Kleptocracy and sanctions: Keeping the proper focus

As published in ACAMS Today. 

In this article, FinScan’s Director of Advisory Services, Steve Marshall, sheds light on the urgent challenge of addressing kleptocracy within the sanctions landscape. Kleptocracy—where state leaders siphon off national wealth for personal gain—adds complexity to sanctions enforcement, turning it into a relentless game of Whac-a-Mole, as illicit actors constantly evolve their tactics. Steve argues that a laser focus is needed on disrupting the financial lifelines of corrupt elites, not just issuing broad sanctions, and that anti-financial-crime professionals must sharpen detection tools and collaborate across publicprivate sectors to expose and counteract sophisticated evasion networks. His analysis offers timely insights for compliance officers, emphasizing precision and vigilance as essential to ensuring sanctions regimes effectively combat state-based corruption. 

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