INTERVIEW
After moving to New York , I was happy to be able to join the HSI EDTF and to see a different side of the illicit finance coin . In my previous job , the focus was on national security threats and international financial flows and that has been helpful for me in working with the types of cases that HSI EDTF receives . Working here has given me more exposure to the domestic side and the private sector .
AT : Is there anything peculiar or interesting that your analysts have found in a SAR ?
MM : It is hard to pick just one because every SAR that turns into a referral has interesting aspects of their own . Analysts have worked on SARs that end up plugging into complex money laundering investigations or you will find a SAR that on its face does not appear very interesting that might be run of the mill narcotics related or a very low-dollar amount . But once you start putting the pieces together , it ends up leading you to a multi-million dollar trafficking network that expands across multiple states .
DL : In other words , something small can lead to something big .
AT : Do you use SARs to identify and choose your strategic investigations ?
MM : Yes , SARs are our main source of information .
AT : Do you have any tips for financial professionals when they are filling out their SARs ?
DL : Yes , we do quite a bit of community outreach through our Cornerstone program . We visit different financial institutions and we do training on how to write SARs better and on what we look for . We answer the who , what , where and how . We scan and target for certain terms . For example , writing down if the crime is human trafficking , narcotics related , or terrorist financing is helpful . The most important thing is being succinct . It is also important to include updated contact information because we do follow up and reach out to the banks for more information .
AT : What are the most common questions you receive when you are doing the training for financial institutions ?
MM : The biggest one is what do you look for when reviewing SARs .
DL : HIFCA , in conjunction with HSI EDTF and the Federal Reserve Bank , sponsors a financial symposium . We have had panels on Fintech and blockchain technology . We invited over 300 people from the financial sector and law enforcement . This is a great opportunity for outreach . We also do the international leadership program through the state department . We have many leaders come in , such as top-level financial ministers and prosecutors from different countries , and we have discussions on how to foster better partnerships between the public and private sectors .
MM : One of the messages we want to get out to the financial sector is please do not be afraid to contact us .
Interview with undercover agent
I had the opportunity to meet an undercover agent while I was visiting HSI EDTF . For the purposes of this interview , we will call him Zachary . I have met a couple of undercover agents in the past , but I have never had an opportunity to sit down one-on-one and ask them questions .
When Zachary walked into the room , he was not what I expected . Zachary was all smiles and seemed like he had been working at a desk job his whole life , but the truth is that Zachary was recruited his senior year of college and has been an undercover agent for almost two decades . He has been all over the world and has handled cases in many jurisdictions . In fact , when I spoke with him he was handling at least ten sources in multiple countries . Zachary was able to share that many of his cases dealt with narcotics , smuggling and money laundering . He modestly stated that through his efforts , his team and his confidential informants ( CIs ), he has been able to catch a few bad guys and break up some smuggling rings .
I , of course , wanted to know if he could share a war story where he faced immediate danger . He graciously obliged and told me about his experience when meeting a drug dealer . The dealer was known to be violent and unpredictable . They scheduled to meet in an open field and the agent had plenty of back up . However , as he drove up to the field for the meeting , the surveillance helicopter kept getting too close and the agent had to wave them off more than once . As he arrived to the rendezvous already worried about his cover , the agent saw that the dealer was waiting for him . He got out of the car and approached the dealer . They started speaking and the dealer asked the agent to follow him to the rear of his car . The dealer opened the trunk and on top of some bags he had a machete . The dealer leaned into the car and began to stroke the blade of the machete with one hand . The dealer asked the agent if he was a cop and if the agent was going to betray him . The agent remained cool but knew if he gave the wrong response , his back up was too far away to prevent anything . The dealer was satisfied with the answer and they concluded their business .
Zachary later testified against the drug dealer and the drug dealer could not believe that Zachary was indeed an undercover agent after all .
Zachary like everyone else I met that day at HSI EDTF is passionate about what they do and I believe that the people and their passion is the secret to the TF ’ s success . Happy 25th HSI EDTF !
Interviewed by : Karla Monterrosa-Yancey , CAMS , editor-in-chief , ACAMS , Miami , FL , USA , editor @ acams . org
ACAMS TODAY | SEPTEMBER – NOVEMBER 2017 | ACAMS . ORG | ACAMSTODAY . ORG 47