KYC/AML specialist

Knowledge and Skills Development in:

• AML/CFT/CPF requirements and their effective implementation.
• Conducting Know Your Customer (KYC) and customer due diligence processes;
• Sanctions risk management.
• Establishing internal control systems to ensure regulatory compliance and effective risk management within an organization.

• Accountants, auditors, real estate agents and brokers, as well as other entities subject to AML/CFT/CPF regulations.
• Business owners and company executives.
• Employees working with crypto-assets and accepting payments in crypto-assets.
• Companies operating in connection with high-risk sanctioned countries, goods, or services.
• Anyone interested in the field and looking to acquire a new and promising professional qualification.

• Assess and properly identify their organization’s AML/CFT/CPF risks.
• Navigate financial sanctions and crypto-asset regulations.
• Prevent company involvement in various criminal schemes.
• Communicate key AML/CFT/CPF and sanctions compliance information to senior management and employees.
• Identify shell entities and determine the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of companies.
• Develop and implement an AML/CFT/CPF internal control system.

There are no specific prerequisites.

Training materials and practical examples prepared by BDA.

Not intended.

Module 1: Introduction to the Profession. Objectives and Responsibilities of a KYC/AML Specialist

• What does a KYC/AML Specialist do?
• Key competencies and responsibilities of a KYC/AML Officer.
• Who can serve as an AML/CFT/CPF Specialist within a company?
• Where can this profession be studied today?
• Terms and key concepts required for AML/CFT professionals.
• Information-sharing principles in the AML/CFT field.
• Internal systems and controls for identifying, monitoring, and reporting suspicious transactions to competent authorities.
• Who supervises the work of an AML/CFT/CPF Specialist? Are there risks of abuse or misconduct within the profession

Module 2: Regulatory Framework and Legal Aspects for KYC/AML Specialists

• International standards for the prevention of money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing.
• Legal framework and regulatory requirements in Latvia.
• Purpose, scope, and application of the AML/CFT/CPF Law.
• Key organizations in Latvia responsible for anti-money laundering supervision and enforcement.
• Which institutions should an AML/KYC Officer communicate with, and on what matters?
• Forms of supervision and types of inspections in the AML field in Latvia.
• Liability of AML Specialists for violations of legislation.
• Consequences of failing to conduct customer due diligence and ensure compliance with AML/CFT regulations.

Module 3: Risk Management. KYC Program. Identification, Investigation, and Reporting of Suspicious Transactions

• Who are high-risk customers?
• When and how should suspicious transactions be reported?
• Requirements for identifying customers, customer representatives, and determining ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs).
• Customer identification process for natural persons: required documents and customer information.
• Customer identification process for legal entities: required documents, company details, and information.
• Beneficial owner of a payment account.
• Procedures and specific requirements for submitting information on beneficial owners and payment accounts.
• Procedures for identifying transactions subject to mandatory monitoring.
• Criteria and indicators of suspicious transactions.
• Submission of threshold declarations/reports.
• Economic crime schemes and money laundering typologies.
• Common AML/KYC red flags for compliance officers.
• Actions to be taken by an AML/KYC Officer when suspicions arise or a money laundering and/or terrorism financing scheme is identified

Module 4: Financial Sanctions

• Who is required to comply with sanctions?
• When and to whom are sanctions applied?
• International sanctions and sanctions regimes.
• EU Consolidated Sanctions List.
• United Nations sanctions.
• Sanctions imposed by individual countries.
• Sectoral sanctions.
• Comprehensive sanctions.
• Objectives of sanctions.
• Types and forms of sanctions.
• Criteria used to assess the applicability of sanctions.
• Reporting obligations and legal liability.
• When does the obligation to report arise?
• Sanctions as part of a company’s risk management framework.
• How to screen and verify sanctions lists.

Module 5: Practical Workshop on Investigating Risk Indicators

• What is risk, and where and how can it arise?
• Main AML and compliance risk categories.
• Causes and types of risk indicators (internal, external, and systemic).
• Stages of a risk investigation.
• Communication with customers and colleagues during an investigation.
• Continuing cooperation with a customer or terminating the business relationship.
• Reporting outcomes to management, customers, and regulatory authorities.
• Retention of investigation results and their future use.

Module 6: Practical Development of an Internal Control System (ICS) for Legal Entities and Maintenance of an AML Compliance Program

• Regulatory requirements and the importance of the Internal Control System (ICS) control environment.
• Key roles within the AML compliance framework: Internal Auditor, AML Officer, Responsible Person, Contact Person, and KYC Specialist.
• Organizing document workflows for effective management of the control environment.
• Risk identification and management within a legal entity’s control framework.
• Methods for identifying control points within organizational procedures.
• Cooperation between legal and compliance functions and the responsibilities of company management.
• Monitoring all ICS control environment processes and organizing investigations.
• Use of information and documentation within the internal control framework.
• Development of work plans and an ICS compliance calendar.
• Process formalization and regulation of the legal entity’s internal control environment.
• Employee involvement and related responsibilities within the organization’s compliance methodology.
• Oversight of audit and internal review documentation, assessments, and action plans.

Module 7: Personal Data Protection in the AML Process

• Ensuring confidentiality and protection of information during storage and processing.
• Requirements for documenting, recording, and retaining information.
• When is the processing of personal data unlawful?
• Differences between the collection, processing, and storage of personal data under AML regulations.
• Which categories of data may not be processed?
• Rights of individuals whose personal data is being processed.
• What constitutes a data breach, and what are the consequences?
• Data protection requirements: technical and organizational measures.
• What should be done if individual rights are violated?
• Who supervises compliance with data protection regulations, and where should violations be reported?
• Penalties for breaches related to the processing and use of personal data.
• Digital archiving of customer and business partner data.

Module 8: Development of Core AML/CFT/CPF Documentation

• Examples of good and poor compliance practices.
• Recommendations for preparing AML compliance documentation.
• Risk assessment methodologies.
• Identification of areas with lower and higher money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing risks.
• Risk appetite and risk tolerance.
• Risk management models and frameworks.
• Rules and principles for drafting procedures.
• Internal control policies and procedures

Module 9: Cryptocurrencies in 2026 – New Regulatory Developments

• Virtual currencies and digital assets.
• Types and classifications of crypto-assets.
• Legal status of cryptocurrencies.
• Differences between cryptocurrencies, legal tender, and electronic money.
• Cryptocurrency exchange and adoption globally and within the European Union.
• Use of cryptocurrencies in criminal activities: challenges and countermeasures.
• Challenges in investigating crimes involving cryptocurrencies.
• Criminological risks associated with cryptocurrency transactions.
• Accessing and utilizing cryptocurrency transaction data for crime detection and investigation.
• How money laundering is conducted using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
• Recent EU legislative developments related to crypto-assets and investment licensing.
• MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation): new rules for the EU crypto market.
• How MiCA, TFR (Transfer of Funds Regulation), and AMLR (Anti-Money Laundering Regulation) will impact crypto-asset regulation in the EU.
• Implications of MiCA for cryptocurrency businesses operating outside the European Union.
• Investor protection under MiCA.
• MiCA requirements for crypto-asset issuers.
• MiCA requirements for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs).
• MiCA requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges.

Module 10: Practical Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in KYC/AML and Compliance

• Principles of AI applications in KYC/AML and compliance functions.
• Tools and techniques for automated data collection from open and closed sources, including social media platforms and official registries.
• Overview of software solutions used for scanning and verifying the authenticity of identity documents, passports, and other official records.
• Tools for automated screening of individuals against Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) and sanctions lists.
• Use of AI to detect unusual behavioural patterns and suspicious transactions that may indicate money laundering activities.
• Tools for customer and business partner risk assessment.
• Biometric verification and behavioural analytics.
• Regulatory compliance considerations for AI use in data protection and confidentiality.
• Analysis of real-world case studies demonstrating successful implementation of AI in KYC/AML and compliance processes.