Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) Workshop & Adverse Media Risk Assessments

Practical SAR Decision-Making Without “Defensive” Reporting

Failure to submit an appropriate SAR can lead to serious regulatory and legal consequences. However, regulators also caution against filing unwarranted “defensive” SARs.

This workshop provides practical guidance on when to file a SAR — and when not to. Delegates learn how to apply an enterprise-wide methodology that separates anomalies from genuine red flags, replaces subjective judgement with objective criteria, and improves escalation consistency across teams.

Delivered by experienced practitioners (not academics), the course uses real-world examples and “war stories” to bring SAR decision-making and adverse media screening to life.

What Makes Compliance Consultant Courses Different

• Delivered by experienced practitioners, not academics

• Real-world case studies and SAR scenarios (highly interactive)

• Built around practical decision frameworks and escalation governance

• Designed for AML/financial crime teams, recruitment screening contexts, and regulated firms

• Consistently rated highly based on delegate feedback and outcomes

Course Objectives

By the end of this workshop, delegates will be able to:

• Establish escalation practices and review/risk committees for consistent decision making

• Determine when to file a SAR and when not to, using objective criteria

• Understand what to include in an internal/local SAR and what good documentation looks like

• Rate suspicious activity in line with institutional standards (including FATF-aligned approaches)

• Identify where suspicious activity arises and recognise common red flags across contexts

• Strengthen adverse media screening, including why search engines alone are not enough

• Use multiple intelligence sources to support risk-based decisions and escalation

Course Content

Session 1 – SAR Governance, MLRO Oversight & Filing Decisions

• Internal/local SAR reporting processes and governance

• The MLRO’s role in SAR evaluation and decision making

• How standards such as FATF principles support consistency

• What “good” looks like in SAR documentation

• When to file — and when not to file — including avoiding defensive reporting

Session 2 – Suspicious Activity vs Suspicious Transactions & AML Red Flags

• Suspicious activity vs suspicious transactions: key differences

• Risk categories and areas of concern under MLR 2017 (as relevant to your institution)

• High-risk areas that commonly raise suspicion (banking/property/other contexts)

• Where suspicious transactions are identified (front line, monitoring, ops, 2LOD)

• CDD/EDD monitoring triggers and escalation expectations

Session 3 – Adverse Media Screening: Sources, Methods & Best Practice

• What adverse media is and how it supports AML decision making

• Social platforms and public sources: what’s useful and what isn’t

• Three key “search areas” for adverse media

• Best practices for adverse media checks and documentation

Session 4 – Tools, Workshop Scenarios & Decision Framework Application

• Tools and techniques for identifying social profiles and open-source intelligence

• Workshop: suspicious activity scenarios

• Applying your decision framework consistently across teams

Your Course Facilitator

Your course director has over 30 years’ experience in banking and financial services, including senior managerial/director roles, and has worked in compliance for over 20 years. He has delivered training internationally across the UK, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and is known for highly practical, engaging delivery that works for both experienced practitioners and newer team members.

Public Course

Future Dates Not Yet Available

Face to Face In-House

This course can be tailored and presented in-house at your location for 3 or more participants.

From £850