Compliance officers need to bone up fast on AML risk in free-trade zones, says RUSI

"There is a huge variety in free trade zones across the world. It is imperative that banks as well as shipping and logistic companies better assess their risk exposure," said Alexandria Reid, a research fellow at RUSI and joint author of the report, 'Improving Governance and Tackling Crime in Free-Trade Zones'. Ahead of the UK government's reintroduction of the free-trade zones, RUSI, which gave input into the government proposals, recommends a tough new approach to assessing the risk. "The variety of zones means we need a more nuanced approach that looks at risk at the zonal level," Reid said.