ACAMS CAMS Questions Answers

Organized crime groups often use front companies to disguise the origin and destination of their illicit funds, and to integrate them into the legitimate economy. Front companies are businesses that appear to be engaged in lawful activities, but are actually controlled by criminals for money laundering purposes.

One reason why organized crime groups use front companies is to gain control over an entire sector of the economy, such as construction, transportation, or gambling. By using multiple front companies, they can create a network of interrelated businesses that can manipulate prices, evade taxes, and influence public contracts. This can give them a competitive advantage over legitimate businesses, and allow them to launder large amounts of money through seemingly legitimate transactions.

Another reason why organized crime groups use front companies is to comingle their illicit funds with those of legal businesses. By using the bank accounts of front companies, they can deposit cash from criminal activities along with the revenues from legitimate operations, making it harder to trace the source of the funds. They can also transfer funds between different front companies, or use them to pay for goods and services, creating layers of transactions that obscure the money trail.

CAMS Study Guide - 6th Edition, Chapter 2, Section 2.2, page 43

A Guide to the 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, Part 2, page 9

Money Laundering and Financial Crimes, Chapter 2, page 29

this situation requires enhanced due diligence actions according to the AML principles of the Wolfsberg group. The Wolfsberg group is an association of 13 global banks that aims to develop standards and best practices for AML and CFT in the private banking sector. The group has issued a set of principles and guidance on how to conduct due diligence on private banking customers, especially those who pose higher risks, such as politically exposed persons (PEPs), customers from high-risk countries, and customers with complex or opaque structures. According to the Wolfsberg group, private banks should apply a risk-based approach to customer due diligence and perform enhanced measures for high-risk customers, such as obtaining senior management approval, verifying the identity and source of wealth of the customer and the beneficial owner, understanding the purpose and nature of the relationship, and conducting ongoing monitoring and review.

ACAMS Study Guide 6th Edition, Chapter 4, Section 4.5, page 118: “The Wolfsberg Group”.

ExamTopics, Question 466: “Which private banking situation requires due diligence actions to be implemented according to the AML principles of the Wolfsberg group?”

Banks must adhere to strictprivacy lawsandSAR confidentiality ruleswhen handling customer information, especially in cross-border investigations.

Option A (Correct):Banks must consider privacy laws such as theUS Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), theEU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and their internal policies before sharing data.

Option B (Correct):Information should beshared only on a need-to-know basis, ensuring compliance withAML regulations and internal procedures.

Option C (Incorrect):While FinCEN provides SAR guidance, banks do not need to seek FinCEN’s permission for every internal information request.

Option D (Incorrect):International requests must comply with legal frameworks, but there is no universal requirement for approval by national authorities.

According to the Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (the 6th edition) study guide, when a financial institution receives a law enforcement request to keep an account open that may be associated with suspicious or criminal activity, it should take the following two steps:

Maintain account records for at least five years after the request expires. This is to ensure that the financial institution can provide evidence of its compliance with the law enforcement request and the applicable anti-money laundering regulations. The five-year retention period isbased on the international standard set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and adopted by many jurisdictions12.

Ask for a written request from the law enforcement agency that defines the duration. This is to protect the financial institution from potential liability and to clarify the scope and purpose of the law enforcement request. The written request should specify the time period for which the account should remain open, the reason for the request, the contact information of the law enforcement officer, and the legal authority for the request34.

Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (the 6th edition) study guide, page 57

FATF Recommendation 11, paragraph 2

Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (the 6th edition) study guide, page 58

Money Laundering website, article on “Law Enforcement Requests to Keep Accounts Open”