Money laundering represents one of the most pressing issues facing regulatory authorities and the domestic and international financial markets. Existing rules and regulations covering this global problem provide a deterrent, but by no means has money laundering been eliminated. Laundered money may be associated with other organized criminal activities, including tax evasion, illicit drug sales, arms running, and terrorism. Detecting money laundering activities consumes tremendous resources and the associated damages related to tax evasion and criminal funding pose a burden to government, and to the banking and financial services industry.

In response to terrorist threats and threats to our national safety, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a U.S. government agency charged with fighting terrorist financial networks, will utilize the anti-money laundering programs established under the Patriot Act to assist in the enforcement of sanctions against countries who pose such threats, such as North Korea and Iran. Through the use of alerts, FinCEN has published guidance on how financial services firms are to respond to financial activities that further the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by the North Korean and Iranian governments. (FIRE Solutions provides a review of this guidance in its Firm Element CE course, AML — Current Issues 2010). The latest development in the area of combating threats to national safety comes in the passing of a bill into law, that not only tightens the ability of the Iran government to procure petroleum products and financial services to aid in the proliferation of nuclear weapons, but also imposes sanctions on firms in the petroleum and financial services industries for inadvertently providing assistance in these areas.

By a vote of 412 to 12, the House of Representatives passed the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (IRPSA) to enhance diplomatic efforts, amend current sanctions against Iran imposed by the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, and extend the sanctions through 2016. In March 2010, the bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent and President Obama signed the bill into law on July 1, 2010.

In an effort to keep our clients abreast of the most current regulations, FIRE Solutions has revised its AML — Current Issues 2010 course to cover IRPSA. In the attached excerpt, "Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act," we outline key provisions of the new law that must be followed by foreign and domestic financial institutions to avoid government sanctions for conducting business with restricted entities. Sanctions for violations are extremely serious and financial institutions should be aware of and avoid activities that could inadvertently help the proliferations of nuclear weapons in Iran.

Click here for your copy of the excerpt "Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act".

About the Course

AML — Current Issues 2010 is intended for any financial service industry professional interested in the latest developments and trends in anti-money laundering efforts, as well as the changing regulatory environment. This course is also beneficial for AML compliance officers and compliance administrators.

AML — Current Issues 2010 presumes that the reader has a basic understanding of the anti-money laundering requirements under the Patriot Act.

The course focuses on the following topics:

• Developing trends and current issues in the financial services industry
• Efforts to combat money laundering and other abuses of U.S. financial systems
• Highlights current AML issues that might be faced by registered reps, compliance staff, and firm personnel
• Reviews current AML rule violations and enforcement actions against banks and broker dealer firms
• Highlights emerging money laundering trends and enforcement agency focus
• Reviews suspicious actions and client behaviors that are considered red flags for the latest abuses of our financial systems

Highlights of the course include:

• FINRA's new AML rule
• Updated correspondent and private banking account requirements
• Definition and responsibilities of publicly exposed persons (PEPs)
• Four types of foreign institutions that require due diligence
• The five risk factors of correspondent accounts
• Minimum standards for foreign bank due diligence
• General filing trends
• Case study — mortgage fraud
• The red flags of foreclosure rescue scams
• Abuses of the Troubled Asset Relief Programs (TARP)
• Due diligence and red flags to detect TARP scams
• FinCEN's advisory on North Korea's abuse of U.S. financial systems
• Amended sanctions against Iran and the impact on financial services firms
• Report on abuse of charities for money laundering and tax evasion

For a more detailed explanation of AML — Current Issues 2010, contact one of our sales representatives. A link to our catalog that outlines our 2010 Firm Element CE, Annual Compliance Meeting Topics, Insurance CE, CFP, and Securities Licensing courses is available below.

For a copy of the catalog, click here.

Other Key Updates

In 2009, we added 35 new courses to the FIRE Solutions catalog and this year we have added 34 more, including the full line of FINRA eLearning courses. The new course descriptions are available in our catalog.

For more information, contact Eric Sternbach at esternbach@firesolutions.com.