Financial Crime

CRITICAL THINKING IS THE ART OF NEVER ACCEPTING ANYTHING AT FACE VALUE

Financial Crime Training: what started in 1994 as a simple approach to using information about the flow of funds derived from crime to track and attack criminals has mutated, grown exponentially and become insanely complex and expensive. Learning what to do, when to do it and who to do it to was never enough for well run and properly advised businesses but that attitude still, arguably increasingly, shapes the vast majority of training across the entire financial, professional and otherwise regulated sectors.  

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

E-Learning.

Beyond Training: Education

You've done your basic training which covers the law, regulation and your obligations and that's essential. But to be effective, for both you and your company, you need to go beyond training. We've been providing in depth training, face to face, since 1994, we worked on computer-based training in the mid 1990s and internet-based training in the late 1990s and since. We introduced our own platform in 2002, always going beyond the basic law, regulation and training. In September, 2025 we released a newly developed course that is more about education than it is about training, more in keeping with our live seminars. It's on demand, online. In your house, at your desk, on the train. And, like our face to face training, it relies heavily on critical thinking. It is, necessarily, selective in the topics it covers. 

We also design the course to be a useful source of reference during your company's subscription. 

What tech do I need? 

A modern browser on your desktop, laptop, phone, tablet or TV. There is no App. Nothing is stored on your device except a cookie (and that's not a tracking cookie - it's just so you can move from page to page and our computer knows which page you are on and which you just left).

Everything is in text: you don't need a camera, a microphone or headphones or speakers. 

We do recommend that you have a notebook and a pen or pencil so you can make notes. That's the best tech for the job. 

Your access is controlled by a username and password: the username is sent to each user on registration, the password can and should be changed on first use. 

What jurisdictions are covered?

We lean on the law, regulation and other material originating in the UK. The UK has always led adoption of the EU Directives (up to MLD-V) and its regulatory materials and guidance notes have been closely followed, over more than two decades, by jurisdictions around the world. 

That means that the course has value elsewhere: it is supplemental to your basic training in law and regulation. 

Also, while law and regulation are sometimes limited by jurisdiction, risk - which is what we are primarily concerned with - is universal. 

We are outside the UK / We have staff outside the UK. Can we use this course?

Absolutely, you can. If your staff can read a reasonable standard of English, they can use this course. 

While the law and regulation often refers to the UK material, , we also refer to law and regulation in other jurisdictions, for comparison purposes. 

And while the detail of the law and regulation is UK orientated, the principles apply globally. That's because this course is not designed to replace training on law and regulation: it's designed to enhance it and to encourage staff and officers to think about what they have learned, both so as to question it and so as to better apply it. 

For this reason, while staff around the world will benefit, financial crime risk and compliance officers will find it makes a difference to their approach not only to risk but also to compliance, both internal and external, both current and future. 

Does this course replace ACAMS, ICA, etc?

No. It is supplemental to them: we take you from the process driven approach of training to the comprehension created by education and we lead you through a process of thinking about what you are doing and how best to integrate the objectives within your daily work. 

Unlike others, of which the two you mention are merely the most famous, we do not have a membership scheme, we don't charge annual fees beyond your company's subscription to the service and we don't issue fancy certificates. 

But mostly, while other courses concentrate on compliance, we have, for more than 30 years, concentrated on risk: the risk that a criminal will use your company to launder funds or commit other offences and that he will use you and your colleagues to help him do that, and the risk that presents to you and your family. 

Financial Crime Risk is the topic that the primary legislation was originally concerned with; the complex regulatory regime was defined later and regulators became more concerned with making sure your company has specific processes in place and that you follow them than with crime prevention and effective information flows. 

Regulatory risk v financial crime risk. They are different and you need to approach them differently. 

How much of the content is generated by AI?

All of it. For us AI means Actual Intelligence as used by humans. 

If you mean how much is computer-generated? None. Zero. Not a bit of it. 

All the content is originated by humans with decades of relevant experience, led by Nigel Morris-Cotterill, a pioneer in the fields of financial crime risk and elearning. 

There is a rider: the illustrative images on our graphics have been drawn by generative software acting on instructions from our humans; the text on the graphics is written by humans and inserted by hand. Well, a hand on a keyboard and a mouse! 

And if you knew how many images we threw away because the computer didn't follow instructions, or made up stuff that wasn't in the instructions, you'd never want to rely on any generative software ever again. 

And something you will notice: we address you, like we would if we were speaking to you face to face. We use humour because this is a serious subject but familiarity over decades means we see things that can brighten up your day and that makes learning - and remembering - easier.

We like to say "Read, Learn, Apply. And, of course, question." 

How often is the course content updated? 

We don't know! When relevant material changes arise in law and regulation, we'll add a page or patch what's already there. We've issued updates at least six times in the first year of this product lifecycle. 

From time to time, we'll edit a page or add a new topic, usually because it's something we found interesting and think you might, too.

When we do any of those things, we'll send you an email. You will not be required to resit the examination as a result of any such alteration but the alteration might be reflected in the question bank so it might come up on a subsequent exam.

What's the time commitment?

This depends on you and how much supplementary material you read. Throughout the course, you will be referred to external material such as legislation, case reports, guidance notes. Those are voluntary but you have to read all the course material before you can start your exam. 

Reading the course itself will probably take about ten hours. We don't expect you to do it all in one go: in fact, the system is designed to remember your progress so you can break off and return to the same page. 

The exam is open book (i.e. you can revisit the material) but with 50 questions in 90 minutes, there's not a lot of time to look stuff up. You do have to take the exam in one go or you have to start all over again. 

Do I get a certificate?

Kind of. When you successfully pass your examination, you can print out a results slip to keep in your employment file and to produce to the regulator if required. 

Your administrator can access your results which is essential for regulatory purposes and for the company's annual board reports. 

We do not issue fancy certificates to adorn your walls or to post on social media. We leave that to others who use you to advertise their business. 

The footer of this page refers to "Merch." What's that all about? 

All risk management is about awareness: the "known unknowns" and we are always looking to move as much as possible from "unknown unknowns" up a class for the simple reason that, if you don't know about a risk that a Court later decides should have been obvious, you can still be convicted of e.g. money laundering. 14 years jail, confiscation of assets.... you don't want that. 

There are certain truths about training. Let's concentrate on one: no matter how the training is delivered, it won't be remembered for long without reinforcement.

You can send newsletters or memos, you can hold monthly meetings over a pint or you can create a culture of remembrance. Yet, the best way to do that is not to nag, but to present key messages in a persistent, almost subliminal, way. 

We've been delivering financial crime risk training since 1994, alongside advisory work for financial institutions, lawyers, industry bodies and regulators. The over-riding challenge is to keep the message front-of-mind without it becoming annoying or, worse, distracting. Corridors, the backs of doors, canteens and, of course, toilets become extensions of the classroom, however that is defined. 

There's an original, unique, copyright, range of posters, clothing, mouse and desk mats and other items that are designed specifically to reinforce the message from the training. They are more than an investment: they are a way of ensuring that your training dollars, pounds or euros are not wasted, whoever you bought your training from.  The messages benefit your company even if your training comes from someone else. And  the reinforcement tools are universal, no matter what the law and regulation in your country. 

The Merch is handled by ProjectLXX.com. 

Can we learn more in more depth after we finish the course? 

Of course. We provide in-house seminars on a wide range of topics including the use of OSINT; the pan-jurisdictional effects of EU legislation across multiple sectors; conducting interviews to responding when a policeman comes to call; preparing suspicious activity reports; developing your own algorithms; things to consider when you are looking at technology; understanding the nature of suspicion and why reports are, and are not, made; the building blocks of a financial crime risk and compliance system (literally, back to basics and a plain piece of paper); trade-based financial crime; Cyber-security basics for non-technical people; Fraud: being pre-active instead of re-active.

You book us and we will come! We do in-house, onsite and offsite, as well as seminars organised by industry bodies. The team has much more than 200 years' relevant experience between four of us and we cover the English-speaking world and we have a secondary team for non-core subjects. We are all accomplished at working with translators (we don't work with interpreters because we need to know that what we say is faithfully repeated). 

You can read World Money Laundering Report daily, free, and you can buy books from Nigel Morris-Cotterill or read his often contentious blog which often expands directly on the topics in this course. You can also watch FinCrimeTV or attend Financial Crime Forum events free. 

Can I see the material? 

We have a sample course that includes extracts from a selection of pages within the course. We do not grant access to the entire course and examination to other than subscribing organisations. 

Send an enquiry using this form  to apply for access or if you have any other enquiries. Note: access is not automatic and we reserve the right, in our absolute discretion, to grant or deny access. We will entertain applications only from verifiable senior compliance officers in financial institutions using their corporate email account. 

How many users do we need to have? 

We sell in packs of ten seats. We do not sell less than ten seats or part-packs. However, if yours is a small business and you wish to share a pack with one other small business we will accommodate you but there will be only one administrator per pack. So for new fintechs, small law firms and the like, this means they can still gain access to our education. 

However, individuals can purchase the same course, with instant download, here

Are there any additional charges? 

In terms of this corporate course, absolutely not except if your included support tokens are exhausted. There is no support for the individual course. You are under no obligation to purchase any goods or services (we'd like it if you did!) and we will not send you or your participants marketing emails.  

How long is the subscription?

One year. You can opt to auto-renew by payment via Stripe if you wish or you can pay by bank transfer for a one-year sub: we will remind you shortly before it expires if you choose this option. Note: when the subscription expires, access to the course and to all records terminates. 

What support is available?

Support is available only through the on-line system and only for corporate accounts. It is all manual : there are no bots or automated processes. We aim to resolve any issues within two working days. Our platform is developed on industry leading technology in use in millions of websites around the world. Our servers are maintained by Siteground, one of the world's leading companies in the area. Not that it matters much to you but our cloud is Google. We do not use a CDN. In more than a decade, our only system outages have been for a few minutes during a major stack upgrade. 

Each customer nominates an administrator and it is with that admin that all communication is conducted. Only that admin is authorised to submit support requests and we will not reply to any communication from users. 

Each contract includes five support requests per year. Additional support request packages are available separately. 

A correction of, e.g. spelling or grammar is not a support request. A request for clarification is not a support request if we agree that something was not as clear as we intended. If we say it is clear, and that the user is asking for a more detailed explanation than we intended to provide, that will be regarded as a support request and it will be referred for consultancy under a separate contract. 

 

Can I get CPD/E?

We don't issue CPD or CPE points because we don't operate a membership scheme and we don't find ways to keep upselling to you. 

Some professional bodies and membership schemes allow you to claim reading time and we recommend that you include your course time under that head. 

How long is it from order to installation? 

There is no installation. Everything is done through your browser. There is no app, nothing on your devices. 

The process is simple: you place an order, we send you a contract and a spreadsheet for the details of the participants. 

You sign the form,  fill in the spreadsheet, send them back, pay the bill and we'll upload the participants' information and your year's subscription will start from then.  

Where can I order?

We thought you'd never ask!  The order form is here. 

Face to face.

Our range of face to face training currently includes the following:

The money laundering risk assessment. Seminar/workshop tailored to your organisation

Critical thinking in financial crime risk management. Seminar/workshop tailored to your organisation

Trade Based Financial Crime. Seminar/workshop.

Understanding suspicion in financial crime. Seminar

Politically exposed persons - building an effective risk profile. Seminar/workshop

Introduction to the risk matrix and algorithms. Workshop tailored to your organisation.

Money laundering. etc. risk to lawyers. Seminar/ workshop. 

Click here for more information and to see the current list of courses.