Certified Trade-Based Financial Crime Prevention Professional
A specialist qualification covering trade-based money laundering and financial crime risks involving documentation, pricing, shipping, goods, counterparties and payment structures.
What This Certification Covers
The Certified Trade-Based Financial Crime Prevention Professional certification equips professionals with the specialised knowledge and skills needed to identify, assess and mitigate the risks of trade-based money laundering (TBML), terrorist and proliferation financing through trade, and sanctions evasion within banks, trade finance units, customs authorities and regulatory bodies.
The certification develops participants' ability to analyse trade documents and trade finance transactions, detect invoice, price and quantity manipulation, trace the movement of goods and shipping, and screen parties, vessels and dual-use goods. It emphasises practical application and case studies, compliance with international regulatory requirements, and the use of modern technologies and data analytics to detect and report suspicious activity.
Like every ACS credential, the TFCP is awarded only after a formal assessment of defined qualification outcomes — evaluating understanding, application and professional judgement, not attendance alone.
What You Will Be Able to Do
- Understand the nature of trade-based financial crime and the related international standards and regulatory requirements
- Analyse trade finance instruments and trade documents and identify vulnerabilities open to abuse
- Detect indicators of invoice, price and quantity manipulation and trade-based money laundering typologies
- Apply sanctions screening, dual-use goods controls and maritime shipping risk procedures
- Design risk-based control programmes for trade finance and open account transactions
- Investigate, escalate and report suspicious cases in coordination with competent authorities
The TFCP Programme in 8 Modules
01Trade-Based Financial Crime and the Regulatory Environment5 topics
- The concept, scale and global trends of trade-based financial crime
- FATF Recommendations and reports on trade-based money laundering
- Wolfsberg Group and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) trade finance guidance
- The roles of banks, customs and financial intelligence units in the prevention framework
- Supervisory and enforcement trends and lessons learned from international cases
02Trade Finance and Trade Documentation Fundamentals6 topics
- The international trade cycle, its parties and its financial and physical flows
- Letters of credit, documentary collections and letters of guarantee
- Open account trade and its growing risks
- Key trade documents: invoice, bill of lading, certificate of origin and packing list
- International Commercial Terms (Incoterms) and their impact on risk assessment
- Vulnerabilities in the trade chain open to criminal abuse
03Trade-Based Money Laundering Methods and Typologies6 topics
- Over-invoicing and under-invoicing
- Multiple invoicing of a single shipment and misrepresentation of quantity and quality
- Phantom shipments and shell companies
- The Black Market Peso Exchange and informal value transfer (hawala) systems
- Professional money laundering networks and abuse of free trade zones
- Emerging typologies in e-commerce, services and intangible goods
04International Sanctions and Export Controls5 topics
- International sanctions regimes (UN, OFAC, EU, UK)
- Dual-use goods and export control regimes
- Proliferation financing risks through trade
- Sanctions evasion techniques and transshipment through intermediary countries
- Screening of parties, ports and countries, and ownership and control requirements
05Maritime Shipping and Logistics Risks6 topics
- The structure of the maritime shipping industry and its parties
- Screening vessels, their owners, operators and flags
- Automatic Identification System (AIS) manipulation and dark activity
- Ship-to-ship (STS) transfers and flag hopping
- Verifying shipping routes and their commercial rationale
- Using vessel and container tracking tools in due diligence
06Due Diligence and Controls in Trade Finance6 topics
- Customer and counterparty due diligence in trade transactions
- Assessing customer, product, goods and country risks
- Red flags in trade transactions and documents
- Verifying prices and their reasonableness against market prices
- Designing risk-based controls for trade finance and open account trade
- Training, awareness and allocation of responsibilities across the lines of defence
07Investigating and Reporting Trade-Based Financial Crime6 topics
- Methodologies for investigating suspicious trade transactions
- Analysing documents and tracing both funds and goods
- Using open-source intelligence (OSINT) and trade databases
- Preparing suspicious transaction reports (STR/SAR) in trade cases
- Cooperation among banks, customs, regulators and law enforcement
- Case studies of international trade-based money laundering cases
08Technology and Data Analytics in Combating Trade-Based Crime6 topics
- Trade digitisation and electronic documents and their impact on risk
- Using trade and pricing data to detect manipulation
- Automation and machine reading of documents in screening processes
- Applying artificial intelligence and network analysis to detect suspicious patterns
- Blockchain technology in trade finance and enhancing transparency
- The future of integrated compliance systems in trade finance
Built for These Roles
- Trade finance and documentary operations staff in banks
- Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) specialists
- Compliance and international sanctions officers
- Financial crime investigators and analysts
- Corporate relationship and trade finance managers
- Customs officers and government bodies responsible for trade and export controls
- Professionals in shipping, logistics and marine insurance companies
- Staff of financial intelligence units, regulators and law enforcement agencies
- Internal auditors, risk managers and compliance consultants
How the TFCP Is Assessed
- 01
The exam is administered through an accredited testing centre
- 02
The computer-based exam consists of 100 multiple-choice questions
- 03
Passing score: 70%
- 04
Exam duration: 3 hours
Unless otherwise stated, candidates must achieve a minimum assessment score of 70%. Full entry requirements and the certification process are listed on the Certifications.
Start the TFCP Certification
Registration opens on a rolling basis through ACS or an authorised ACS centre. Reach out and our team will walk you through eligibility, registration and assessment windows.
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