ACAMS Connect: How a Venezuelan Organization Laundered Billions Using Crypto
Overview
In January 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice accused a Venezuelan citizen of laundering more than $1 billion in illicit funds using cryptocurrency. Thanks to confidential sources, wiretaps, and recorded conversations, we now have one of the clearest views yet of how professional money launderers operate using digital currencies. In this episode of ACAMS Connect: Crypto & Payments, Craig Timm explains how this group leveraged stablecoins, crypto exchanges, shell companies, and conventional financial institutions to evade detection.
Learning Objectives
Understand real-world crypto money-laundering typologies
Identify red flags and risk indicators across crypto, stablecoin, and banking rails
Apply lessons learned to enhance your institution’s anti-money laundering controls
Topics
- Money Laundering Typologies
- Shell Companies
- Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Finance of Terrorism
Industries
- Banks
- Non-Bank Financial Institutions
- Virtual Asset Service Providers
- Financial Services
Regions
- North America
- Latin America and Caribbean
- Jurisdictions
Level
- Intermediate
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