AML obligations continue to grow in cost and complexity, but are they delivering better outcomes? This session explores where modern AML frameworks struggle, what criminals exploit, and what may need to change to improve effectiveness.

In this discussion, L. Burke Files, international financial investigator, due-diligence expert and author, joined SILO to examine how modern money laundering operates, where existing AML controls can struggle, and how the gap between regulatory expectations and real-world outcomes affects compliance teams and legitimate businesses.

The session also considered where reform may be needed, including whether current approaches are producing meaningful intelligence, how effectively financial crime risks are being identified, and where AML professionals and policymakers could place greater emphasis on practical outcomes.

In this session we covered:

How modern money laundering has evolved beyond the traditional placement, layering and integration model The role of lawyers, bankers, accountants, real estate professionals and other intermediaries in sophisticated laundering structures Weaknesses in KYC processes that criminals can exploit Whether suspicious activity reporting is functioning as meaningful intelligence or becoming defensive paperwork The challenge of high alert volumes versus meaningful investigations Trade-based money laundering and real estate blind spots The gap between FATF standards and enforcement reality Beneficial ownership, whistleblower programmes and other areas where AML reform may be needed What AML professionals are already doing effectively — and how those approaches could be applied more widely