KPMG Survey: Banks accept more costly money‐laundering laws, expect heightened cooperation with regulators

Recent U.S. government estimates suggest that $500 billion to $1 trillion is laundered annually worldwide by drug dealers, arms traffickers, and other criminals. Banks, as gatekeepers for the legitimate financial system, play a crucial role in the prevention, detection, and reporting of money laundering. It is only their vigilance that can protect the financial system from providing organized criminals or terrorists with a mechanism for concealing the proceeds of illicit and corrupt activity. The past few years have seen a fundamental change in the legal and regulatory environment relating to anti‐money‐laundering efforts by governments and financial institutions around the world. Driven by a growing political determination to strike against drug traffickers, participants in organized crime, and terrorists, there have been a series of concerted national and international AML initiatives.