Spatial Analysis
Each Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) monitoring program should consider risk rating the customer base, product groups, and account activity for money laundering and terrorist financing. Risk-based approaches can make financial institutions’ AML/CTF monitoring programs more effective. However, corporate/organizational structures and complex transaction events, particularly international transactions, make it difficult to understand when and where the vulnerabilities and high risk business areas exist.
Booz Allen Hamilton uses Spatial Analysis to answer the AML/CTF questions of when and where. This set of visual techniques presents data by relationships, patterns or other alignments geographically. When used in combination with Link Analysis or Social Network Analysis, Spatial Analysis graphically links events together in the order of their occurrence, or some other relevant order.
Booz Allen has developed an innovative technique for representing the ‘geographic footprint’ of dispersed, complex financial networks. Our process begins with a line graph transformation that distills the geospatial information from financial data. Then, using a network analysis technique called block modeling, the financial data is aggregated by geospatial locations. After which, the relationships between these locations can be analyzed based on the geographic data.
Financial institutions can take advantage of Spatial Analysis for their AML/CTF compliance programs in the following ways:
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Identify neighborhoods and regions typically associated with individuals submitting high-risk transactions
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Reveal SAR filings by location and time to visualize changing risk profile
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Help sort through corporate /organizational structures or complex transaction events, particularly international transactions
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Identify weaknesses in compliance programs and graphically display vulnerabilities/high risk business areas
Booz Allen’s Advanced Analytics service offering combines the industry knowledge and analysis experience of our staff with the technical capabilities of spatial analytics and network analysis software tools, allowing clients to perform comprehensive data analysis activities in just a few weeks. Booz Allen works closely with each client to develop the right solution, translating expertise into even more powerful, tailored analytic tools and techniques that produce definitive results for the client.
