Pass the ACAMS AML Certifications CCAS Questions and answers with CertsForce

Sharing of the same IP address by multiple customers during onboarding can indicate potential fraud, identity manipulation, or collusion, and should be flagged for further investigation. This can be a sign of synthetic identities or multiple accounts controlled by the same person.

Receipt of law enforcement requests (A) usually occurs post-onboarding, while the location (B) or use of foreign IDs (C) is not inherently suspicious.

Arestricted blockchainis one where participation—either in transaction validation, data access, or both—is limited to selected entities rather than being open to the public.

Consortium blockchain (D)is a common type of restricted blockchain in which multiple pre-approved organizations collectively manage the network. It offers partial decentralization but with controlled membership, making it suitable for regulated environments such as financial services, supply chain tracking, and interbank settlements.

Other options explained:

Hybrid (A):Combines elements of public and private chains, but not necessarily “restricted” in the strict governance sense.

Public (B):Open to anyone to join, read, and write data; not restricted.

Private (C):While private blockchains are also restricted, in AML/CFT guidance, “restricted blockchain” generally refers to consortium arrangements involving multiple vetted participants, rather than a single organization’s closed chain.

Regulatory and technical literature in DIFC/ADGM contexts note thatconsortium blockchainsallow for compliance controls, participant vetting, and transaction monitoring—making them particularly suitable for financial ecosystems where controlled access is essential.

Anonymity red flags in crypto include the use of:

Decentralized or hardware wallets (A): These wallets are often unhosted and can facilitate anonymous transfers across borders, complicating AML controls.

Mixing services (B): These obscure transaction trails by blending multiple users’ funds, enhancing anonymity and increasing ML risk.

Privacy-oriented email services (C), fraudulent scheme-linked assets (D), and unusual sign-on activity (E) are also risk indicators but not specifically tied to anonymity in cryptoasset transactions.

AML guidance and thematic reviews emphasize A and B as key anonymity-related red flags.

Mixing and tumbling services are used to obscure the origin of funds by blending multiple transactions, resulting in unknown or disguised sources of funds. This is a classic money laundering technique.

Rapid trades (B), IP address obfuscation (C), and transactions to high-risk jurisdictions (D) are separate or related risks but not direct indicators of mixing/tumbling.

Privacy coins like Monero use cryptographic features to obscure transaction details, increasing AML risk and regulatory scrutiny.

Monero is a privacy-focused blockchain designed with built-in features like ring signatures, stealth addresses, and confidential transactions to obfuscate sender, receiver, and transaction amounts, making tracing difficult.

Cardano, Polygon, and Ethereum are not designed primarily with these privacy features and have publicly traceable ledgers, although privacy solutions may be layered on.

Enhanced international cooperation in VA crime investigations is most effective when jurisdictions designate and empower Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) that can share intelligence, coordinate cross-border investigations, and liaise with counterparts internationally.

While FATF membership (A) facilitates cooperation, the operational hub for investigations is the FIU. Establishing new agencies (B) or smart contracts for sharing (C) are not established or effective methods.

DFSA guidance and FATF recommendations stress the central role of FIUs in enhancing cooperation and intelligence sharing for AML/CFT, including virtual assets.

Stablecoins aim to maintain value stability by pegging to assets like fiat currency or commodities. Regulators stress monitoring stablecoin reserve transparency to prevent misuse for layering illicit funds.

Blockchain’s transparent ledger enables investigators to trace transaction histories indefinitely, aiding ML/TF detection.

Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies secured by cryptography, operating independently from any central bank or government. Blockchain is the underlying distributed ledger technology supporting cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain are not the same (B). Digital assets can exist off-blockchain (C), such as tokenized assets on centralized databases. While cryptocurrencies can be used as payment, blockchain itself is a technology, not a payment method (D).