Money laundering fight goes online
Accountants will be one of the business groups to benefit from an online money laundering prevention program to be launched by the British Bankers' Association in October.
The BBA has teamed up with online financial training provider Absolutely Training to develop the package targeted at all levels of staff working in the financial services industry.
The product will deliver information, provide opportunities for self-assessment and support a formal examination and accreditation process. It will cover the needs of specialists as well as general practitioners and IFAs.
A spokesperson for the BBA said the course would be available to both single users and corporations. A simple username and password would give users access to the training material and subsequent examinations.
Ian Mullen, chief executive of the BBA said that as London was one of the largest financial centres in the world, it was essential that every member of staff within all financial institutions was alert to the possibility of money laundering activities.
‘This new training package will be flexible, cost effective and most importantly, easily accessible, to everybody who needs it and will form a valuable extension to the regular live training that we provide through our conferences and seminars.’
The program could prove helpful in the UK’s fight against money laundering and fraud. Last week, the National Criminal Intelligence Service warned that the introduction of the euro in Europe would present criminals with new opportunities for large-scale money laundering.
Paul Fegan, managing director of Absolutely Training, said the large amount of interactive content would increases an employee’s retention rate and result in more effective training.
‘This means that an individual is more likely to be aware of their obligations and responsibilities in relation to money laundering prevention and detection.’
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