From the AEGIS e-Journal, December 2002
The 12th Annual Anti-Money Laundering Audit and Compliance Forum Institute for International Research http://www.iirusa.com/. The 12th Annual Anti-Money Laundering Audit and Compliance Forum was co-sponsored by OffShore Alert, about which we have written previously (May 2000). The conference was particularly timely as there is a lot of preoccupation – and confusion – about both the USA Patriot act and the EU Revised Money Laundering Act of 2001. ÆGIS, December 2002 10 We were very excited about the conference since we are so heavily involved in this area: In fact, the entire faculty was rather stellar, with a lot of people there either responsible for fomenting the regulations or enforcing them. Indeed, one of our editors was one of the experts on the cross-border due diligence panel (our presence on the speakers’ roster is always a good sign). In addition, there were a significant number of major financial institutions represented, both U.S. and international, with the attendees being reasonably high level. The conference covered a wide variety of issues: • Compliance with the recent legislation to fight money laundering. • Minimizing exposure to money laundering risks through comprehensive anti-money laundering and employee training programs. • Implementation of enhanced due diligence programs and know- your-customer programs, as well as management of relationships with high net worth individuals, foreign political figures, and institutions. • Key methods for identifying and reporting suspicious activities. • Methods to detect offshore money laundering, and conducting cross-border due diligence investigations. Between the presentations, the panels, and the ability to talk to the presenters and to the participants, if you couldn’t get specific questions answered by someone here you probably didn’t have questions to ask. Besides discussing the Anti-Money Laundering conference, I think it is appropriate to discuss the Institute for International Research (IIR) itself. The IIR is in fact a research company rather than a conference organizer, but one that realized that among the many ways to present the fruits of their research was through conferences. There are two of virtues to conferences over, say a book or paper. One is that you can actually ask the expert direct questions. Another is that you get to mingle with your peers and see how they approach the issues that you face. Plus you get the conference notes, so you have the book and paper, too. IIR have been quite successful at this, and, although we have listed their U.S. address and web site, they also have offices in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, ÆGIS, December 2002 11 Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. This means that if you have an informational business need, IIR might not only have one that addresses that need, but is also geographically desirable. 7. Free-Subscription/Unsubscription/Copyright Information •• ÆGIS e-journal is supported and maintained by voluntary efforts. This publication is owned, published, and copyright © 2002 by The LUBRINCO Group Ltd, Inc. and Financial Examinations and Evaluations, Inc. It is edited jointly by Richard Isaacs (RBIsaacs@lubrinco.com) and L. Burke Files (LBFiles@lubrinco.com). The LUBRINCO Group provides services in three high-threat areas, too specialized to be dealt-with in-house, that can adversely affect domestic and international bottom lines. • Protection of trade secrets and intellectual assets. o Anti-economic espionage. o OPSEC: The identification and protection of information that would give your competitors and adversaries an advantage. • International financial investigations and due diligence consulting. o Location and recovery of missing and hidden assets. o Establishing business relationships and strategic partnerships in Central and Eastern Europe, the offshore financial centers, Beijing and Shanghai, Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. o Anti-money laundering and financial fraud requirements under the International Money Laundering Abatement and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act of 2002 and the EU Revised Money Laundering Directive of 2002. • Protection of management, staff, and families. o In the high-threat environments of Latin America, Africa, the Mid- East, and Southeast Asia. o When traveling and living overseas. o When transporting items of substantial value. LUBRINCO identifies and quantifies threats and vulnerabilities, and their associated risk, then manages the vulnerabilities so you can transfer or live with the residual risk. We prevent disastrous financial loss to your company, and physical harm to you, your family, and your staff. ÆGIS, December 2002 12 For information on The LUBRINCO Group and its services, or for the archive of all past issues of ÆGIS e-journal in PDF format, please go to http://www.lubrinco.com/. To sign up for a complimentary subscription to ÆGIS e-journal or the ÆGIS e- journal PDF notification list, go to http://lb.bcentral.com/ex/manage/subscriberprefs?customerid=7768 or send an email to ejournal@lubrinco.com. To subscribe to our AvantGo channel, go to http://avantgo.com/channels/_add_channel.pl?cha_id=1773 To be removed from the subscription list, follow the instructions on the mailing you received, or send an e-mail to ejournal@lubrinco.com. 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Article Title, from the December 2002 ÆGIS e-journal (© 2002 LUBRINCO & FEE), to be found at http://www.lubrinco.com/. ÆGIS e-journal is a forum for the exchange of information, ideas, operating styles, theories, and related topics for corporate managers who make ÆGIS, December 2002 13 decisions about threats typically outside the expertise available in-house, yet which have the potential to affect their company’s domestic and international bottom lines. Nothing appearing in ÆGIS e-journal should be construed as legal advice. The information provided is “general information,” not “specific advice.” The solution to any problem is highly dependent upon the precise facts involved. Thus, before making any reliance upon anything said here, you should consult with an appropriately skilled professional. Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher, and may be presented to encourage a dialogue among subscribers. The publisher and any re-publisher cannot be held responsible for any loss incurred as a result of the application of any information published in ÆGIS e-journal. Please be safe, and be smart.