Undermining the Legitimate Private Sector: One of the most serious microeconomic effects of money laundering is felt in the private sector. Money launderers are known to use front companies: businesses that appear legitimate and engage in legitimate business but are in fact controlled by criminals who commingle the proceeds of illicit activity with legitimate funds to hide the ill-gotten gains. These front companies have a competitive advantage over legitimate firms as they have access to substantial illicit funds, allowing them to subsidize products and services sold at below market rates. This makes it difficult for legitimate businesses to compete against front companies. Clearly, the management principles of these criminal enterprises are not consistent with traditional free market principles, which results in further negative macroeconomic effects Reference: http://people.exeter.ac.uk/watupman/undergrad/rtb/effects2.htm

According to the ACAMS Study Guide 6th Edition, Chapter 2, page 38, one of the steps that a financial institution should take when it suspects money laundering activity is to file a suspicious transaction report (STR) or a suspicious activity report (SAR) to the relevant authorities. This will alert the regulators and law enforcement of the potentialmoney laundering scheme and provide them with valuable information to trace the funds and identify the perpetrators.
Another step that a financial institution should take is to identify any unusual or suspicious wire transfers initiated by casas de cambio to jurisdictions outside of Mexico that bear no apparent business relationship with that casa de cambio. This could indicate that the casas de cambio are involved in layering and integration stages of money laundering, where they are moving the illicit funds across borders and disguising their origin and ownership. The financial institution should monitor and document these wire transfers and report them to the authorities if necessary.
Option B is not a relevant step to trace funds through the bank, as it does not provide any information about the source, destination, or purpose of the funds. A decrease in the sale of large denomination U.S. bank notes to casas de cambio by the bank could be due to various factors, such as market demand, exchange rates, or regulatory changes, and does not necessarily indicate money laundering activity.
Option C is also not a relevant step to trace funds through the bank, as it does not indicate any connection to the suspected money laundering scheme. Deposits by casas de cambio that include third-party items, such as sequentially numbered monetary instruments, could be legitimate transactions that are part of the normal business operations of the casas de cambio. Unless there is evidence that these deposits are related to the sale of large denomination U.S. bank notes or the Mexican syndicate, they are not useful for tracing the funds.
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ACAMS Study Guide 6th Edition, Chapter 2, page 38
Combating Money Laundering and Other Forms of Illicit Finance
Sting Operation Snares Casa de Cambio for Allegedly Laundering Millions Through U.S. Banks

The important fact to include in the STR is the recent change in the timing of deposits and withdrawals in the account, as this indicates a possible change in the customer's source and use of funds, and may suggest money laundering or other illicit activity. The customer's work history, the amount of his monthly retirement check, the fact that he is well known to the bank staff, and the fact that he has lived in the area and banked at this bank for 25 years are not relevant for the STR, as they do not explain the unusual pattern of transactions in his account.
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CAMS Certification Package - 6th Edition | ACAMS, Chapter 4: Conducting and Supporting the Investigation Process, page 131 CAMS Certifications: How to Get CAMS Certified | ACAMS, CAMS Examination Preparation, page 8 ACAMS CAMS Certification Video Training Course - Exam-Labs, Video 4.2: Suspicious Transaction Reporting Exam CAMS: Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (the 6th edition), Question 97

According to the ACAMS CAMS Certification Study Guide (6th edition), the bank should file a SAR if it knows, suspects, or has reason to suspect that a transaction involves funds derived from illegal activity, or is intended or conducted to hide or disguise funds or assets derived from illegal activity, or to evade any BSA regulation or federal law, or has no business or apparent lawful purpose, or is not the sort in which the customer would normally be expected to engage1. The scenario described in the question meets these criteria, as the small deposits and withdrawals from a high-risk country could indicate money laundering, terrorist financing, or other illicit activities. The bank should also document its decision to file or not file a SAR, and retain thesupporting documentation for five years1.
The other options are not correct because they either do not comply with the BSA requirements, or do not adequately address the potential risk of the activity. Blocking any further activity could alert the customer of the bank's suspicion, and could also interfere with law enforcement investigations. Initiating an investigation into the activity could be part of the bank's due diligence process, but it does not substitute the obligation to file a SAR if the activity is suspicious. Contacting the customer could also tip off the customer, or elicit false or misleading explanations that could hinder the bank's assessment of the activity.: ACAMS CAMS Certification Study Guide (6th edition), page 82-83. 12345678 [9]

The bank's existing anti-money laundering training is not adequate to be delivered to the employees of the newly acquired credit card business, because anti-money laundering training needs to be tailored and focused on the risks specific to the business. Credit card businesses face different types of money laundering risks than retail banks, suchas card-not-present fraud, identity theft, card skimming, and prepaid card abuse. Therefore, the anti-money laundering training for credit card businesses should cover the specific red flags, indicators, typologies, and mitigation measures related to these risks, as well as the relevant laws and regulations that apply to credit card businesses.
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CAMS Study Guide, 6th Edition, Chapter 4, Section 4.31
CAMS Study Guide, 6th Edition, Chapter 5, Section 5.21
Certification Candidate Handbook, Section 3.22
Latest CAMS Exam Questions, Question 433