Anti-Financial Fraud and Financial
Crime Investigation
Level:
Intermediate (One Week, 25 Hours)
Introduction
Public and private organizations face growing losses due to fraud and
financial crime. The 2026 report of the Association of Certified Fraud
Examiners (ACFE) estimates that organizations lose
approximately 5% of their revenue each year to fraud, based on an analysis of
2,402 cases in 143 countries; that fraud typically continues for 12 months
before it is detected; and that 43% of cases were detected through tips. On a
broader scale, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
estimates that the amount of money laundered each year is equivalent to between
2% and 5% of global gross domestic product, while Chainalysis estimates reveal that illicit
cryptocurrency addresses received at least USD 154 billion in 2025, an increase
of 162% over the previous year.
Countering these crimes requires professionals capable of preventing
fraud, detecting it early, and investigating it using methods that preserve
evidence and withstand judicial scrutiny, while keeping pace with emerging
digital patterns. This course therefore combines the methodologies of the
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Financial Action Task Force
(FATF) recommendations on anti-money laundering, and data analytics and artificial
intelligence tools, and applies them to the realities of banks and financial
institutions, oversight and integrity bodies, security and judicial agencies,
and government entities.
Target Audience
•
Compliance, anti-money laundering,
and anti-fraud staff at banks, insurance companies, exchange houses, and
fintech companies.
•
Auditors and investigators at
oversight bodies, anti-corruption authorities, and audit bureaus.
•
Police officers and investigators,
public prosecution staff, and financial intelligence units.
•
Internal audit, finance, and
procurement staff at ministries and public institutions.
•
Risk management and legal affairs
officers.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
•
Classify fraud schemes according
to the Occupational Fraud Tree, identify at least ten risk indicators in their
sector, and prepare a fraud risk register for one department or process, by the
end of Day 1.
•
Explain the stages of money
laundering and the requirements of the FATF recommendations, apply due
diligence procedures, analyze a suspicious transaction case, and draft a report
on it, by the end of Day 2.
•
Prepare a comprehensive
investigation plan, apply evidence collection methods and chain of custody,
conduct an investigative interview in a simulation exercise, and trace funds in
a practical case, by the end of Day 3.
•
Identify at least five types of
digital financial crime and their indicators, and apply digital evidence
preservation procedures, by the end of Day 4.
•
Apply at least two data analytics
and artificial intelligence techniques in fraud detection, and prepare a fraud
prevention programme and a fraud response plan and present them in the
comprehensive example, by the end of Day 5.
Course Outline
1st Day: Fraud and Financial Crime and Managing Their Risks
•
The concept of fraud and financial
crime, their types, and their impact on organizations and the economy.
•
The Occupational Fraud Tree:
corruption, asset misappropriation, and financial statement fraud.
•
The fraud triangle and the fraud
diamond, and the behavioural red flags of fraudsters.
•
Fraud schemes by sector: banking
and credit fraud, government procurement and contract fraud, and payroll and
ghost employee fraud.
•
Fraud risk assessment and building
the risk register.
•
Practical exercise: preparing a
fraud risk register for one of the processes in the participant’s organization.
2nd Day: Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing
in Accordance with the FATF Recommendations
•
The stages of money laundering:
placement, layering, and integration.
•
The Financial Action Task Force
(FATF) recommendations and the risk-based approach.
•
Customer due diligence and
enhanced due diligence, politically exposed persons, and beneficial ownership.
•
Trade-based money laundering and
its patterns in the region.
•
Suspicious transaction reporting,
the role of financial intelligence units, and the Middle East and North Africa
Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF).
•
Case study: analyzing a chain of
suspicious transactions and drafting a report on it.
3rd Day: Financial Crime Investigation Methodology
•
Predication for opening an
investigation, planning it, and forming the investigation team.
•
Collecting and examining
documentary evidence, and chain of custody to ensure judicial admissibility.
•
Investigative interviews:
information-gathering interviews and admission-seeking interviews, and
indicators of truthfulness and deception.
•
Tracing funds and applying the net
worth method and the sources and uses of funds method.
•
Writing the investigation report
and coordinating with law enforcement agencies and the public prosecution.
•
Role-play: simulating an
investigative interview with a suspect and a witness.
4th Day: Digital Financial Crime
•
Cyber fraud: phishing, business
email compromise, and account takeover.
•
Social engineering and
deepfake-enabled fraud.
•
Cryptocurrencies and how they are
used in money laundering, and the principles of blockchain analysis.
•
Digital evidence: collecting,
preserving, and documenting it in accordance with forensic standards.
•
International cooperation in
tracing digital financial crime and asset recovery.
•
Case study: analyzing a
cross-border digital fraud crime.
5th Day: Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, and Fraud
Prevention Programmes
•
Data analytics in fraud detection:
Benford’s Law, anomaly detection, and data matching.
•
Applications of artificial
intelligence in transaction monitoring and reducing false positives.
•
Controls on the use of artificial
intelligence in investigations: explainability, data protection, and
professional judgment.
•
The fraud prevention programme:
internal controls, reporting systems and whistleblower protection, and the
fraud response plan.
•
The four knowledge domains of the
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) credential and the path to qualifying for it.
•
Comprehensive example: presenting
a fraud prevention programme and a fraud response plan for the participants’
organization.
Why The Only Solution for Training and Consulting?
•
Training and consulting experience
with government, military, and security entities and financial institutions in
the Arab Gulf states and the Arab world.
•
Content aligned with the four
knowledge domains of the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) credential and the
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations.
•
The option to design and customize the programme according to the
organization’s sector and the legislation in force in its country.
•
Certificates of attendance
for each participant from The Only Solution for Training and Consulting and
from Cambridge Training College Britain.
Outcomes
•
A comprehensive understanding of
fraud and financial crime schemes and their indicators in the banking, government,
and oversight sectors.
•
A fraud risk register applicable
within the organization.
•
The ability to apply due diligence
procedures and to analyze and report suspicious transactions.
•
A template for the investigation
plan and report, and practical skills in investigative interviews and tracing
funds.
•
Applied knowledge of digital
financial crime and digital evidence preservation procedures.
•
A fraud prevention programme and a
fraud response plan.
•
Course completion certificates.