In this globalized world, many transnational criminal organizations will employ a variety of methods in order to evade anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. Not surprisingly, as regulators evolve, so do the methods that criminals use to hide their dirty money. The most notable of these evolutions is the use of virtual or crypto currency, such as Bitcoin, to commit crimes within the Cryptosphere.

It is now essential that AML compliance suites understand the methods and avenues that criminals can take within the Cryptosphere in order to properly screen current and future clients. But, how do criminals hide their money using virtual currency and what do regulators require with regard to your AML crypto-controls?

In this NoMoneyLaundering.com webinar, our expert speakers will discuss how criminals can disguise themselves in the Cryptosphere, the major recent enforcement actions involving cryptocurrency, as well as what regulatory requirements regarding virtual currency exist for financial institutions.

You will learn:

• Anonymity, pseudo-anonymity and other forms of disguise in the cryptosphere;
• Regulatory requirements of cryptocurrency exchanges under the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) 40 Recommendations and the U.S. framework;
• Major U.S. enforcement actions and why the fundamentals are so essential; and
• How Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are so easily used by transnational criminal organizations to circumvent AML controls.

Ross S. Delston, CAMS
Attorney + Expert Witness
Global AML

Ross S. Delston, CAMS, is an independentWashington, DC-based attorney, expert witness, and former banking regulator(FDIC). He has specialized in Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/anti-money laundering (AML) issues for over 18 years. He has been an expert witness in numerous civil cases involving BSA/AMLissues, including a civil forfeiture action on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office (SDNY) inU.S. v. Prevezon. He has also participated in monitorships for two global financial institutions, AIG and BNP Paribas. Ross has been a consultant to the IMF since 1997 and has assisted in the AML/CFT assessments of nine offshore financial centers, including Bermuda, Curacao, Gibraltar, Jersey, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

He is the author or co-author of three articles on Cryptocurrency:

• Co-author, “International Bitcoin Teller Machines: Another Money-Laundering Vehicle Exploited by Transnational Criminal Organizations or Legitimate Enterprise?” Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute, November 2018:  http://www.legalexecutiveinstitute.com/bitcoin-teller-machines/
• Co-author, “Contributor Report: The Top 20 Ways for U.S. Crypto Exchangers to Avoid Unwanted Federal Scrutiny,” ACFCS News, August 2018: https://www.acfcs.org/news/411810/Contributor-Report-The-Top-20-ways-for-U.S.-Crypto-Exchangers-to-Avoid-Unwanted-Federal-Scrutiny.htm
• Author, “Insights: Did FinCEN Just Burst Bitcoin’s Bubble?” Moneylaundering.com News, May 2013: http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/insights-did-fincen-just-burst-bitcoin-68059/#!

Ross has been quoted on AML issues in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, Bloomberg, the Nikkei (Japan) and the Hindu Business Line (India). He has spoken on AML and banking issues at conferences throughout the world, including Accra, Belgrade, Chennai, Chisinau, Colombo, Dalian, Kathmandu, Minsk, Niamey, Phnom Penh, Skopje and Zagreb.

Lourdes C. Miranda, CAMS, CFE
Cryptocurrency Advisor and Analyst
MirandaFinIntel Consulting, LLC

Lourdes C. Miranda is a Washington, DC-based cryptocurrency advisor, a financial crimes investigator, a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), and a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)with over 25 years of government and corporate experience. Lourdes specializes in counter-threat finance including money laundering and fraud investigations, counterterrorism, counterintelligence, cryptocurrency executions and blockchain analysis; financial intelligence collection and analysis;risk management; strategic and operational analysis; and task force leadership for the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Treasury Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, as well as for the private sector.

Lourdes is a frequent speaker on cryptocurrencies and has co-authored the following articles:

• “International Bitcoin Teller Machines: Another Money-Laundering Vehicle Exploited by Transnational Criminal Organizations or Legitimate Enterprise?” Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute, November 2018: http://www.legalexecutiveinstitute.com/bitcoin-teller-machines
• “Contributor Report: The Top 20 Ways for U.S. Crypto Exchangers to Avoid Unwanted Federal Scrutiny,” ACFCS News, August 2018: https://www.acfcs.org/news/411810/Contributor-Report-The-Top-20-ways-for-U.S.-Crypto-Exchangers-to-Avoid-Unwanted-Federal-Scrutiny.htm
• “Follow the Tokens: Money Laundering, Asset Tracing, and Cryptocurrencies” Stout Risius Ross, LLC, “The Journal,” February 2018: https://goo.gl/jVi1UR

Lourdes is a former board member of Utica College’s Economic Crime & Cybersecurity Institute and has presented at Utica College as a keynote speaker, a guest speaker, a guest lecturer, a professional reader, mentored students for 23 years and contributed extensively to creating their first national security program.