Tucked into the massive $740bn defence spending bill for 2021, recently passed by the US Congress, were some of the most sweeping changes to the nation’s anti-money laundering (AML) laws in a generation. Anti-corruption organisations, law enforcement officials, national security experts and leaders in the banking sector lauded the bill as an historic achievement.
The reforms set the US on a course to vastly improve its ability to effectively identify and prosecute corrupt and criminal actors that seek to abuse financial systems.
