The recent findings made by the US Senate against Europe's largest bank, HSBC, over money laundering is not a one-off incident. However, the sheer amount of money involved and the bank's connections with  UK Trade Minister, Lord Green, have made the HSBC case one of the biggest money laundering cases of recent times. While the failure to comply with anti-money laundering laws has led to the public shaming of the bank, the case has also raised questions over the willingness and commitment of banks and other financial institutions to stop the illegal practice of money laundering.

Money Laundering is a global problem that affects all  economies. It's the process by which  money obtained from illegal sources is converted into money which appears to have come from legitimate sources. Money laundering provides a veil of  legitimacy  to drug traffickers, kidnappers, fraudsters, tax evaders and other criminals and allows them to hide their real source of income - crime. Once that is done, the money is then used by the criminals to fulfill their ambitions (yachts, Bentleys, Chateau Petrus wine etc.) and carry out further illegal activities. Terrorist financing is money laundering's sister activity. Terrorists use the financial system to hide and transfer funds and assets (which may or may not have a criminal origin) for the purpose of committing terrorist acts. Despite anti money laundering laws put in place pursuant to international agreements, the  practice of laundering  money continues unabated. The increased movement of goods and people around the world has made it all the  easier for criminals to launder money. In an increasingly globalized world, the task of   trying to prevent  the laundering of money effectively lies with  governments and financial institutions.

The gravity of the problem can be gauged from the fact that around US$2 Trillion- $3 Trillion (as per a recent International Monetary Fund and World Bank estimate) is laundered across the world each year. And only around 1% of this amount is actually interdicted  by anti-money laundering  agencies. This makes it clear that, whether knowingly or unknowingly, many financial institutions across the globe will be harbouring   black and unaccountable money that is directly or indirectly under the control of criminal and  anti-social elements. Economic development doesn't put you in a better position as a country; the  UK and other  European countries are acknowledged to be major centres of money laundering, due in part to high transaction volumes and product diversity which make it easier to hide criminal funds.

The HSBC case has once again highlighted the importance of developing strong training programs for staff, and for products which help AML (Anti Money Laundering) professionals to highlight money laundering risks  in an  efficient yet dynamic manner. The HSBC case reminds everyone that it is not sufficient to have policies and procedures which aren't followed in practice. A key challenge for all financial institutions and others subject to anti money laundering and counter terrorist financing laws is to build a corporate culture which is committed to combating these activities, not just because they are required to do so by law, but also because it is the right thing to do. 

Online AML training has become an essential component  of money laundering training courses provided by organizations to their employees. There are some reliable websites that have anti money laundering videos that are aimed specifically at adding interest to in-house training programmes, raising awareness levels among  staff and building their commitment to following and implementing their company's anti money laundering and counter terrorist financing policies.