Certified, but not job-ready: what 20 years of AML interviews taught me about the real skills gap

Most candidates I’ve interviewed had the certificate. Very few could actually do the job. I’ve spent more than twenty years in financial crime compliance, across banks and financial institutions in Nepal and the UAE. Over that time I’ve sat on the other side of the table for more interviews than I can count — AML…

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One Country, Five Regulators: What VASPs Actually Need in Their AML/CFT Policy to Operate in the UAE

One Country, Five Regulators: What VASPs Actually Need in Their AML/CFT Policy to Operate in the UAE The United Arab Emirates has positioned itself as the world’s most ambitious hub for virtual assets — and simultaneously, one of the most complex compliance landscapes any crypto founder or compliance officer will ever navigate. With five distinct…

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“What AML Employers Actually Test For in 2026 — And Why Most Candidates Are Preparing the Wrong Way”

What AML Employers Actually Test For in 2026 — And Why Most Candidates Are Preparing the Wrong Way You studied for months. You earned your CAMS. You applied to forty AML analyst positions across Dubai and London. And you still haven’t received a single callback. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: employers in 2026 no longer hire…

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Financial Crime Insights: . NLP-Driven KYC Document Analysis and Fraudulent Document Detection

How AI Reads Your Passport Better Than a Bank Teller: NLP-Driven KYC Document Analysis and Fraudulent Document Detection Customer onboarding remains one of the most resource-draining functions in financial crime compliance. An estimated 70% of Customer Due Diligence (CDD) costs are consumed by repetitive, manual document review — analysts squinting at passports, cross-referencing trade licences,…

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Financial Crime Insights: The FATF Travel Rule Is Two Years Overdue at Most VASPs. Here’s Why That’s Dangerous.

The FATF Travel Rule Is Two Years Overdue at Most VASPs — Here’s Why That’s Dangerous The Financial Action Task Force first extended Recommendation 16 — the so-called “Travel Rule” — to virtual asset service providers in June 2019. Six years later, FATF’s own data tells a sobering story: roughly 75% of jurisdictions have not…

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Financial Crime Insights: AML/CFT Program Gap Assessment: A Step-by-Step Methodology How to conduct a gap assessment that produces actionable findings — not just a list of missing policies

AML/CFT Program Gap Assessment: A Step-by-Step Methodology That Produces Actionable Findings Every regulated financial institution conducts some form of AML/CFT gap assessment. Yet a striking number of those exercises culminate in a tidy spreadsheet of “missing policies” that earns a polite nod from internal audit — and then fails spectacularly under regulatory examination. The reason…

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Fintech Series: International Standards and Regulatory Framework for Mobile Money

Mobile money has revolutionized financial inclusion, bringing millions of unbanked individuals into the formal financial system. However, the increasing adoption of mobile money services has also introduced challenges related to money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF). To address these challenges, international standards and regulatory frameworks, primarily established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF),…

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Fintech Series: Exploring AML/CFT Risks in Mobile Money

Introduction The fintech revolution has transformed the global financial landscape, introducing unprecedented opportunities for financial inclusion, innovation, and economic growth. Among the most impactful developments is the advent of mobile money, which provides a gateway to financial services for millions of unbanked and underbanked individuals worldwide. Mobile money enables users to conduct transactions, store funds,…

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