GACS · Free
Free Anti-Money Laundering Course
A free online AML course covering KYC and customer due diligence, red flags, sanctions and PEP screening, money mules, crypto typologies and reporting a suspicion. Eight lessons, about an hour end to end, with a free final quiz and a verifiable completion certificate. No card, no subscription.
~1 hour · 8 lessons Verifiable certificate Crypto-AML included
Full study material
Every lesson is a full written read, and lesson eight works a real case end to end.
Free certificate
Finish the eight lessons and pass the ten-question final assessment to earn a public, shareable AML Fundamentals completion certificate.
Crypto-AML focus
Modern typologies: mixers, peel chains, fake exchanges, sanction-evasion patterns.
What you’ll learn
- AML fundamentals: the three-stage model (placement, layering, integration)
- Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and customer due diligence (CDD)
- Transaction monitoring rules and red flags
- Sanctions screening (OFAC, UN, EU) basics
- Crypto AML typologies and on-chain investigation
- Writing a clear SAR / STR (Suspicious Activity Report)
The eight lessons, and what each one teaches
This is the whole course, in order. Each lesson is a short read with one takeaway you can use the same day, and the last one walks through a real case end to end.
Lesson 1
What money laundering actually is
Placement, layering, integration. Fraud proceeds usually skip placement, which is why victim transfers are the hardest flows to stop.
Lesson 2
The rules, and who has to follow them
Risk-based means unequal by design: proportionate effort where the risk actually sits.
Lesson 3
Know Your Customer and customer due diligence
Identify, verify, find the real owner, and record what normal looks like — then keep checking that it still is.
Lesson 4
Red flags in payments, cash and trade
One flag is noise. A cluster of flags around one customer, in a short window, is a case.
Lesson 5
Sanctions, PEPs and screening
Sanctions are absolute; PEP status is a risk grade. Never treat a possible sanctions match as something to work around.
Lesson 6
Money mules — how victims become launderers
Mules are recruited with job adverts and romance, not with crime. The pattern is: unrelated money in, immediate money out.
Lesson 7
Crypto: what changes and what does not
The chain is public and permanent. The hard part was never the trace; it is proving who controls the address.
Lesson 8
Reporting a suspicion — and a worked case
Report on suspicion, never tip off, and write it so a stranger can follow it. Speed matters more than certainty.
Get weekly laundering case files by email
Every week we send the newest verified fraud and laundering reports as short case files you can practise the syllabus on, plus a note when a new module or exam version goes live. Free, unsubscribe in one click.
Who this AML course is for
Career changers
You want an entry-level compliance or financial-crime analyst role and need the vocabulary and a certificate to show for it.
Working analysts
You clear alerts daily and want the crypto and SAR modules to sharpen the write-ups your team is judged on.
Founders and operators
You run a fintech, exchange or marketplace and need to understand what your obligations actually are before a regulator explains them.
Frequently asked questions
Is this AML course really free?
Yes. The study books, the practice questions and the final exam are all free, with no card and no trial. The academy is donation-funded, so the only ask is a contribution if the training was useful to you.
How long does the free AML training take?
The core course is eight lessons and takes about an hour end to end, including the ten-question final assessment. The study books and the wider free certification exams add several more hours if you want them, but nothing beyond the eight lessons is required to finish and earn the completion certificate.
Do I need a finance background to take an AML course?
No. Module one starts with what money laundering actually is and why the three-stage model matters, before any regulation is mentioned. If you already work in KYC or transaction monitoring you can start at the typologies module instead.
What is the difference between AML, KYC and CDD?
AML is the whole discipline of stopping criminal money moving through the financial system. KYC is the identity part of it — knowing who your customer is. CDD is the risk assessment you run on that customer, deepened to enhanced due diligence when the risk is higher. The course covers all three and where firms usually fail.
Does this course cover crypto money laundering?
Yes, and it is a full module rather than a footnote. Mixers, peel chains, chain-hopping, fake exchanges, over-the-counter brokers and sanctions-evasion patterns, with on-chain tracing worked through step by step.
Will this AML certificate get me a compliance job?
It is evidence you studied the material and passed an exam, which helps for entry-level analyst roles alongside your CV. It is an independent training certificate — not a government licence, a university degree or a nationally accredited qualification, and it does not replace an employer's own certification requirements.
Is the certificate verifiable?
Yes. Each certificate gets a public URL showing the holder, the exam version and the issue date, so an employer can confirm it without contacting us.
Keep going
- Free OSINT certification — the investigation companion to this course.
- Public scam registry — thousands of verified cases to study.
- The academy — every free course and study book.
- Diplomas — longer structured programmes.
Start free
No payment, no subscription. Read the books, take the exam when ready.
Looking for the wider track? Free fraud analyst certification bundles this course with open-source investigation training, and explains how it compares to a paid credential like the CFE.
Want a credential an employer can check?
The course stays free, forever. If you want proof you can put on a CV, sit the optional certification exam. It is issued as the GACS Certified AML Analyst.
- 40 questions, 45 minutes, 80% to pass
- Three attempts included
- Signed, printable certificate
- Permanent public verification page
See the certification — $49One-time payment. No membership, no renewal fee.
Authoritative sources
Independent primary sources used to check and corroborate the guidance on this page.
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
Official US channel for reporting internet-enabled fraud and cybercrime.
- US Federal Trade Commission — ReportFraud
Consumer fraud reporting and published enforcement data.
- UK Action Fraud
UK national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
Canada's central repository for fraud reports and scam alerts.
