Anti-Money Laundering Advisory

Today, companies face unprecedented scrutiny and bear increasing responsibility in the global war on money laundering and terrorist financing. Regulatory scrutiny is driving change, and companies must comply with regulatory standards or face enforcement and/or costly fines. When organizations, external counsel, and regulators need deep advisory on these issues, they engage FTI Consulting. Over the decades, we’ve developed a deep understanding of AML, financial fraud, sanctions and anti-corruption matters. We understand the laws and regulations and have developed effective methodologies to launch and remediate compliance and governance programs.

How We Help

Our senior practitioners specialize in compliance and risk assessments and remediation work, and are trusted and relied upon by law firms, government regulators, law enforcement, financial institutions and corporations across industries. We are engaged as an experienced, independent partner who offers customized, comprehensive solutions and investigative services for complex anti-money laundering (AML), fraud, sanctions and anti-corruption challenges.

Engage us to:

• Assess compliance programs, policies and procedures. We help perform annual compliance assessments, risk assessments, program reviews, and independent appraisals, including model validation for transaction monitoring systems. Our specialists have the expertise and practical experience to determine whether a transaction monitoring system is functioning adequately.
• Perform lookbacks. When organizations, legal practitioners or regulators identify possible compliance problems, we assist in discovering if systems, processes and procedures are monitoring the correct functions, and if not, if they are being documented. Lookbacks can be performed proactively (to maintain proper compliance) or reactively (in the case of an actual allegation or investigation).
• Perform customer due diligence. We help determine whether companies are risk-rating their customers appropriately, using industry standard Know Your Customer (KYC), Client Due Diligence (CDD) and Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) tools and processes. Also, we assess if employees are trained adequately.
• Perform transaction due diligence. In the case of M&A or divestitures, we have the capability to do an AML assessment of the company being bought or sold. Additionally, if a company has started a new business line (or is considering), or buying a portfolio, or entering a partnership with another company, our specialists offer due diligence services that ensure acceptable compliance risk.
• Develop or implement AML compliance programs. We take a comprehensive, 360-degree look at an organization’s compliance policies and procedures, advising on whether they are adequate, and, if not, helping make the necessary upgrades. Depending on the organization’s needs and maturity, we develop and implement essential monitoring programs, staffing, annual checks on the program, safety and soundness, governance policies and procedures, risk assessments and internal controls.
• Assess governance programs and procedures. Our specialists help determine if the right reports are submitted to the right people; if the right people are paying attention to what they need to watch; if policies and procedures need to change or be updated as regulations and laws change; and what risk assessments are being conducted and how often. Additionally, we have the expertise to determine the accuracy of the data being used.
• Advise on cryptocurrency/blockchain. Globally, the entire cryptocurrency industry is racing to implement compliance due to increasing regulatory focus. In the U.S., the Department of Justice continues to focus law enforcement investigative attention on Money Services Businesses (MSB), which inherently applies to the crypto industry. The nature of the crypto industry and the expansion and growth into products such as cards, and new vehicles for lending to their clients, will continue to attract attention from additional regulators.
• Identify money-laundering activity. This includes terrorist activity, organized crime, money laundering and other types of illicit activity. Human trafficking awareness continues to increase as firms struggle with new ways to conduct analytics and identify related money laundering.