Leaders in Finance's first event on anti-money laundering approaches

Last week, Leaders in Finance hosted their first event dedicated to the topic of anti-money laundering (AML). During the event, leaders from the finance sector and AML chain partners, both public and private, had a chance to discuss the importance of mutual trust, and how effective our approaches have been so far.

The first part of the morning focused on how collaboration within the chain plays a key role in making our approaches towards criminality more effective. The attendees also repeatedly pointed to the need for establishing a feedback loop. It has been a topic of discussion for quite some time now, but how can we actually establish this and get the upper hand when it comes to outsmarting money launderers?

During the second half of the morning, our CEO Krik Gunning spoke as part of a panel devoted to the role of tech in AML.

The panel emphasized the urgent need for change in the current approach towards AML. New, smarter technologies can help drive that change and achieve more effective outcomes. However, there is still widespread fear and resistance within society towards certain forms of technology and the use of data. Against this backdrop, Krik exchanged ideas with a number of leaders working in the field of AML technologies, looking for new ways forward. The most important takeaways:

• Companies cannot afford to wait for policymakers to take action. There are many possibilities for tracking down money launderers, even without using GDPR-sensitive data. It is important for AML tech companies to explore what they can accomplish within the existing policy climate.

• The feedback loop that we have been waiting for is actually possible within AI models.

• It is safe to say that AI can help fill the gap in AML, as long as certain conditions are met.

Now is the time to put words into action and really start working together. Because the more you see, the more you know; and the more you know, the more you see.