Typology studies are systematic analyses of the patterns and methods used by criminals for specific types of illicit activities, such as money laundering, terrorist financing, or other financial crimes. These studies help authorities and financial institutions and organizations understand the evolving techniques employed by criminals, identify common characteristics, and develop effective countermeasures. Typology studies provide insights into the “typical” behaviours, transactions, and structures associated with specific illicit activities. Mo & Associates conducts both strategic and Typology studies for clients through the following procedures:

1. Defining the purpose of the typology & strategic study at the onsite with the purpose of understanding the vulnerabilities that exist in the organization’s system and processes.
2. Collection and analysis relevant data to the purpose of typology and strategic study and producing a report showing common characteristics, emerging trends, and development of red flags.
3. Development of recommendations to the Organization to enhance its regulatory responses, enhance mitigation strategies and organization’s compliance to standards.
4. Design and implement monitoring and update measures & process for the organization.

IFFs affect many countries across the globe as a source, transit or destination country. By eroding the tax base and discouraging public and private investment, IFFs obstruct efforts towards inclusive and resilient recovery, structural transformation of economies and efficiency of green policies. It is therefore paramount to quantify and analyse IFFs from various sources, and design and implement policies within integrated national financing frameworks for sustainable development.

At Mo&Associates we conduct system reviews and capacity building to enhance the capacity of organization to aid them in producing standard estimates of illicit financial flows and enhance their investigative and analytical capacities to develop evidence -based policy responses to monitor and curb illicit financial flows. This is developed in tandem with the primary & Secondary targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations.

Criminals are motivated by financial gain. By following and confiscating the proceeds from environmental crimes, authorities can decrease the incentive for criminals to engage in environmental crimes.  At Mo and Associates we provide agencies with capacity building in financial investigations related to environmental crimes. This training will allow them to utilize their respective jurisdictional laws in tracing the origin of funds laundered from predicate environmental crimes. Most importantly, financial investigations can help strengthen environmental crime investigations by drawing on investigative techniques and sanctions provided under anti-money laundering laws. Some of our capacity building programs include:

• Financial Intelligence Training
• Travel entry information and customs declarations
• Import and export information analysis.
• Traveler profiling and passenger advance manifest analysis.
• Travel/Trade routes analysis.
• Waste Trafficking
• Export and Transfer Pricing

The illegal wildlife trade is a major transnational organised crime, which generates billions of criminal-proceeds each year. Wildlife traffickers exploit weaknesses in the financial and non-financial sectors, to move, hide and launder their proceeds, enabling further wildlife crimes and damaging financial integrity. One of the most effective ways to identify the broader criminal networks and take the profit out of this crime, is to follow the financial trails of wildlife traffickers.

At Mo&Associates we provide FIUs, Law Enforcement Agencies, and Prosecutors with the capacity they require to identify and assess money laundering risks relating to illegal wildlife trade in their jurisdiction and how to put in place appropriate mitigation mechanisms.

This is in addition to the training in:

• The conduct of parallel financial investigations, pursuance to money laundering activity and how to seek and apply money laundering charges where feasible for criminal investigations into illegal wildlife trade offences.
• How to trace, Identify, freeze, seize and confiscate associated assets when investigating money laundering related to illegal wildlife trade.
• And how best to exploit develop, promote and exploit public-private collaboration and information exchange to effectively identify and address money laundering linked to illegal wildlife trade.

With the development of anti-money laundering measures across all sectors of the financial system, Money launderers have taken another route to launder the proceeds of their criminal activities. Trade based money laundering (TBML) is one process though which laundering the proceeds of crime can be achieve. The process involved the movement of funds through the international trade system to legitimize them.

Trade-Based money laundering involved can include the falsification of price, and the quantity and quality of goods imported or exported. TBML can be a simple transaction of buying and importing across two jurisdictions on a direct purchase between two companies or or it can take a complex nature where multiple parties and jurisdictions are involved. This brings about issues related to prohibited goods and services, sanctioned individuals, countries, and organizations and outright movement of illicit funds derived from illegal activities.

Thus at Mo & Associates we provide trade systems assessments, TBML training which involve customer due diligence measures at both individual and corporate levels to uncover undesirable elements hiding behind corporate structures to perpetrate their illicit activities.

TBML takes advantage of the complex nature of trade systems, most prominently in international contexts where the involvement of multiple parties and jurisdictions make know your customer and anti-money laundering (KYC and AML) checks and customer due diligence (CDD) processes more difficult.

Mo & Associates provide training to agencies on TBML which include the following.

1. How does trade based money laundering work?
2. TBML red flags
3. TBML risk indicators

• Structural risk indicators
• Trading risk indicators
• Document risk indicators
• Account and transaction risk indicators

4. AML challenges in trade-based money laundering

• Understanding Pricing
• Understanding Goods
• Licensing
• Document verification
• Circumvention and
• Paper transactions

Transaction monitoring, whether because of a regulatory inquiry or as part of a self-imposed lookback process or a result of pattern alert recognition can create an immense strain on the resources of financial institutions such as retail banks, investment banks, financial services firms, and virtual currency exchanges. Our dedicated team of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) specialists will work with you to navigate the through challenges of a historical transaction lookback from data acquisition to regulatory filings. We are practical team players, focused on helping our clients develop and maintain an efficient and fully compliant transaction monitoring and transaction review. With the understanding that no two financial institutions are the same, we have a bespoke approach to each engagement that considers the institution’s resources and its current compliance program, as well as its prior history with regulatory inquiries.