AWARDS
2023 ACAMS Rising AFC Professional of the Year
Toms Platacis : Adapting and advancing
Meet the 2023 winner of the ACAMS Rising AFC Professional of the Year Award , Toms Platacis , Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist ( CAMS ). Platacis has over six years of experience in anti-financial crime ( AFC ), and since September 28 , 2023 , has been the head of the Latvian financial intelligence unit ( FIU ). His prior role was deputy head of the Latvian FIU , leading the strategic analysis and cooperation coordination division responsible for the implementation of public-private partnerships .
In addition , Platacis is a board member of the ACAMS Baltic Chapter . He also contributes to the Financial Action Task Force ( FATF )/ MONEYVAL peer reviews as an evaluator , and as head of Latvia ’ s delegation to MONEYVAL and FATF . Platacis earned his master ’ s degree in law from the University of Latvia . His legal background combined with his AFC experience have enabled him to share valuable content through his contributions to the ACAMS Today magazine and as a speaker at ACAMS symposiums .
ACAMS Today ( AT ): What areas of AFC are you focused most on improving ?
Toms Platacis ( TP ): My overall goal is to restore Latvia ’ s reputation in AFC . We have done a major overhaul of the entire anti-money laundering / counter-terrorist financing system during the last five years to ensure that we can efficiently protect Latvia against any potential abuse of the financial system . This is one of the reasons why Latvia has applied to be among the first countries to be evaluated under the sixth MONEYVAL evaluation round .
In my current role ( the core functions of the FIU ), my primary focus lies in enhancing the quality of suspicious transaction reports ( STRs ). I believe that the efficiency of AFC measures and the overall resilience of the AFC system strongly depend on the accuracy and relevance of STRs . By improving the quality of STRs , I aim to enhance the FIU ’ s ability to detect and prevent potential financial crimes and contribute significantly to our overall risk mitigation efforts .
62 acamstoday . org