AML experts have identified money mules, multi-customer cross-wallet activity and crypto exchanges as the three most common ways bad actors launder money, according to a new report. Antifraud technology provider Feedzai found in The State of Global Anti Money Laundering Compliance Report that nearly three quarters of those polled cited money mule schemes—both unwitting (44 percent) and witting (30 percent)—as the most common money laundering threat.
“Money laundering threats are constantly evolving,” said Nick Parfitt, principal for AML SME, at Feedzai. “Our data shows that multi-customer, cross-wallet payment activity to move funds between different accounts, and the use of crypto exchanges are the top money laundering tactics, and that doing more to address these challenges are all top concerns for AML compliance teams. Yet, most respondents named implementing pKYC and reducing false positives as their main goals for 2022, revealing there is still some misalignment on how to address AML going forward.”
The crypto market is increasingly being targeted by money launderers; more than half (51 percent) of the AML professionals surveyed said the use of crypto and other non-compliant exchanges is the most common money laundering threat, while 19 percent cited crypto ATMs.
