Page 40 - ACAMS-Today-V20N3

[ PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS ]
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[ JUNE-AUGUST 2021 ]
Post-pandemic:
Forging partnerships for the fraud war
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the globe in late 2019, few thought it would still rage well into 2021.1 As the world faces the prolonged fallout from this virus, law enforcement and other entities are starting to take stock of the future state and whatever “post-pandemic” will mean in terms of financial crime and money laundering. The
pandemic has had a profound impact on law enforcement agencies and those officers deployed to investigate financial crime.2 Resources normally assigned to investigate financial crimes have at times been redeployed to front-line functions as officers deal with COVID-19 exposure and illness. Now more than ever, law enforcement officers assigned to financial crime cases need to solicit and engage external stakeholders to help overcome their agencies’ new resource limitations and better deal with the effects of the pandemic on crime. The new fraud landscape is a war and having as many partners as possible is critical.