THE SOURCE NEWSLETTER
theSOURCE™ FALL 2008
The Source is IPSA's newsletter focused on Anti Money Laundering.
IPSA International Launches Asset Integrity Unit – Will be Headed by Former Financial Crime Chiefs of the FBI And Secret Service
IPSA Int’l Launches Asset Integrity Unit in response to the growing global financial crisis. The recognized deficiencies in recent lending practices have led to a catastrophic level of losses in the financial industry. These subprime and Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) losses have in turn created a domino effect of increased delinquencies across all closedend and revolving credit products. Financial institutions are finding themselves exposed to a growing number of overall credit based risks.
More and more institutions are recognizing the need to take proactive steps to mitigate their exposure. Finding qualified resources to proactively identify the deficient processes and implement corrective action is often as much a challenge as the credit crisis itself.
IPSA offers institutions a proven suite of tools enabling enterprise-wide risk assessments to make collections, risk and operations people more effective, reduce operational expenses and increase recoveries. IPSA’s team combines the expertise of former regulators, law enforcement officers from various branches and financial industry insiders to offer the most complete risk review possible. For more information, visit the Asset Integrity Unit page, or contact Greg Regan or Dennis Lormel
Customizing AML: Monitoring low-priced securities for suspicious activity
by Aaron Fox, Managing Director, Minneapolis Office
During 2002, the first year that the USA PATRIOT ACT affected broker-dealers, only two securities were suspended from trading. During the first seven months of this year, by contrast, more than 100 were suspended.
Since the USA PATRIOT ACT became effective, broker-dealers have increased the size of their compliance staffs and invested millions of dollars in new systems. An entire industry has grown up to address the greater regulatory exposure, while registered representatives across the country bemoan the harm they say the Patriot Act has had on their ability to do business quickly and efficiently. But is that really true and, even if so, is this a needed change that was long overdue?
Money Laundering and Intellectual Property Crime: Different offenses with similar effects
by Kim Marsh, Managing Director, Vancouver
Counterfeiting and piracy are terms used to describe a range of illicit activities linked to intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement. Counterfeiters and pirates target products with high profit margins, taking into account detection risks, potential penalties, the size of exploitable markets and the technological and logistical challenges in producing and distributing products.
On the demand side, consumers either buy counterfeit products naively thinking that they have purchased genuine items or intentionally buy lower-priced counterfeit goods.
