Moody’s Talks: KYC Decoded

What if your anti-financial crime program could build investigation models using sensitive data you may not have direct access to – in a totally compliant way? In this episode, we learn from Privacy Enhancing Technology (PET) expert, Michael Hughes, Chief Business Offer at Duality Technologies, about the potential PETs have to change the game of KYC.Follow along as Michael and host, Alex Pillow, discuss all things PETs, exploring topics like:The value PETs could bring to the world of AFCPrivacy rights of an individual vs. useful data for institutionsVarious PET use casesHow regulatory bodies feel about the rise of PETsIndustry sectors that have become early adopters of PETs (the answer may surprise you)For additional resources mentioned in this episode, check out the links below on Duality’s website:Zero footprint investigationsCollaborative AIVisit our website to learn how Moody’s Compliance and third-party risk management can take AFC in your organization to the next level, and please feel free to get in touch – we’d love to hear from you!

It is safe to say technology has done wonders when it comes to AML professionals tackling financial crime, but, on the flip side, it is important to understand how technology is being used by those committing the crimes.From video game online marketplaces to virtual currency mixers, how can we follow the money when tech is used to cover its tracks?In this episode of KYC Decoded, we welcome back esteemed guest, Geoff White, investigative journalist and author of the upcoming book, Rinsed: From Cartels to Crypto: How the Tech Industry Washes Money for the World’s Deadliest Crooks.Get an inside look at some of the crimes that are featured in Rinsed, and listen as Geoff and host, Alex Pillow, explore questions like:How has the digitization of currency impacted the way criminals launder money?Is there a future where crypto can be crime-free?What role does social media play for bad actors?Should technology companies be held accountable for how money launderers use them?Rinsed is available for preorder and will be published on June 13, 2024. To take the AML and compliance programs in your organization to the next level, be sure to check out our website and get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.

Change is essential to survive and thrive in any enterprise. As we narrow in on the world of AML and KYC, the adaptation of sophisticated criminals is evident, so the question arises: what disruptions are needed to outsmart these bad actors? In this episode of KYC Decoded, Head of Strategy & Content at Sardine, Simon Taylor, lends us his astute and perceptive expertise as we explore this questions further. You won’t want to miss this energetic and educational conversation with host, Alex Pillow. Their wide-ranging discussion covers topics like:The different areas of KYC and AML that have the greatest opportunities for disruptionThe role of advancing technologies and how they might be used in particular use casesHow change could impact industry professionalsIf you enjoyed listening to this episode, be sure to check out the recommended resources mentioned in the show:Sardine.ai webinarsSardine.ai blogFollow Soups Ranjan on LinkedInIf you are a change-maker looking to disrupt the KYC and AML processes in your organization, be sure to visit our website and get in touch – we would love to hear from you. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 set off a series of global sanctions enforcement actions. The United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has meted out sanctions to curb Russia’s defense procurement, energy weaponization, and international trade activity. To date, the EU has also imposed 12 sanctions packages on restrictive measures – with the 13th to be formally approved in February.In this episode, we speak with Dr. Andrea Viski, founder and director of the Strategic Trade Research Institute and editor-in-chief of the Strategic Trade Review, on how the global sanctions environment has changed since the invasion, and where the biggest risks in sanctions-related financial crime lie.This conversation covers topics including:The impact of sanctions packages on Russia’s economy – where the sanctions have been effective in disconnecting Russia from global trade and economic activityHow the global sanctions environment has changed since the invasionNew challenges KYC and AML professionals now face, and how they can mitigate sanctions-related risksThe latest sanctions evasion trends and red flagsFor additional resources mentioned in this episode, visit:WorldECRStrategic Trade ReviewIf you want to better detect sanctions-related risk in your organization, visit our website, read our latest whitepaper on sanctions, and get in touch with one of our experts – we’d love to hear from you.

The creation of the AMLA, the authority on money laundering in the European Union, is imminently upon us. And the critical question compliance professionals are wondering is: where will it live? Choosing an EU city to be the representative of 26 different cultures most certainly has needed careful thought and planning. The official location choice is set to be announced February 22, 2024, in the meantime we check in with Francis Marinier, Moody’s Analytics Financial Crime and Compliance Industry Practice Lead, to discuss his predictions.Follow along to hear more about:What the AMLA is and why it was formedWhy cities would want to be home to the AMLAWhat the European Parliament must consider when selecting a locationPros and cons of potential host cities such as Frankfurt, Madrid, Paris, and DublinFor more information, visit the AML Intelligence website, where you can also check back in on February 22 for the final decision. To find out how Moody’s Analytics AML solutions can help your organization, please visit our website and get in touch.

Much has changed since we last visited the US Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) in March of 2023 on KYC Decoded. Now that FinCEN has officially rolled out its beneficial ownership database, what is the lay of the land for risk and compliance professionals? In this episode, we welcome back Jim Richards, former BSA officer, author, speaker, and CEO of RegTech Consulting to share his thoughts on where we are now, where there is room for improvement, and just how useful this database will be when combatting financial crime.Key highlights of this educational discussion include:Jim’s time testifying before US congress in June of 2023The current limitations around access to the databaseThe types of organizations that are exempt from the databaseThe level of threat the database poses – or doesn’t pose – to financial criminals in both the short term and longer termSuggestions on how FinCEN should move forwardIf you would like to find out more about the work Jim Richards does or the CTA, please check out our recommended resources:Jim Richards’s personal blogFinCEN Beneficial Ownership InformationMoody’s content on Ultimate Beneficial OwnershipIf you are looking for deeper insight into who you are doing business with, learn more on our website and feel free to get in touch.

There are plenty of shell companies formed for legitimate reasons. However, as recently uncovered in a major case in Singapore where 3 billion SGD of assets were frozen, shell companies can also be used for more nefarious purposes. This risk is not always easy to spot, especially when relying on manual, time-invasive processes.In this episode KYC Decoded, host Alex Pillow welcomes Moody’s Analytics Product Manager, Kate Weymouth, and Head of the Financial Crime Practice Group for APAC and the Middle East, Choon Hong Chua.Their dynamic and educational conversation around shell companies and their risks includes:Legitimate reasons for shell companies vs. illegitimate reasonsThe seven primary indicators of shell company riskA deeper look into the recent Singapore shell company scamHow Moody’s Shell Company Indicator automates traditionally manual and time consuming processes with powerful dataFor additional resources mentioned in this conversation, be sure to check out:FATF paper ‘Best Practices on Beneficial Ownership for Legal Persons’FATF paper, ‘Concealment of Beneficial Ownership’Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), ‘Effective Practices to Detect and Mitigate the Risk from Misuse of Legal Persons’‘Risky business? The seven indicators of shell company risk’ data visualizationSeven indicators of shell company risk blogIf you would like to know more about how Shell Company Indicator can better identify shell company risk in your organization, please visit our website and feel free to get in touch. We would love to hear from you.

Every year, on January 11, the US recognizes National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Human trafficking – currently a $150 billion industry – continues to be a pervasive threat around the globe, with criminals profiting from the enslavement of other people. This brings us to the obvious question: what can anti-financial crime and risk professionals do to make this world a safer place and help put an end to this abhorrent practice?In this episode, we delve into this pressing issue with experts: Christopher Kemp, Director of Enterprise Operations at the Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative; Chris Bagnall, Solutions Director at Quantexa; and Karim Rajwani, Head of Product at Sigma360. Their conversation sheds an important light on dealing with this crime, focusing on:The primary forms of human traffickingThe staggering scale of the problemStrategies and solutions to stop itThe role of data and technology in empowering professionals to dismantle trafficking networksImmediate, actionable steps we can implement to make a differenceTo learn more about this important topic, we encourage you to explore these additional resources:Webinar, ‘Breaking Chains with AI: Advanced Detection of Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking Networks’ACAMS Article of the Year, ‘Understanding Human Trafficking’ACAMS Back to the BasicsACAMS Fighting Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking courseBlog, ‘Decision Intelligence is the Key To Stopping Modern Slavery And Human Trafficking’The National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (NAP)Wear Blue Day campaignPolaris websiteUN Office on Drugs and Crime Human Trafficking websiteStop the Traffik website US Department of State Understanding Human Trafficking fact sheetFreedom United websiteINTERPOL websiteGovernment of Canada Operational AlertGovernment of Canada Updated IndicatorsWeProtect Project ShadowFind other ways your organization can help combat human trafficking - visit our website - and please feel free to get in touch; we would love to hear from you.

"Fighting financial crime" has long been a rallying cry within the AML profession, but could this way of thinking actually be doing us all a disservice? While an admirable goal for any compliance risk management program, it may actually be too limiting and overlook how the BSA Officer/MLRO role can also drive business strategy and growth.In this episode of KYC Decoded, host Alex Pillow welcomes Vic Maculaitis, 3-time board-appointed BSA officer and founder of i3strategies, a consultancy that works to modernize the financial crime risk and compliance ecosystem. This provocative and candid conversation explores:The primary responsibility of a BSA officerOutcomes over checkboxesCompensation for compliance officersHow generative AI plays into the future of the industryFor resources discussed during this episode, be sure to check out:The LinkedIn post that inspired this conversationPerspective, by i3strategiesIf you’d like to level up your compliance program, visit our website and reach out for more information. We’d love to hear from you.

Our KYC origin series has traced the journeys of our diverse acquisitions, each of which has grown into a vital part of our KYC ecosystem.But how have these distinct entities been integrated to operate as one?In the grand finale of our KYC origin series, host Alex Pillow engages with Keith Berry, the KYC General Manager at Moody’s Analytics. They explore the expansion of the KYC unit, examining its evolution to become an industry-leading solution provider that has transformed risk and compliance.They cover:The rationale for KYC and its inceptionThe challenge of aligning to one mission and visionThe ‘secret sauce’ of Moody’s Analytics KYCTransformational changes advancing the businessThe role of AI and machine learning in our product suiteThe future for KYCVisit our website for more information on KYC and compliance!

With information on more than 472+ million entities worldwide, Orbis has become the most powerful comparable data resource on private companies. But the question isn't what happened, it's HOW?In this episode of our KYC origin series, host Alex Pillow is joined by Bureau van Dijk and and Orbis veterans, Jon Hanmer and Ted Datta who discuss the evolution of this industry-defining database and how it became an indispensable tool for understanding the global corporate landscape.Highlights from this episode include:The journey and growth of Bureau van Dijk the businessAnswering the "so what?" through the integration of data and insightDrivers stimulating the huge growth in Orbis for KYC and compliance use casesThe importance of UBO to Orbis customersInfusing Orbis into the Moody’s Analytics familyThe future of Orbis for KYC within Moody and it's impact on tools such as Shell Company Indicator and Entity Verification APIListen along and learn more about how Orbis can help you effectively manage risks and make better KYC decisions on our website.

In November 2022, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) sparked a seismic shift in the regulatory landscape with its ruling that the public should not have access to beneficial ownership registries.Join us as we delve into the ripple effects of this ruling with our guests, Maíra Martini, research and policy expert on corrupt money flows at Transparency International, and Andres Knobel, lawyer and senior researcher at the Tax Justice Network, along with host, Alex Pillow.This conversation sheds light on:Why the ruling may have came aboutThe impacts the decision had on financial crime fighters and the bad actors they pursueHow companies and KYC professionals can navigate through this new realityFor recommended resources that accompany this episode, check out:Roadmap to Effective Beneficial Ownership Transparency (REBOT)The state of play of beneficial ownership registration in 2022Reforming Global Standards on Beneficial Ownership Transparency campaign pageVisit out our website for more information on UBOs, and do not hesitate to get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.

We’ve all heard rumblings about the potential bias-related risks AI can bring when models aren't properly trained or governed with plentiful, high-quality data. But, how many of us have paused to consider flipping this paradigm? Could our own bias on the subject of AI cause us to overlook how consciously-infused AI technologies could remove dangerous biases from our KYC and AML processes?In this thought-provoking conversation, host Alex Pillow discusses the topic with AI and ethics expert, Anna Nicolis, senior manager at Braithwate, who specializes in helping global institutions with risk and compliance challenges.Highlights of this episode include:A look at what the word “bias” really meansThe root causes of bias in society and within AI technologiesWhere AI has potential to help eliminate bias in the compliance lifecycleThe role humans and data play in governing AI modelsFor a deeper dive into what was discussed, check out some of these recommended resources:Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) report, Artificial Intelligence: Challenges and Opportunities for ComplianceInformation on the upcoming EU AI ActFuture of Life InstituteResearch conducted by Moody’s Analytics on the attitudes, adoption, and use cases for AI in the world of risk management and compliance

The rapid evolution and adoption of AI technologies raises questions about how it's perceived and used by professionals working in compliance and risk management.In this episode, we explore the findings from a fascinating original global study, conducted by Moody’s Analytics, that uncovers how compliance and risk management professionals see the role of AI in all its forms.Listen along as host, Alex Pillow, and Paul Nola, Partner at Context Consulting, dissect the findings and discuss the implications of those navigating the AI landscape in the world of risk and compliance.Highlights from the episode include: The origins of the studyThe importance of AI for compliance professionalSignificant and surprising findingsThe advantages and risks of using AI in complianceThe challenges of AI regulation.For additional information, register for our webinar: Navigating the AI landscape: insights from compliance and risk management leaders.If you're interested in building an AI-led compliance program, contact us to learn more about our intelligent screening solution. 

In a world of tight deadlines, diverse client needs, and ever-changing regulations across jurisdictions, law firms everywhere face countless challenges to stay compliant. That's why we are thrilled to be joined by Maire-Claire Le Houerou, Client Experience Director for Risk and Compliance at the software company Intapp, and Alex Young, Senior Principal Consultant at Intapp in this episode of KYC Decoded. Their deep expertise and vibrant energy on this topic make for a compelling conversation.Here's of what was explored in this episode:How are AML checks conducted when onboarding legal clients?Does generative AI have a role now and in the future to shape compliance programs in the legal industry?What qualities and best practices in a law firm’s culture drive AML forward?What are some of the benefits of high-quality data management software?For additional resources discussed in this episode, be sure to check out:Bressler Risk BlogThe Law Society AML resourcesThe Panama Papers: Breaking the Story of How the Rich and Powerful Hide Their Money by Frederik Obermaier and Bastian ObermayerTo find out about Moody’s Analytics' AML solutions for the legal sector, please go to our website.

Feeling stressed in the workplace is a shared experience for employees in many industries. And while it's normal for jobs to involve stress, concerns about employee burnout occur when stress is persistent and begins to affect the individual at a professional, personal, physical, and/or emotional level.In this episode of KYC Decoded, we focus on the factors that lead to burnout in the compliance profession.What is burnout?What leads to compliance employee burnout?What can leaders do to address the issue?Host Alex Pillow is joined by Lisa Beth Lentini Walker, former compliance officer and current assistant general counsel of Marqeta and CEO and founder of Lumen Worldwide Endeavors, and Jill DeWitt, current Industry Practice Lead at Moody’s Analytics KYC. Their conversation raises awareness of this often overlooked problem in the compliance world.For additional resources, check out:Lisa Beth Lentini Walker’s book, Raise Your Game, Not Your VoiceLisa Beth Lentini Walker’s articles on wellbeing and stress relief in the workplace

Every business has a unique story to share about its life-journey. In this third installment of our KYC Origin series, host Alex Pillow is joined by Henry Irish, co-founder of Passfort; and Alex Richter, Head of Passfort. Their discussion explores the SaaS RegTech solution that changed the way anti-financial crime and compliance processes were automated.Listen to find out about:The inception of PassfortAdaptation of sophisticated, complex customer onboardingHow the service adds valueWhy Passfort's acquisition came aboutAchievements and opportunities for Passfort since acquisitionThe future of the platformVisit the Moody’s Analytics KYC website for more information on how Passfort can help your business with customer onboarding and perpetual KYC.

Curious how the Moody’s Analytics KYC solution originated? Don't miss the incorporation of Kompany into the Moody’s family. The strategic acquisition of Kompany has proven a win-win opportunity. From a business concept sketched on a tennis ball (yes, a tennis ball) to real-time entity verification from government registers across the globe merged with powerful datasets.In this episode, host Alex Pillow is joined by Johanna Konrad, former COO of Kompany, now heading this line at Moody’s Analytics KYC as Managing Director; and Peter Bainbridge-Clayton, co-founder and former CTO of Kompany, who is now Senior Director for software engineering in Moody’s Analytics KYC. This important chapter in the Moody’s Analytics journey highlights:The challenges of creating a scalable data solution when aggregating information from vastly differing jurisdictionsThe not-so-simple task of entity verificationBuilding a skilled team to tackle specialized needsThe added benefit of real-time data to keep up with rapidly evolving legislationDigitalizing onboarding processesHow the powerful integration of Kompany can continue to propel Moody’s Analytics KYC solutions going forwardFollow along, and be sure to learn more about how Kompany can help you solve the challenges of anti-money laundering compliance and KYB on our website.

The story of how Moody’s Analytics developed its KYC solution is one written by different authors. In our KYC Origins series, host Alex Pillow introduces different characters from strategic acquisitions to tell the tales of how their anti-financial crime and risk management businesses were founded, grew, and then joined the Moody's family. Chapter one: Grid. Rupert de Ruig, senior director at Moody’s Analytics KYC, narrates the events that led to formation of an industry consortium, which evolved into a solution that changed the way risk screening is implemented globally.Settle in for a tale involving:The evolution of SaaSLearning what works (and crucially what doesn’t)How adverse media screening can reduce the cost of fraudThe mission to reduce false positivesThe development of AI in screeningFinding a home at Moody’sListen in to this episode and look out for others in the KYC Origins series.

Perhaps it goes without saying that customers of financial institutions who are politically exposed persons (PEPs) come with varying degrees of risk. In addition to their elevated political status, which can make them attractive targets for bribery and corruption, there’s also the subsequent institutional risk of reputational damage and fines from getting your dealings with PEPs wrong. Sometimes you might hear someone refer to needing some "PEP screening" as it if it's a simple process, but even the definition of what constitutes a PEP and the regulation surrounding it is far from one-size-fits-all.In this episode, we are very pleased to welcome PEP experts Colleen Dychdala, Head of PEP data and premium content for Moody’s Analytics KYC, along with Eric Almbladh, who built the preeminent PEP database for the Nordic region - Bogard, which was acquired by Moody’s in 2021. Their conversation with host, Alex Pillow, tackles the complexities of PEP risk management programs, including:The many nuances of what constitutes a PEP and its associated level of riskThe distinction between domestic and international PEPsHow the PEP landscape has evolvedWhere PEP risk mitigation programs go wrongHow PEP screening can scale beyond initial customer onboardingLooking for more information on PEPs? Check out these resources to further your knowledge:FATF PEP GuidanceEU AML DirectivesThe Wolfsberg Group Publication Statement Guidance on Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs)Moody’s Analytics KYC PEP insight piecesReady to take your organization’s PEP risk management program to the next level? Learn how our Grid database can help and get in touch; we’d love to help.