Posts by Arctic Intelligence

Introduction: Financial crime risk assessments were once predominantly manual exercises: spreadsheets, word documents, email-driven workflows, static templates, inconsistent definitions and subjective judgment. While this may have been sufficient decades ago and remains commonplace now, the complexity of today’s financial crime landscape has rendered manual methods obsolete. The scale, speed and interconnectedness of modern financial services…

Why modern ML/TF/PF risk assessments rely on clearly distributed ownership across the entire organisation – not just Compliance Introduction: The myth that “compliance owns everything” Across many organisations, the Financial Crime Risk Assessment (FCRA) – whether labelled an enterprise-wide ML/TF/PF assessment (Australia), a Business Risk Assessment (UK), or a BSA/AML risk assessment (US) – can…

Why Banks are exposed to financial crime risk Retail, corporate, institutional and private banks sit at the core of the global financial system. They facilitate payments, provide credit, safeguard deposits and enable cross border capital flows. This central role makes banks a primary target for financial crime and places them under sustained regulatory scrutiny. In…

Why Casinos and Junket Tour Operators are exposed to financial crime risk The global casino and gaming industry stands at the crossroads of high-value financial flows, international customers, complex service offerings and regulatory scrutiny. While this dynamic environment drives commercial opportunity, it also creates a fertile landscape for money laundering, terrorism and proliferation financing risks…

Why Online Gaming and Sportsbetting Operators are exposed to financial crime risk Online gaming and sportsbetting operators are attractive to organised criminal networks because they facilitate high volumes of transactions across numerous accounts and jurisdictions, enabling the rapid movement, layering, or integration of illicit funds through activities such as account funding, bonus abuse, matched betting…

Introduction: The shift from compliance formality to strategic necessity There was a time when financial crime risk assessments were treated as little more than a compulsory formality – a set of documents assembled once a year to satisfy external regulatory expectations. For many organisations, the process was largely administrative, a compliance ritual to get through…

Why Securities and Commodities Dealers are exposed to financial crime risk Securities and Commodities Dealers are attractive to organised criminal networks because they provide access to liquid, high-value markets where illicit funds can be rapidly moved, layered or disguised through complex trading strategies, margin accounts or cross-border transactions. The fast-paced nature of securities trading, use…

Why Real Estate Professionals are exposed to financial crime risk and how to respond with confidence Real estate professionals are attractive to organised criminal networks because property transactions provide an effective means to integrate and conceal illicit funds through high-value assets that can appreciate over time, often involving complex ownership structures, third-party intermediaries or offshore…

Why Accounting Professionals are exposed to financial crime risk and how to respond with confidence Accounting Professionals play a critical role in the integrity of the financial system. They advise on corporate structures, manage financial records, facilitate transactions and in many cases, act as trusted intermediaries between clients and the broader economy. That position of…

Why Dealers in Precious Metals and Stones are exposed to financial crime risk Dealers in Precious Metals and Stones are attractive to organised criminal networks because they trade in high-value, easily portable and globally recognised commodities that can be quickly converted into cash or moved across borders with limited traceability. Criminals may exploit these businesses…