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Anti-Money Laundering in a Nutshell: Awareness and Compliance for Financial Personnel and Business Managers
Anti–Money Laundering in a Nutshellis a concise, accessible, and practical guide to compliance with anti–money laundering law for financial professionals, corporate investigators, business managers, and all personnel of financial institutions who are required, under penalty of hefty fines, to get anti–money laundering training.
Money laundering is endemic. As much as 5 percent of global GDP ($3.6 trillion) is laundered by criminals each year. It’s no wonder that every financial institution in the United States—including banks, credit card companies, insurers, securities brokerages, private funds, and money service businesses—must comply with complex examination, training, and reporting requirements mandated by a welter of federal anti–money laundering (AML) laws. Ignorance of crime is no excuse before the law. Financial institutions and businesses that unknowingly serve as conduits for money laundering are no less liable to prosecution and fines than those that condone or abet it.
In Anti–Money Laundering in a Nutshell: Awareness and Compliance for Financial Personnel and Business Managers, Kevin Sullivan draws on a distinguished career as an AML agent and consultant to teach personnel in financial institutions what money laundering is, who does it, how they do it, how to prevent it, how to detect it, and how to report it in compliance with federal law. He traces the dynamic interplay among employees, regulatory examiners, compliance officers, fraud and forensic accountants and technologists, criminal investigators, and prosecutors in following up on reports, catching launderers, and protecting the integrity and reputations of financial institutions and businesses. In particular, corporate investigators will gain rich insights winnowed from the author's experiences as a New York State and federal investigator.
206 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2015
65 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 26, 2025
I was expecting a concise but insightful guide on AML, but instead this book feels like a very thin primer. It mostly rehashes basic definitions and compliance steps, without digging into any real-world complexity. In fact, experts warn that effective AML training must go “beyond surface-level explanations” – something this book clearly does not do.
Perhaps most seriously, the book never confronts how ineffectual AML rules often are in practice. Research shows current AML efforts catch almost none of the bad money – one report finds they intercept only about 0.1% of illicit funds. Another study concluded the impact of AML measures on criminals’ finances is “less than 0.1 percent” – essentially negligible. In other words, around 99.9% of dirty money keeps flowing despite the rules. Even former FATF chief David Lewis admits that today’s AML regime is “the world’s least effective policy experiment” and that, after decades of effort, “everyone is doing badly”. This book never questions that reality; it simply assumes the AML framework works if you follow the checklist. Also, when political and financial elites profit from illicit money flows, AML laws are basically moot – as one analysis bluntly puts it, if leaders benefit from crime, then enforcing global AML frameworks is “not feasible”. In short, there’s no discussion of the cynical reality that the very architects of these rules often exploit every loophole, rendering the measures mostly symbolic.
Overall, I give this two stars only because it might serve as the very basic starting point for someone utterly new to AML.
Perhaps most seriously, the book never confronts how ineffectual AML rules often are in practice. Research shows current AML efforts catch almost none of the bad money – one report finds they intercept only about 0.1% of illicit funds. Another study concluded the impact of AML measures on criminals’ finances is “less than 0.1 percent” – essentially negligible. In other words, around 99.9% of dirty money keeps flowing despite the rules. Even former FATF chief David Lewis admits that today’s AML regime is “the world’s least effective policy experiment” and that, after decades of effort, “everyone is doing badly”. This book never questions that reality; it simply assumes the AML framework works if you follow the checklist. Also, when political and financial elites profit from illicit money flows, AML laws are basically moot – as one analysis bluntly puts it, if leaders benefit from crime, then enforcing global AML frameworks is “not feasible”. In short, there’s no discussion of the cynical reality that the very architects of these rules often exploit every loophole, rendering the measures mostly symbolic.
Overall, I give this two stars only because it might serve as the very basic starting point for someone utterly new to AML.
February 7, 2022
Another really strong book on anti money laundering (AML).
This one did an excellent job on leading people through how to spot money laundering in the wild (such as at casinos) and how to prevent it. Very good!
Too bad some businesses (see the currently ongoing Cullen Comission Investigation) don't follow these compliance rules, which (may, allegedly) be leading to our current housing crisis.
That is why I read this book - with interest in the investigation.
Highly recommended.
4.8/5
This one did an excellent job on leading people through how to spot money laundering in the wild (such as at casinos) and how to prevent it. Very good!
Too bad some businesses (see the currently ongoing Cullen Comission Investigation) don't follow these compliance rules, which (may, allegedly) be leading to our current housing crisis.
That is why I read this book - with interest in the investigation.
Highly recommended.
4.8/5
July 22, 2020
Good read for new joiner in AML and refresher for people who are already experienced
Simple narrative for financial crime related topics which makes it easy to understand and follow. Liked the glossary and index in the end - handy consolidation of keywords. I'd recommend the book for everyone who is new or experienced to financial crime industry.
Simple narrative for financial crime related topics which makes it easy to understand and follow. Liked the glossary and index in the end - handy consolidation of keywords. I'd recommend the book for everyone who is new or experienced to financial crime industry.
January 9, 2026
This book is so bad that when you see its author runs the AMLtraining Academy you actually rub your eyes and check the spine to make sure you’re not hallucinating. If I were him I would change my name and move to a different continent. Strip out the bloated filler and the handful of rookie-level tips would fit on a bar napkin… barely.
January 28, 2021
This is a very succinct and casual overview of AML/CFT. I would recommend this book to newcomers looking to better understand the very basics of AML/CFT and compliance. The formatting is accessible and the chapters are clear and to the point, making for a quick read. However, the book is bloated with embarrassing typos. Seriously, what is editing?
May 13, 2021
A few spelling/grammatical errors throughout the book, but good introduction to AML and written in an easily digestible way with many examples.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews