Massive frauds, sophisticated money-laundering, opaque networks... And always the same refrain: "it's impossible to eradicate." But what if we stopped confusing complexity with inevitability? If these phenomena persist, it's less because they are invincible... than because the responses lack method, tools and audacity.
For years, fraud and money laundering have proliferated in the world's economic circuits. And with every scandal, the same impression recurs: it's all inevitable. A dangerous illusion.
Behind this resignation lie faulty control systems, outdated technologies and fragmented international coordination. Criminals move fast. Too fast. And companies often lag behind, lacking the appropriate resources or a clear strategy.
Yet solutions do exist. Compliance, AML-CFT, KYC, RegTech tools... When properly integrated, these levers enable us to regain control, detect earlier, act more accurately.
So no, fraud and money laundering are not inevitable. But you have to prove it... Let's decipher!
Fraud and money laundering: what are the differences, what are the complementarities?
They're often confused, but fraud and money laundering are two distinct realities... and often linked.
Fraud refers to the initial act of falsifying, deceiving or misappropriating. It can take a thousand forms: false invoicing, identity theft, embezzlement, tax or social security fraud, etc. The aim? To obtain an illegal advantage - quickly and discreetly.
Money laundering comes later. This is the process of reinjecting funds of criminal origin into legal economic channels. It is characterized by three phases:
- Placement (introduction of funds into the system)
- Stacking (multiplication of transactions to confuse the issue)
- Integration (recovery of "cleaned" funds)
And it doesn't stay theoretical. In 2023, Europol revealed acriminal networkthat had laundered over 180 million euros through a cascade of fictitious bank accounts, shell companies and crypto assets. Fraud feeds, money laundering recycles.
Why do these phenomena persist?
If fraud and money laundering continue to proliferate, it's not because they're undetectable. It's because the anti-fraud ecosystem is not yet up to the task.
Firstly, the growing complexity of criminal networks: transnational, well-structured, they exploit grey areas in the law, technological loopholes and complacent jurisdictions. With the help of technologies such as crypto mixers, deepfakes and generative AI, they blur the lines at a speed that regulators can't always keep up with.
Many companies still rely on aging internal tools or cobbled-together Excel spreadsheets, where automated, interconnected and traceable warning systems are needed.
Finally, there is a glaring lack of international coordination. Despite standards such as those of the FATF, reporting, information exchange and sanction regimes remain heterogeneous. And criminals take advantage of this.
Is it inevitable? The role of compliance and AML-CFT
Fortunately, all is not lost. Companies do have powerful tools at their disposal to put up barriers.
Compliance first: by defining clear internal policies, alert levels and vigilance thresholds, it creates a solid operational framework.
Combined with risk mapping and due diligence procedures, it helps identify sensitive areas: high-risk sectors, dubious customers, unusual transactions, etc.
The AML-CFT completes this system with structuring regulatory obligations:
- Flow monitoring
- Reporting suspicious transactions
- Team training
- Reporting to authorities (such as Tracfin)
And at the heart of this strategy is KYC (Know Your Customer). Properly implemented, KYC is more than just an identity check: it becomes a tool for knowledge, anticipation and control.
In other words, fraud is not something you just sit back and watch; it's something you detect upstream.
There are solutions
This is whereAP Solutions IO comes into its own.
Specializing in RegTech applied to AML-CFT, the company develops tailor-made tools to help organizations break out of their defensive reflex, and adopt a proactive, controlled posture in the face of risk.
With a business-oriented approach, our solutions are designed to integrate naturally with internal processes, while easing the burden on compliance teams.
Here are two concrete solutions that illustrate this effectiveness in the field:
AP Scan
This tool is designed to identify at-risk profiles: politically exposed people, sanctioned individuals, sensitive structures... Thanks to an up-to-date database and an intuitive interface, AP Scan triggers targeted alerts and helps prioritize checks.
The result: less noise, more relevance and, above all, documented, traceable decisions.
AP Monitoring
It's the anti-anomaly weapon. AP Monitoring monitors flows in real time, detecting unusual behavior and cross-referencing weak signals. The tool learns, adapts and ensures that analysts no longer miss critical warning signals.
The result: a clear, living, prioritized vision of sensitive operations and a dedicated compliance team that stays one step ahead.
With AP Solutions IO solutions, compliance no longer slows down operations: it becomes part of the flow, securing decisions in real time and enabling teams to focus on what's essential: analyzing, prioritizing and acting.
No, fraud and money laundering are not inevitable
Inefficiency doesn't come from a lack of rules. It comes from a mismatch between the threat... and the means put in place to counter it.
Fraud and money laundering thrive where tools are outdated, where monitoring is manual, where reaction is delayed. But where the strategy is clear, the roles defined, the tools adapted - they retreat.
AP Solutions IO, through its technologies, proves that it is possible to act quickly, accurately and methodically.
What's needed?
Modernize approaches, streamline systems and make compliance a real lever for control.
The inevitable is to change nothing. The solution is already here !
