About Me

This blog is, obviously, about anti-money laundering, or AML. I've been involved in AML, or financial crimes, or crime prevention, for decades. In the late 1980s I was a Special Constable with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In the mid-1990s I was a prosecutor in a Special Investigations Unit in the Middlesex County (Massachusetts) District Attorney's Office. And I started as a BSA Officer in 1999. 

I "retired" from a major US bank in April 2018 to open my own consulting shop. Free of regulators, HR, a Law Department, and worrying about a paycheck, I've had time to reflect on, and publicly comment on, my career and how the worlds of money laundering and anti-money laundering (note the plural "worlds") have, or haven't changed since the 1980s. 

Over these last five years I've gone from thinking to myself "we can do so much better!" or "let's collaborate on a more effective regime!" to asking myself "what the fuck are we doing?" and "you're fucking kidding yourself if you think that dog will hunt" and "there's only so much lipstick you can put on this pig".

So when I ran across the "wtf" domain, I knew I had to grab an address, build a simple blogging site, and start writing down what I'm really thinking. I'm not going to advertise the site: maybe nobody will visit. Other than me.

But by writing down what I think needs to be written, I'll at least feel better. So if you're reading this ... thank you for being part of the growing, and growing louder, AML-WTF community.

Jim Richards