Standard Entry

Applicants should normally have:

• Completed secondary/high-school education or equivalent.
• GCSE/GCE O-Level, High School Diploma or equivalent international qualification.

Professional Entry

Applicants with qualifications in:

• Banking
• Finance
• Accounting
• Economics
• Business
• Law
• Risk management
• Compliance
• Auditing
• Financial services
• Criminology or investigations

may also be considered.

Mature Entry

Applicants without formal post-secondary qualifications may be considered based on relevant professional experience in:

• Banking
• Compliance
• AML/CFT
• Internal audit
• Risk management
• Financial investigations
• Law enforcement
• Customs
• Tax administration
• Insurance
• Fintech
• Accounting
• Financial regulation

International Applicants

International applicants may be required to provide:

• Academic certificates/transcripts
• Proof of identity
• Qualification equivalency where applicable
• Certified English translations where necessary

Evidence of English proficiency where required

Duration: 6 Months
Structure: 2 Semesters × 3 Months
Mode: On-Campus | Virtual | Blended |

Module 1: Foundations of Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing & Proliferation Financing

Key Topics

• Definition of money laundering
• Stages of money laundering:
  • Placement
  • Layering
  • Integration
• Terrorist financing
• Proliferation financing
• Predicate offences
• Financial crime ecosystem
• Criminal exploitation of financial institutions
• Informal value-transfer systems
• Cash-based crime
• Digital financial crime
• Professional money laundering
• Shell companies
• Front companies
• Trade-based money laundering
• Emerging financial-crime typologies

Practical Exercise:
Analyse a simulated money-laundering case and identify the movement of illicit funds through different transactions.

Module 2: Global AML/CFT Regulatory Framework

Key Topics

• FATF Recommendations
• FATF risk-based approach
• National AML/CFT frameworks
• Financial Intelligence Units
• AML/CFT supervisory authorities
• FATF mutual evaluations
• National risk assessments
• International cooperation
• EU AML/CFT framework
• U.S. Bank Secrecy Act
• FinCEN
• OFAC and sanctions compliance
• International financial-crime cooperation
• Regulatory enforcement
• Compliance obligations across jurisdictions

The FATF Recommendations constitute the principal international AML/CFT standards and provide the framework for countries to identify, assess and mitigate money-laundering and terrorist-financing risks.

Practical:
Compare AML/CFT regulatory requirements in an African, European and U.S. jurisdiction.

Module 3: KYC, Customer Due Diligence & Beneficial Ownership

Key Topics

• Know Your Customer
• Customer identification
• Customer verification
• Customer acceptance
• Customer risk profiling
• Customer Due Diligence
• Simplified due diligence
• Standard due diligence
• Enhanced due diligence
• Beneficial ownership
• Legal entities
• Trusts and foundations
• Complex ownership structures
• Source of funds
• Source of wealth
• Customer purpose and expected activity
• Ongoing customer due diligence
• Periodic KYC reviews
• Remote and digital onboarding

FATF requires financial institutions to apply CDD measures and enhanced measures where ML/TF risks are higher.

The EBA’s risk-factor guidelines specifically address beneficial-owner identification, individual and business-wide risk assessments and enhanced due diligence for higher-risk situations.

FinCEN similarly identifies customer and beneficial-owner identification and verification as core components of covered U.S. financial institutions’ CDD programmes.

Practical:
Complete a KYC/CDD file for an individual and a complex corporate customer.

Module 4: AML/CFT Risk Assessment & Risk-Based Approach

Key Topics

• Risk-based approach
• Enterprise-wide risk assessment
• Customer risk
• Geographic risk
• Product risk
• Channel risk
• Transaction risk
• Country risk
• Sector risk
• Delivery-channel risk
• High-risk jurisdictions
• High-risk products
• Risk scoring
• Customer risk classification
• Risk appetite
• Risk mitigation
• Risk-based controls
• De-risking and financial inclusion

FATF’s framework emphasizes proportionate controls based on identified ML/TF risks, while the EBA provides detailed risk factors institutions should consider when assessing customers and business relationships.

Practical:
Develop an AML/CFT Enterprise Risk Assessment for a hypothetical bank.

Module 5: Politically Exposed Persons, High-Risk Customers & Enhanced Due Diligence

Key Topics

• Politically Exposed Persons
• Foreign PEPs
• Domestic PEPs
• International-organisation PEPs
• Family members
• Close associates
• High-risk customers
• High-risk jurisdictions
• Enhanced due diligence
• Senior-management approval
• Source of wealth
• Source of funds
• Enhanced monitoring
• Correspondent banking risk
• Non-face-to-face relationships
• High-risk businesses
• Charities and non-profit organisations
• De-risking considerations

Practical:
Conduct an enhanced due-diligence review of a simulated high-risk customer.

Module 6: AML/CFT Compliance Programme & Governance

Key Topics

• AML/CFT compliance framework
• Board responsibilities
• Senior management
• Compliance officer
• MLRO/AML officer
• Three Lines Model
• Policies and procedures
• Internal controls
• Employee screening
• Staff training
• Independent testing
• Internal audit
• Compliance monitoring
• Risk reporting
• Regulatory engagement
• Record keeping
• Compliance culture
• AML programme effectiveness

Semester I Applied Project

AML/CFT RISK ASSESSMENT & COMPLIANCE PROGRAMME

Participants develop an AML/CFT framework for a hypothetical financial institution covering:

Risk Assessment → KYC → Customer Risk Rating → EDD → Monitoring → Reporting → Governance → Training → Independent Testing

Module 7: Transaction Monitoring & Suspicious Activity Detection

Key Topics

• Transaction-monitoring systems
• Transaction profiles
• Expected customer behaviour
• Alerts
• Threshold monitoring
• Rule-based monitoring
• Scenario-based monitoring
• Behavioural monitoring
• Suspicious patterns
• Structuring/smurfing
• Unusual cash activity
• Rapid movement of funds
• Circular transactions
• Dormant-account activity
• High-risk jurisdictions
• Unusual cross-border transactions
• Alert prioritisation
• False positives
• Case management

Practical Simulation:
Analyse a transaction-monitoring alert and determine whether further investigation is required.

Module 8: Suspicious Transaction Reporting & AML Investigations

Key Topics

• Suspicious Transaction Reports
• Suspicious Activity Reports
• Investigation procedures
• Alert investigation
• Case development
• Transaction reconstruction
• Customer profile analysis
• Source-of-funds analysis
• Source-of-wealth analysis
• Evidence gathering
• Investigative documentation
• Escalation
• Regulatory reporting
• Confidentiality
• Tipping-off restrictions
• Law-enforcement cooperation

Practical:
Conduct an AML investigation and prepare a simulated suspicious-transaction report.

Module 9: Sanctions Compliance & Financial Crime Controls

Key Topics

• Sanctions frameworks
• Targeted financial sanctions
• Sanctions screening
• Name screening
• False positives
• Sanctions alerts
• Asset freezes
• Prohibited transactions
• Sanctions evasion
• Proliferation-financing risks
• Sanctions governance
• Screening controls
• Regulatory reporting
• U.S. OFAC framework
• European sanctions environment
• International sanctions cooperation

Practical:
Investigate a simulated sanctions-screening alert and determine the appropriate compliance response.

Module 10: Advanced Financial Crime Typologies

Key Topics

• Trade-based money laundering
• Fraud and money laundering
• Corruption
• Tax crimes
• Human trafficking-related financial flows
• Drug-trafficking proceeds
• Cybercrime proceeds
• Virtual assets
• Cryptocurrency-related risks
• Digital fraud
• Online financial crime
• Shell companies
• Complex ownership structures
• Professional enablers
• Correspondent banking
• Remittance risks
• Cash-intensive businesses
• Real-estate money laundering

Case Studies:
Participants investigate multiple financial-crime typologies using simulated transaction data.

Module 11: AML Technology, Data Analytics & RegTech

Key Topics

• AML transaction-monitoring technology
• Screening systems
• Customer-risk engines
• Data analytics
• Network analysis
• Link analysis
• Artificial intelligence
• Machine learning
• RegTech
• Automated alert generation
• Data quality
• Model risk
• Explainability
• Digital identity
• Blockchain analytics
• Virtual-asset monitoring
• Technology governance
• Cybersecurity and AML

Practical:
Design a technology-enabled AML monitoring framework for a digital bank.

Module 12: AML/CFT Audit, Compliance Testing & Capstone

Key Topics

• AML compliance testing
• Internal AML audit
• Independent review
• Control effectiveness
• Regulatory examination
• AML programme deficiencies
• Corrective action
• Remediation
• Compliance metrics
• Key Risk Indicators
• Management reporting
• Board reporting
• Regulatory enforcement
• Continuous improvement

INTEGRATED AML/CFT CAPSTONE

Participants undertake a complete simulated AML investigation:

Customer Onboarding → KYC/CDD → Risk Rating → Transaction Monitoring → Alert → Investigation → EDD → Suspicion Assessment → STR/SAR Decision → Regulatory Escalation → Management Report

The final project is presented to a simulated:

AML/CFT COMPLIANCE & RISK COMMITTEE

1. FATF — International Benchmark

The programme is fundamentally aligned with the FATF Recommendations, particularly principles relating to:

• Risk-based AML/CFT
• Customer due diligence
• Beneficial ownership
• PEPs
• Correspondent banking
• Money/value transfer
• Suspicious transaction reporting
• Targeted financial sanctions
• Financial intelligence
• Supervision
• International cooperation

FATF’s current Recommendations require risk-sensitive CDD and enhanced measures where higher ML/TF risks are identified.

1. European Benchmarking

The programme incorporates EBA AML/CFT principles concerning:

• Individual customer risk assessment
• Business-wide risk assessment
• Customer due diligence
• Beneficial ownership
• Enhanced due diligence
• High-risk third countries
• Innovative customer-identification solutions
• Sector-specific risks
• AML/CFT governance
• Supervisory expectations

The EBA’s consolidated guidance is currently in force and includes amendments addressing emerging risks and specific sectors such as crowdfunding, corporate finance and payment-service providers.

The programme also emphasizes proportionate controls and avoidance of unjustified de-risking, consistent with EBA guidance on maintaining access to financial services while managing AML/CFT risks.

1. U.S. Benchmarking

The U.S. component is benchmarked primarily against the Bank Secrecy Act/AML framework administered by FinCEN, including:

• Customer Identification
• Customer Due Diligence
• Beneficial ownership
• Suspicious Activity Reporting
• AML programme governance
• Record keeping
• Risk-based controls
• Financial-crime monitoring

FinCEN describes CDD as a core component of BSA/AML compliance and emphasizes understanding customers and the risks they present.

Because U.S. AML rules are evolving, the course distinguishes U.S.-specific legal obligations from globally transferable AML principles. For example, FinCEN issued significant changes to beneficial-ownership reporting requirements in 2025–2026; those changes should not be treated as universal international AML rules.

The programme uses a Financial Crime + Compliance + Investigation + Technology model.

Practical Simulations

Participants will undertake:

• KYC/CDD exercise
• Beneficial-ownership investigation
• Customer-risk assessment
• PEP assessment
• Enhanced due-diligence exercise
• Transaction-monitoring investigation
• Suspicious-transaction investigation
• SAR/STR preparation
• Sanctions-screening exercise
• Trade-based money-laundering case
• Virtual-asset AML case
• AML compliance examination
• AML audit and remediation exercise

Assessment focuses on the learner’s ability to:

• Identify ML/TF risks
• Conduct customer risk assessments
• Apply KYC/CDD requirements
• Identify beneficial owners
• Apply EDD
• Analyse transaction patterns
• Investigate suspicious activity
• Prepare AML reports
• Assess sanctions risks
• Develop compliance controls
• Evaluate AML programme effectiveness

Graduates will be prepared for developing professional roles in AML/CFT, financial-crime compliance, transaction monitoring and regulatory-risk functions.

Potential Job Titles

• AML Officer
• AML Analyst
• AML/CFT Compliance Officer
• KYC Analyst
• CDD Analyst
• Enhanced Due Diligence Analyst
• Transaction Monitoring Analyst
• Financial Crime Analyst
• Financial Crime Compliance Officer
• Compliance Officer
• MLRO/AML Compliance Assistant
• Sanctions Compliance Analyst
• Financial Intelligence Analyst
• Fraud & AML Analyst
• Regulatory Compliance Analyst
• AML Investigations Officer
• Financial Crime Risk Analyst
• AML Quality Assurance Officer
• AML Audit Assistant
• Compliance Monitoring Officer

Banking & Financial Services

• Commercial banks
• Central banks
• Investment banks
• Islamic banks
• Microfinance institutions
• Development finance institutions
• Credit unions/SACCOs

Fintech & Payments

• Fintech companies
• Digital banks
• Mobile-money operators
• Payment service providers
• Remittance companies
• Virtual-asset service providers

Other Financial Institutions

• Insurance companies
• Takaful institutions
• Asset managers
• Investment firms
• Pension funds
• Mortgage institutions
• Foreign-exchange businesses

Public & Regulatory Sector

• Financial Intelligence Units
• Central banks
• Banking regulators
• Tax authorities
• Customs authorities
• Anti-corruption agencies
• Law-enforcement agencies
• Prosecutorial authorities

Professional Services

• Audit firms
• Compliance consulting firms
• Risk advisory firms
• Forensic investigation firms
• Legal and regulatory advisory practices

The programme develops transferable AML/CFT competencies applicable across:

Africa | Europe | Middle East | Asia | North America | Latin America | Emerging Markets

The core principles are particularly transferable because financial institutions increasingly operate across borders and face interconnected money-laundering, terrorist-financing, sanctions and financial-crime risks.

IBSF INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATE IN CERTIFICATE IN AML/CFT

Duration: 6 Months | 2 Semesters | 3 Months Each

The Certificate in Anti-Money Laundering & Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) is a professional programme designed to develop practical competence in financial-crime prevention, customer due diligence, risk assessment, transaction monitoring, sanctions compliance, suspicious-transaction investigation and regulatory reporting.