ACAMS Practice Exam UPDATED
ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS
2001 - CORRECT ANSWER The USA PATRIOT Act was passed in:
Integration, Layering, Placement - CORRECT ANSWER The three stages of money
laundering are:
D - CORRECT ANSWER Which of the following would be satisfactory elements of an Anti-
Money Laundering Program?
I - ACAMS certified employee in the Investigations Unit writes up a few policies and procedures and
posts them on the department bulletin board.
II - Shortly after attaining their CAMS certification, the individual provides AML training to the
Investigations Unit.
III - The CAMS certified individual routinely reviews the work of the Investigations Unit.
IV - The CAMS certified individual assumes the responsibility of a compliance watchdog.
A) All of the above would be satisfactory
B) II and IV would be satisfactory
C) I and III would be satisfactory
D) None of the above would be satisfactory
,The correct answer would be "D - None of the above would be satisfactory."
I - The AML program must be approved by the Board of Directors.
II - An AML training program is required of all personnel (and contractors).
III - The review of the bank's Financial Intelligence Department, as part of the audit of the AML
program, must be performed by an independent (and knowledgeable) party.
IV - The Compliance Officer must be appointed by the Board of Directors (or upper management with
the Board's approval).
D - CORRECT ANSWER In determining what risks a customer poses, which consideration
should NOT be a major factor?
,A) Where the customer resides or where the business is headquartered.
B) What is the size of your financial institution.
C) What occupation or type of business does the customer derive their income from.
D) What are the customer's ethnic heritage, sexual orientation and political beliefs.
, The correct answer would be "D." The customer's ethnic heritage, sexual orientation and political
beliefs are more discriminatory factors, and while they may help frame the context of certain
transactions, they should not be a major factor in assessing risk.
The size of your financial institution is a critical element in determining the level of sensitivity to risks
for certain customers.
Analysis questions require one to synthesize information, arrive at solutions and/or evaluate the
usefulness of solutions. One needs to distinguish between facts and assumptions and to put various
knowledge parts together to form a new knowledge component or solution to a problem. While this is
also an important part of being a professional, it comprises only about 23% of the exam.
Purchasing structured money instruments - CORRECT ANSWER Which of the following is
the most common method of laundering money through a legal money services business?
BCD - CORRECT ANSWER Which three of the following is an indication of possible money
laundering in an insurance industry scenario?
A. Insurance products sold through intermediaries, agents or brokers.
B. Single-premium insurance bonds, redeemed at a discount.
C. Policyholders who are unconcerned about penalties for early cancellation.
D. Policyholders who make full use of the "free look" period.
ACD - CORRECT ANSWER A new customer approaches a bank to open a commercial
account. The customer provides an address for the account located across the city from the branch.
When asked by the account representative if the customer requires any additional banking services,
the customer responds she is also interested in opening a personal investment account. The account
representative refers the customer to their broker-dealer. The customer tells the rm representative she
has never had a brokerage account before and has a few questions about how an investment account
works. The customer asks how deposits can be made into her account, if there are any reporting
requirements, and how to go about moving balances out of the account using wire transfers. No
questions are asked about fees associated with these transactions. Which three items would be
considered suspicious?
A. The customer asks many questions about the brokerage account, but none of them are related to
investing.
B. The customer is opening a commercial account and at the same time a personal investment
account.
ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS
2001 - CORRECT ANSWER The USA PATRIOT Act was passed in:
Integration, Layering, Placement - CORRECT ANSWER The three stages of money
laundering are:
D - CORRECT ANSWER Which of the following would be satisfactory elements of an Anti-
Money Laundering Program?
I - ACAMS certified employee in the Investigations Unit writes up a few policies and procedures and
posts them on the department bulletin board.
II - Shortly after attaining their CAMS certification, the individual provides AML training to the
Investigations Unit.
III - The CAMS certified individual routinely reviews the work of the Investigations Unit.
IV - The CAMS certified individual assumes the responsibility of a compliance watchdog.
A) All of the above would be satisfactory
B) II and IV would be satisfactory
C) I and III would be satisfactory
D) None of the above would be satisfactory
,The correct answer would be "D - None of the above would be satisfactory."
I - The AML program must be approved by the Board of Directors.
II - An AML training program is required of all personnel (and contractors).
III - The review of the bank's Financial Intelligence Department, as part of the audit of the AML
program, must be performed by an independent (and knowledgeable) party.
IV - The Compliance Officer must be appointed by the Board of Directors (or upper management with
the Board's approval).
D - CORRECT ANSWER In determining what risks a customer poses, which consideration
should NOT be a major factor?
,A) Where the customer resides or where the business is headquartered.
B) What is the size of your financial institution.
C) What occupation or type of business does the customer derive their income from.
D) What are the customer's ethnic heritage, sexual orientation and political beliefs.
, The correct answer would be "D." The customer's ethnic heritage, sexual orientation and political
beliefs are more discriminatory factors, and while they may help frame the context of certain
transactions, they should not be a major factor in assessing risk.
The size of your financial institution is a critical element in determining the level of sensitivity to risks
for certain customers.
Analysis questions require one to synthesize information, arrive at solutions and/or evaluate the
usefulness of solutions. One needs to distinguish between facts and assumptions and to put various
knowledge parts together to form a new knowledge component or solution to a problem. While this is
also an important part of being a professional, it comprises only about 23% of the exam.
Purchasing structured money instruments - CORRECT ANSWER Which of the following is
the most common method of laundering money through a legal money services business?
BCD - CORRECT ANSWER Which three of the following is an indication of possible money
laundering in an insurance industry scenario?
A. Insurance products sold through intermediaries, agents or brokers.
B. Single-premium insurance bonds, redeemed at a discount.
C. Policyholders who are unconcerned about penalties for early cancellation.
D. Policyholders who make full use of the "free look" period.
ACD - CORRECT ANSWER A new customer approaches a bank to open a commercial
account. The customer provides an address for the account located across the city from the branch.
When asked by the account representative if the customer requires any additional banking services,
the customer responds she is also interested in opening a personal investment account. The account
representative refers the customer to their broker-dealer. The customer tells the rm representative she
has never had a brokerage account before and has a few questions about how an investment account
works. The customer asks how deposits can be made into her account, if there are any reporting
requirements, and how to go about moving balances out of the account using wire transfers. No
questions are asked about fees associated with these transactions. Which three items would be
considered suspicious?
A. The customer asks many questions about the brokerage account, but none of them are related to
investing.
B. The customer is opening a commercial account and at the same time a personal investment
account.
