Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (AMLS)

Become a Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialist with the Global Compliance Institute through a program designed to deliver practical, real-world AML expertise. Unlike traditional courses that focus only on the stages of money laundering, this certification provides a deeper, industry-focused understanding of how financial crime occurs and how it can be effectively prevented.

This practical, industry‑focused course equips compliance professionals with the knowledge and tools to prevent, detect, and investigate money laundering and related financial crimes. It combines international standards, real‑world typologies, and hands‑on guidance for building AML controls across financial and non‑financial sectors. The curriculum balances theory (legal and regulatory frameworks) with applied skills (eKYC, transaction monitoring, risk scoring, investigations, and fintech risk mitigation).

Learning Objectives

1. Financial Crime Principles

• Understand and analyse the core elements of money laundering, including predicate offences, proceeds, concealment, and the mental element (state of mind).
• Explore concepts such as serious crime, threshold approach, dual criminality, and the notion of “unwelcomed money.”
• Learn how to detect and prevent cuckoo smurfing and the use of money mules.
• Identify key typologies in Terrorism Financing and Proliferation Financing.
• Review and analyse real-world money laundering cases and practical examples.

2. Risk-Based Approach & Compliance Monitoring

• Learn how to apply an effective AML Risk-Based Approach, including automated customer risk rating and transaction monitoring.
• Understand AML regulatory examinations through detailed models and practical examples.
• Develop a comprehensive Geographic Risk Index (GRI) covering money laundering, terrorism impact, international sanctions, corruption, and financial secrecy.
• Conduct thorough KYC analysis and perform reasonableness tests on customer information.
• Detect and assess Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) through Customer Due Diligence and PEP screening, including classification and declassification aligned with FATF and Wolfsberg guidance.
• Identify Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) using detailed methodologies and real-world examples.

3. Fintech & the Evolution of Money and Financial Crime

• Build a compliant and efficient online customer onboarding process, including Digital Identity and eKYC.
• Develop Transaction Monitoring Systems (TMS), Money Laundering Risk Rating Tools, and Case Management Systems using modern technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Process Automation.
• Understand the evolution of money, including Virtual Currencies and Virtual Assets, and learn how to mitigate associated financial crime risks.
• Analyse the opportunities and challenges Fintech presents in combating financial crime.

4. Money Laundering in the Financial Sector

• Identify key risks and red flag indicators of money laundering within the financial sector, with a focus on banking and securities industries.

5. Money Laundering in Non-Financial Sectors

• Real estate
• Precious metals and stones
• Lawyers, notaries, and accountants
• Trust and company service providers
• Casinos
• Charities and non-profit organisations

6. International AML Framework

• Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
• Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
• Wolfsberg Group
• US AMLA 2020
• EU AML Directives

Chapter 1 — Financial Crime Principles

• What is Money Laundering?
• Elements of the ML Offence
• Stages of Money Laundering
• Terrorist Financing and Counter-Proliferation Finance

Chapter 2 — Risk-Based Approach & Compliance Monitoring

• AML Risk-based Approach
• Risk Rating Factors (customer type, geography, products/services)
• Customer Overall Risk Assessment
• Electronic AML Risk Rating
• Risk-scoring Model
• Correspondent Bank Risk Assessment

Chapter 3 — Fintech & The Evolution of Money and Financial Crime

• Transaction Monitoring Systems (TMS)
• Fintech Highlights
• Customer Onboarding and Digital Identity
• Digital Identity Guidance
• Money As a Medium of Exchange
• Virtual Currencies and Virtual Assets
• Bitcoin and Other Virtual Currencies
• Stablecoins

Chapter 4 — Money Laundering in the Financial Sector

• Securities Sector
• Banking Sector
• Sector-specific Red Flags and Typologies

Chapter 5 — Money Laundering in Non-Financial Sectors

• Real Estate Agents
• Precious Metals and Stones Dealers
• Lawyers, Notaries, Accountants, and Other Independent Legal Professionals
• Trust and Company Service Providers (TCSPs)
• Casinos
• Charities and Non-profit Organisations

Chapter 6 — Compliance Program Monitoring and Examinations

• Compliance and AML Program Design
• Compliance Monitoring and Examination Process
• Request for Information (RFI)
• Periodic Regulatory Reports
• Regulatory Inventory Matrix (RIM)
• Regulatory Control Matrix (RCM)
• Compliance Examination
• Compliance Risk Assessment

Chapter 7 — International Framework of AML and Reference Materials

• Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
• Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS)
• Egmont Group
• Wolfsberg Group