Mastering Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML)

Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML) is one of the most complex, under-detected, and widely exploited channels used by criminals to move illicit funds across borders. With global trade volumes exceeding trillions of dollars each year, financial institutions, fintechs, regulators, and customs authorities face increasing pressure to detect suspicious patterns hidden within legitimate trade flows.

This course offers a deep, practical, and structured understanding of TBML — walking you through the techniques criminals use, the red flags to watch for, and the investigative tools available to compliance professionals.

Designed for AML analysts, compliance officers, financial crime investigators, trade finance professionals, startup compliance teams, regulators, auditors, and anyone working in cross-border trade or payments, this course provides you with the skills needed to identify, analyze, and mitigate TBML risks.

What you will learn:

• What Trade-Based Money Laundering is and why it is considered one of the hardest laundering methods to detect

• Key TBML typologies such as over-invoicing, under-invoicing, phantom shipments, misclassification of goods, multiple invoicing, sham documentation

• How criminals exploit free-trade zones, third-party intermediaries, shell companies, and commodity trading

• Red flags, risk indicators, and detection techniques used in global institutions

• How banks, fintechs, and trade finance departments identify and report TBML

• How to assess, investigate, and escalate TBML suspicions

• Global standards including FATF, Egmont Group typologies, and Wolfsberg TBML principles

• Case studies from major enforcement actions (HSBC, Standard Chartered, BMPE, Dubai gold case, etc.)

• Practical strategies for strengthening internal controls and designing an effective TBML risk management framework

Whether you're just starting out or looking to strengthen your expertise, this course gives you the clarity, confidence, and analytical edge needed to detect criminal behavior hidden in trade transactions.