r/moneylaundering

What’s the standard kyc process for most of you all in your institutions? Do you collect the required docs first than risk rate the customer from there or you risk rate the customer first then collect the required docs?

I know this is kind of an illogical question since it’s impossible to risk score the client without first obtaining some info about the client but I’m quite confused as to the typical kyc/cdd process.

Appreciate any response on this discussion thks.

I am currently studying for CAMS I am taking the study path which gives quizzes and I am basically failing almost all of them. I was going to take my test in June but now I’m so discouraged. My company paid for my exam and I don’t want to let them down. Has anyone else felt discouraged? I see a lot of people passing on the first try.

I passed the ACAMS v7+ exam and wanted to share my experience because I was desperately looking for recent feedback before taking it myself.

~2 years AML experience at a large EU bank
I originally did the standard prep required to access the Exam Simulator around 4 months ago.
Then completely procrastinated and realized my exam eligibility expired today. 😅 Ended up doing ~48h of intense Exam Simulator prep right before the exam.

Topics that came up a LOT for me:

- Law enforcement cooperation & PPPs (Public-Private Partnerships)
- AI / AFC tools & technology
- Firm-wide AML programs and Risk assessments
- Other financial crime risks beyond classic AML, e.g., Tax evasion, Bribery & corruption
- Trust & company service providers (TCSPs)
- Risks re. Accounting professionals & intermediaries
- Crypto-related questions
- UBO-related scenarios

What surprised me is that relatively little on sanctions compared to what I expected and I observed when doing the Exam Simulator.
As the v7+ do focus on practical/risk-based decision making than memorization, I recommend to really understand the topics.

The Exam Simulator is honestly enough to pass, I found learning using Udemy courses or Examtopics not really necessary. BUT I would strongly recommend at least reviewing the Study Guide sections for the topics above beforehand.
The simulator helps a lot with understanding the wording and logic of the questions. You do NOT need to know every single detail to pass. If you understand the core AML principles and can think through scenarios logically, the exam is definitely manageable.

Also pay close attention to the wording. I felt like many answer options were right, but the “correct” ACAMS answer is often the one that is (based on the question asked): risk-based, efficient, practical, and not overly extreme/radical.

Hope this helps someone panicking before their exam like I was. 😄

The SEPA is a great thing in Europe, but there is evidence that it is being abused.

Opening an account at a proper bank requires documentary proof of the beneficial owner, the source of funds and the purpose of the account. Non-bank payment processors are supposed to hold all funds in proper bank accounts that have been opened for the purpose.

Unfortunately it seems that a payment processors don't really do much in the way of KYC. Many operate via non-bank third party accounts for completely non-money related services such as "Web Design" or "Building Materials".

It is hard to do transaction screening and there are very few ways to even trace the ultimate beneficiary as the system is designed to make it difficult to follow. Add a few national boundaries, so the payment is made in one country, the money mule is in another country, the payment processor in a third country and the payment recipient is in a fourth. The police can't cope with such a chain unless we are talking really large amounts.

So this is used for many illegal activities like human trafficking, drug related payments, gambling and illegal crypto trading.

It gets very quickly beyond the knowhow of the police. Banks can help spot money mules, but the overall flow isn't national. It is international, there is centralised data on LEIs and the Target-2 transaction list. but I don't think that the Eurozone AMLA can do anything. They don't have the people.

I’m a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM). I’m considering obtaining the CAMS certification as well at some point.

I know people generally find the CFE exams to be a lot easier than both the CRCM and CAMS. For those of you who have both the CRCM and CAMS certifications, which one was more difficult for you to obtain? If you could compare and contrast the two, I think that would be helpful for me.

For additional context, I worked for an FFIEC agency in the U.S. and participated in some BSA/AML exams of financial institutions, but I wouldn’t say I’m a BSA/AML expert by any means. I bought the book Anti-Money Laundering in a Nutshell (Second Edition) by Kevin Sullivan, which I’m essentially reading for fun this summer before potentially diving into the ACAMS study materials later this year or early next year.

Thanks in advance for any responses to my post.

Hi,

I have 8 years of experience in capital markets industry ( Asset Management companies: Mutual Funds) as investor services manager.

Now, i want to transit to AML and KYC roles.

Do i need to get myself certified with CAMS or ICA ?

Pls help.

Did anyone take this exam before? How was it and did you manage to pass on first attempt?

Passing mark is 35/40 which is pretty high. 🥹

Please share with me the question bank for practice if you have it. 🙏 Thank you.

Hello Everyone I am 26M. About to graduate from my MBA, I have a background in Operations/Logistics. So I know the basic KYC documentation and Audits as my past work experience. I was looking into AML&Compliance, I do know that they are not very related to each other. But I wanted some Advice

Basis on the roles I have worked on Do I fit in KYC/Analyst roles and then pivot towards AML and what certifications? I would need and what guides I can use to get more information and know what would I need in Later stages(also looked into CAMS/ACAMS).

I got my self started on the Free eLearning course on Basel for Operational Transactions and also looking forward in doing the Anqa Compliance course. I am using the Free to use knowledge to get the basis idea of what I will be going into is this a right approach or am I doing something wrong?

Please correct me where I am wrong.

Thank you

Hi there,

Passed CAMS7_ENU on first try with 78. I did the take-home test, btw. Used the exam simulator a lot, got 102 - 110 in the simulator (it helped me but not much). The exam was hard because of the topics in my exam. I've memorized everything about 40 recommendations, OFAC, and Patriot Act, but there was only 2 or 3 questions about them. You can see the most topics that I've encountered during the test.

AML risks in insurance,

Gambling and money laundering,

Data security,

PPPs,

Duties and functions of correspondent banks,

Duties and functions of FATF,

EU and UN AML associations,

Wolfsberg,

Egmont Group,

AML duties of financial institutions and how to set up an AML program,

How to protect private data, and what are the laws (in the EU),

Money laundering in the gaming industry,

Money laundering methods in real estate,

Money laundering risks in crypto and virtual product/service providers (there were 4-5 difficult questions),

There was 1 OFAC question, it was an easy one, most were multiple choice (2-3-4 options).

There were 30-40 scenario-based questions.

Hi. Can anyone please clerify whether the candidates who successfully pass the CAMS exam are also required to have direct professional experience specifically in the AML/CFT field in order to obtain the official certification?

I have professional background in financial audit (banking sector mostly).

If this is not the right place to ask this, sorry! Someone I care about has sent a lot of money to a crypto account that is supposedly connected to this company (https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/305920) that is supposedly using this trading platform website (https://www.deepex.pro/) to handle options or futures for commodities on his behalf. He was connected to a Russian speaking "broker" that worked with him to purchase and sell futures or options. Is there a way to verify if the trades that this company supposedly made on my loved ones behalf actually took place or not? There were other things that they did that felt like money laundering. Any suggestions of how to determine if this is a legit outfit.

Hello,

I have almost 5 years experience in the bank as a consultant. I want to switch to a freelance consultant KYC/AML/CFT. Is CAMS worth getting if I want to switch?