Method and system for administering money laundering prevention program

1. A computer-implemented method for administering a money laundering prevention program by a financial institution, comprising the steps of:

identifying a plurality of risk factor types, each risk factor type associated with a plurality of risk factors indicating a potential for conducting illicit activities in connection with an account held at the financial institution, wherein the risk factor types comprise at least two of a jurisdiction-based risk factor type, an entity-based risk factor type, or a business type-based risk factor type;

ranking each of the risk factors within each risk factor type in order of importance;

assigning each of the risk factors to one of a plurality of tiers based on the rank of each of the risk factors, wherein each of the tiers represents a level of risk that illicit activities will be conducted in connection with the account;

reviewing information submitted in connection with the account;

determining whether the information implicates any of the risk factors;

identifying a highest level tier to which any of the implicated risk factors is assigned; and

identifying one or more activities to be performed in connection with the account based on the highest level tier identified;

wherein at least one of the identifying, ranking, assigning, reviewing and determining steps is performed by software running on a data processing apparatus.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the account is one of an existing account and a prospective new business account.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more activities comprise at least one of:

(a) requesting identification documentation;

(b) enhanced due diligence; and

(c) surveillance.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the risk factor types comprise each of a jurisdiction-based risk factor type, an entity-based risk factor type, and a business type-based risk factor type.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the risk factors of the jurisdiction-based risk factor type include a plurality of countries, one or more of which is associated with the account.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the risk factors of the entity-based risk factor type include a plurality of legal statuses of an entity, one or more of which is associated with the account.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the risk factors of the business-type based risk factor type include a plurality of areas of business conducted by an entity, one or more of which is associated with the account.

8. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions which, when executed on a computer, configure the computer to perform a method comprising:

identifying a plurality of risk factor types, each risk factor type associated with a plurality of risk factors indicating a potential for conducting illicit activities in connection with an account held at the financial institution, wherein the risk factor types comprise at least two of a jurisdiction-based risk factor type, an entity-based risk factor type, or a business type-based risk factor type;

ranking each of the risk factors within each risk factor type in order of importance;

assigning each of the risk factors to one of a plurality of tiers based on the rank of each of the risk factors, wherein each of the tiers represents a level of risk that illicit activities will be conducted in connection with the account;

reviewing information submitted in connection with the account;

determining whether the information implicates any of the risk factors;

identifying a highest level tier to which any of the implicated risk factors is assigned; and

identifying one or more activities to be performed in connection with the account based on the highest level tier identified.

9. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the account is one of an existing account and a prospective new business account.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the one or more activities comprise at least one of:

(a) requesting identification documentation;

(b) enhanced due diligence; and

(c) surveillance.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the risk factor types comprise each of a jurisdiction-based risk factor type, an entity-based risk factor type, and a business type-based risk factor type.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the risk factors of the jurisdiction-based risk factor type include a plurality of countries, one or more of which is associated with the account.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the risk factors of the entity-based risk factor type include a plurality of legal statuses of an entity, one or more of which is associated with the account.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the risk factors of the business-type based risk factor type include a plurality of areas of business conducted by an entity, one or more of which is associated with the account.

15. A system for administering a money laundering prevention program by a financial institution, comprising:

an interface component for receiving account data from a user pertaining to an account held at the financial institution;

a database for storing the account data; and

one or more processors operable for identifying configured to:

identify a plurality of risk factor types, each risk factor type associated with a plurality of risk factors indicating a potential for conducting illicit activities in connection with the account, wherein the risk factor types comprise at least two of a jurisdiction-based risk factor type, an entity-based risk factor type, or a business type-based risk factor type,

rank each of the risk factors within each risk factor type in order of importance,

assign each of the risk factors to one of a plurality of tiers based on the rank of each of the risk factors,

review information submitted in connection with the account,

determine whether the information implicates any of the risk factors,

identify a highest level tier to which any of the implicated risk factors is assigned, and

identify one or more activities to be performed in connection with the account based on the highest level tier indicated, wherein each of the tiers represents a level of risk that illicit activities will be conducted in connection with the account.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein, the account is one of an existing account and a prospective new business account.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more activities comprise at least one of:

(a) requesting identification documentation;

(b) enhanced due diligence; and

(c) surveillance.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the risk factor types comprise each of a jurisdiction-based risk factor type, an entity-based risk factor type, and a business type-based risk factor type.

19. The system of claim 15 , wherein the risk factors of the jurisdiction-based risk factor type include a plurality of countries, one or more of which is associated with the account.

20. The system of claim 15 , wherein the risk factors of the entity-based risk factor type include a plurality of legal statuses of an entity, one or more of which is associated with the account.

21. The system of claim 15 , wherein the risk factors of the business-type based risk factor type include a plurality of areas of business conducted by an entity, one or more of which is associated with the account.