There are numerous AML Certifications in the world. It is not an easy task to identify the best aml certification in the world. The success of certification depends on the utility of the same for the students. Hence, I spoke to a couple of professionals who are certified as AML professionals.
What is Money Laundering?
Money Laundering is about taking the proceeds of illegal or unlawful activity and attempting to disguise sources and ownership of the dirty money obtained from the crimes like tax evasion, drug trafficking, racketeering, fraud, etc.
There are three steps to the process, generally: placement, or depositing the proceeds of crime into a bank account; layering, where the financial system is used to move the funds around to disguise the origin of the money; and then integration, where the money is sent to the bank accounts of ultimate beneficiary through a legitimate source.
Why is AML Certification Necessary?
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) requires financial institutions to analyze financial transactions to identify the amounts of money obtained from criminal activities. FATF also recommends banks educate their staff on the different concepts of know your customer, bank secrecy act, and other techniques to combat money laundering.
I had the opportunity to speak to hundreds of anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance officers, who all had a story to tell about where they were in their careers and how they had arrived at that point. This helped me to identify the “Best AML Certification”. The Indian job market is flooded with opportunities for AML and compliance officers at various levels.
As soon as I completed my graduation, I was in the search of the right certification for my career path in compliance. I found the number of Indiaforensic when I realized the importance of the CAME certification. This certification was helpful for me as I needed the confirmation of the formal education in the Anti Money Laundering subject. One of the members working for UBS India was telling me his experiences.
Demand for AML professionals is rising over the last few years. India has become the hub of compliance activities for multi-national banks. IT giants such as TCS, Infosys, and Cognizant are managing the compliance processes of multinational banks. Professional services companies such as PwC are not far away in this race.
There is a handful of AML training providers across the world. The universe of AML Certifications is dominated by two important Certifications.
Assessment of AML Certifications
The CAMS and The CAME. Unlike other players in this domain, these two are focused only on the financial crime risks and compliance. Regtechtimes Academy, V-Skills, IIBF, and BSE offer it as one of the many programs, which is not a very encouraging aspect. Compliance is not one of the subjects anymore. It requires a lot of attention and is the reason for these two certifications to become popular.
Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialists
Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) is branded as the Gold standard. It is based in the United States. It has established chapters in different regions of the world. I heard about CAMS from many compliance officers who got salary hikes and appraisals after completing CAMS. This is the beauty of US Certifications. However, for the Indian audience, the biggest barrier is the fees. Currency conversion has a big impact on admissions from India.
Certified Anti Money Laundering Expert
Certified Anti Money Laundering Expert (CAME) is the best compliance certification. It’s like C.A. is for accountants & C.F.A is for finance folks. CAME is termed the crown jewel of compliance certifications. This certification has significant value in the market for both domestic and International AML/KYC processes. The syllabus is comprehensive and the best part is the cost (Around Rs.25,000 to Rs. 30,000), but has a couple of eligibility criteria that you might have to consider before getting into it! They offer their flagship certification along with the certification program in Shell Companies. Unlike, CAMS they also have the classroom training program embedded in the certification itself.
Certified Anti Money Laundering Professional
Certified Anti-Money Laundering Professional is the Top AML Certification. It is a technology-enabled and focused certification course. This certification course is particularly found prevalent in the UK. From registration to certification the whole process is online. Additionally, they make you solve the real-life case studies and the assessment of these case studies is part of the final score. This course is helpful for aspirants who are looking to take up the above two certifications CAMS or CAME as it provides access to some really good question banks.
Other AML Certifications
Besides the three certifications mentioned above, there are many other certification courses. The diploma from ICA is prominent in the European market. However, it takes a lot of time to complete the certification and is expensive for the rest of the Europe students.
- Certified Anti Money Laundering Investigator (CAMI) is another program offered by Regtechtimes Academy, which is the educational initiative of Regtechtimes. This certification has good coverage of the money laundering cases related to the banking sector.
- Compliance Certification Course – Vskills is A govt. of India initiative, is a low-cost, high-value certification that is also flexible with respect to test centers and choice of the test day. Costs are around Rs. 4000. However, this is one of the courses offered by V-Skills.
- Another course is run by the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance, this inexpensive (Around Rs.1,500 to Rs. 2000) course is priceless, and a value-add if you are working in the compliance team of a Nationalised Bank as the content is more in line with RBI guidelines!
- Last but not least is from Udemy. The lowest cost course program is offered by Udemy. This costs somewhere between Rs.700-Rs.730. There are multiple videos that explain the concepts of AML Compliance. This course is meant for the students. This is the best AML Certification for aspirants, who are just exploring the compliance domain. Law Enforcement officers also prefer to do this course before actually writing exams.
Based on the costs and rewards, we believe that Certified Anti-Money Laundering Expert is the best AML certification for compliance officers across the world. This course has got value because of its alumni. The CAME alumni have their own groups where they help each other to find jobs. Compliance is a closed community and CAME is the entry gate to enter this exclusive community.
Why CAME is the Best AML Certification Program?
I researched almost all the certifications available across the world and have finally come to the conclusion that one of the best certifications in AML is the one offered by Indiaforensic.
Indiaforensic offers this program across the world. In the year 2004, CA Mayur Joshi founded the Indiaforensic Center of Studies to impart education in financial crimes.
Besides the local customer support, there are many other reasons which I found are worth mentioning here. Certified Anti Money Laundering Expert offers the benefits of most of the Global certifications.
- It is one of the most exhaustive certifications in terms of syllabus, which offers material on all the major trending topics including trade-based money laundering, cryptocurrency laundering, etc.
- It discusses many more techniques of Money Laundering such as Agricultural income, Real Estate, Hospitals, etc. There are many other techniques discussed on their website.
- This program is one of the easiest in terms of the registration process. The whole process is completed online, exams are online and local support is what matters the most for me.
- It teaches the Law of the land in addition to the global regulations, which is the most important factor for a country like India.
- There is classroom training included in the certification program which helps the students to discuss their practical problems. The principal officer of the bank generally trains the students in CAME batches.
- Certified Anti Money Laundering Experts are found to be present in all the major financial institutions and KPOs in India which offer employment opportunities.
- Finally, it offers the best price for the certification, which is relevant in the Indian Markets.
Additionally, there is a strong Alumni base which helps them to differentiate from other certifications. The alumni groups help each other in finding the right jobs and posting professional updates. Some of the jobs they share are never advertised on the job portals. A helpful community builds a reputation for certifications.
