Money Laundering and the Importance of AML Compliance
Money laundering is one of the crimes that can be hard to put a face to. Everybody is at least familiar with the term, but because it’s often associated with fancy accounting work rather than actual harmful illegal activities, people tend to think of it as a victimless crime. That is a grave mistake. Money laundering is the bread-and-butter of large, international crime rings, from cybercrime to drug trafficking to organized crime. That’s why we should never underestimate the importance of AML compliance. Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance is a set of laws, regulations and procedures that have been put in place to prevent the generation of income through illegal actions. For example, businesses in the payment card industry (PCI) must undergo a series of due-diligence procedures to prove that they are not facilitating, intentionally or unintentionally, money-laundering activities. What Is Money Laundering? At its most basic level, to launder money simply means disg