Farewell to 2021, and welcome 2022 — which hopefully will be better year for all.  As we do every year, let’s look back — because 2021 was a very busy year in the world of money laundering and BSA/AML compliance, and 2022 is shaping up to be the same.

Indicative of the increased pace and breadth of activity in this space both, our list is bigger this year.  We are highlighting 20 of our most-read blog posts from 2021, which address many of the key issues we’ve examined during the past year: the many permutations of the sprawling AML Act; the Corporate Transparency Act and beneficial ownership reporting; potential AML regulation of the real estate industry; criminal and civil money laundering and BSA enforcement cases; efforts to crack down on domestic and foreign corruption; digital assets and cryptocurrency; data privacy and ransomware; ESG and related social issues; the increasing focus on the potential AML obligations of so-called “gate keepers,” including lawyers; and more:

We now move on to 2022.  This year also will be an important and interesting year for BSA/AML and money laundering issues, given the many forthcoming regulations and reports required by the AML Act and the Corporate Transparency Act, which will affect a broad variety of stakeholders.  We look forward to keeping you informed throughout 2022 on these and other developments.

We also want to thank our many readers around the world who continue to make this blog such a success. The feedback we receive from financial industry professionals, compliance officers, in-house and external lawyers, BSA/AML consultants, government personnel, journalists, and others interested in this field is invaluable, and we hope you will continue to share your perspectives with us.  We pride ourselves on providing in-depth discussions of the important developments in this ever-evolving area.

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