-location triangle” with victims frequently spread across police force and jurisdictional boundaries. - Fraud differs from many other crimes because disrupting it requires a whole-of-ecosystem approach in which all participants — public and private — have a role in fraud prevention. - The persistent, misplaced stigma and shame surrounding fraud victimization contribute to substantial levels of underreporting. This white paper, a joint effort between the City of London Police and ACAMS, assesses the single-entry point fraud reporting system (SEFRS) model. It examines models that have emerged globally, with a particular focus on the U.K.’s Report Fraud Service. The white paper is available to everyone here: https://lnkd.in/e5_PX8vN

Announcing: The Assembly Canada keynote speakers 🎉 On Day 1, we'll welcome Rob Stewart, the Deputy Minister leading the creation of the Canada Financial Crimes Agency. His decades of experience across Canadian policy, spanning international trade, public safety, and national security will bring a much needed perspective on where the region has been and where it is set to head. Also on Day 1, Bassam Rizk, Managing Director, Integrity and Security Risk Division at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI) will take the stage. During his discussion, “Clear & Present Danger: Illicit Finance and National Security”, you will get practical insight into how your organization can identify, mitigate, and disrupt integrity and security risks, while strengthening your defenses against insider security threats. Day 2's keynote speaker is Tina Matos, Deputy Director and Chief Supervision Officer, Supervision Sector, FINTRAC. She brings a unique take on the challenges, priorities, and emerging trends shaping financial crime compliance across the country. This is your opportunity to hear directly from one of Canada's leading AFC supervisors. See you in just a couple of weeks. Drop a note to let us know who you're most excited to hear from. #ACAMSAssembly 

Environmental crime doesn't just harm nature. It fuels corruption, fraud, money laundering and other financial crimes. Our latest article by John Elsmore Dodsworth, head of Deforestation Strategy WWF and Geraldine Fleming United for Wildlife Financial Taskforce director The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, explores how financial institutions can identify and disrupt illicit financial flows tied to illegal logging, mining and wildlife trafficking, turning climate commitments into real-world action. As financial institutions look to strengthen their climate and nature commitments, understanding the financial flows behind illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, illegal mining and other environmental crimes is becoming increasingly important. This article explores how practitioners can identify risk, apply existing AML and sanctions controls more effectively, and leverage resources such as the Environmental Crimes Financial Toolkit to move from awareness to action.  Read more about the growing nexus between environmental and financial crime and what it means for compliance professionals today. https://lnkd.in/ezhqE_xR 

We made this for you. Criminals move fast, but you're faster. You ask the right questions. Connect the dots. Take the time to stay ahead of threats that constantly change. You save people who will never know how close they came to being a victim. We see you. After decades of working alongside the global AFC community, one truth holds: no one stays ahead alone. We made this for every AFC professional putting in the work to stay ahead. #ACAMSStayAhead