The limits of my language

Die Grenzen meiner Sprache bedeuten die Grenzen meiner Welt. The limits of my language mean the limits of my world. 

—Ludwig Wittgenstein. Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. 1921.

Data collection for a risk matrix

Three main segments of a risk matrix:

1. Structural information on the financial institution.
2. Inherent risks divided by factors, such as:
1. Customers,
2. Products, services, and transactions,
3. Geographic reach,
4. Delivery channels.
3. Control measures of the financial institution.

Risk matrix

A risk matrix is an ordering of the various data and information on the inherent ML/TF/PF risks and AML/CFT control measures that allows a justified and reasoned computation for the residual ML/TF/PF risks of an institution.

1. Distinguishes risks between inherent as well as the residual ones once the controls have been considered.
2. Consists of a Mix of quantitative and qualitative data to capture details relevant to risk.
3. Considers the jurisdiction’s risks as detailed in the National Risk Assessment (NRA) or thematic risk assessments.
4. Includes various risk factors and should use differentiated risk weights to reflect sectoral and institution-specific characteristics and regulatory concerns.
5. Includes institutional features based on structural information on a financial institution. These can include corporate structure, transparency in the institution’s shareholding, culture of compliance, previous enforcement measures imposed, etc.

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Named after linguists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf, though they never formally collaborated on this theory, and it was named by later researchers.

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, or linguistic relativity, proposes that the language a person speaks influences or determines how they perceive and think about the world. It suggests that structural differences between languages lead to different cognitive patterns, with strong versions suggesting language determines thought and weaker versions suggesting it merely influences it.

nostro and vostro accounts.

​​Nostro and Vostro accounts facilitate international transactions and foreign exchange, providing banks a way to hold and manage foreign currency. These terms describe the same bank account from different perspectives: 

1. ​A bank account held by a bank in a foreign country, in the currency of that country, is referred to as a Nostro account. "Nostro" is derived from Latin, meaning "our account." For example, if an American bank has an account with a British bank in British Pounds, that is a Nostro account for the American bank. 
2. ​Vostro Account is the same bank account, but from the perspective of the bank where the account is held. "Vostro" also comes from Latin and means "your account." So, in the above example, the British bank would refer to this account as a Vostro account.

Viento Rojo

Viento Rojo. Diez historias del narco en México. Carlos Monsiváis et al. 2004. Plaza Janés. 190 pp.

El narco y sus legiones. Carlos Monsiváis.

I. Los albores. Porfiriato: heroína Bayer para la tos. 1920's: prohibiciones en los estados, fomento en la izquierda intelectual. 1940's: necesidad de heróina y morfina en los hospitales del frente de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Técnicos chinos bajo supervisión norteamericana inician el plantío en Sinaloa, Sonora y Durango. Al terminar la guerra, Meyer Lansky vuela a Sinaloa. María Caro lo recibe.

II. La fama. 1970's: el cubano-americano Sicilia Falcón escapa de Lecumberri a través de un túnel. 1980's: Félix Gallardo, el compadre de todos. Su detención va emparejada con la del director de la campaña contra las drogas, el de la judicial de Sinaloa y el comandante de Culiacán. Asesinatos de Kiki Camarena y Armando Zavala, secuestro de Álvarez Machain, detención de Caro Quintero en Costa Rica con Sarita Cossío. 1990's: Juan García Abrego saltando las bardas del residencial.

III.  Lo que se sabe. El narco en el imaginario colectivo. El narco como oportunidad de movilidad social. El pacto fáustico: todo el poder y los lujos hoy, a cambio de morir joven o pasar el resto de la vida en un penal. La impunidad que estimula la violencia.

IV. Los desconocidos. Nacidos para perder. Desempleo, precariedad, delincuencia, armamento, tecnología, derroche, resistencia, indiferencia ante la muerte. Ya un conjunto norteño dará cuenta de su paso por este mundo.

V. La narcocultura. El cine: el pintoresquismo. El ascenso a tiros y el desenso abrupto. Del corrido al narcocorrido. Pacas de a kilo, Nadie es eterno de Darío Gómez, Mi último contrabando, Negocios prohibidos, El corrido de la pacific. La narcoaquitectura. Los autos de lujo. La joyería y la vestimenta. Los platillos y la bebida.

Plata y plomo. Jesús Blancornelas.

• No se quién inventó eso de los encobijados. Hasta me dio la impresión: los mafiosos compran cobertores al mayoreo. 
• Lo de los enteipados debió ser una copia de las películas.
• Luego salieron con lo de meter en la cajuela a los muertitos y dejarlos por allí.
• También está el sistemita ese de los entambados, remedo de los tiempos alcaponescos.
• Luego me enteré de algo más terrible: deshacían los cuerpos en ácido.
•  En Ciudad Juárez es distinto. Allí se pusieron de moda las famosas narcofosas.
• Ya ni le busques, reportero. A ese se lo echó el narco. Es más, aquí todos sabemos quien era. Incluso te puedo dar el nombre del que lo mandó matar. Pero no la jodas, ponte en mi lugar, recuerda que en boca cerrada no entran moscas.

La noche del Rayo López. Vicente Leñero.

• ¿Quién es el Rayo López?, preguntó Benjamín a Ramón.
• Estás muy pedo, Rayo, mejor te regresas.
• Ni siquiera me invitan a la fiesta de Benjamín, Ramoncito.
• Pues tú, Silvita y el Chapo me chupan la verga.
• ¿Y se fue por fin?, preguntó Benjamín. Sí, dijo Ramón, se fue mucho a la chingada.

La caja negra del comandante Minjárez. Sergio González Rodríguez.

• Nunca conocí al comandante Francisco Minjárez, jefe del Grupo Especial Anti-Secuestros de la Policía Judicial de Chihuahua y antiguo líder estudiantil (porro). Francisco Molina Ruiz, Procurador de Chihuahua y más tarde senador y jefe del Instituto Nacional del Combate a las Drogas. Secuestro de Heidi Slauquet y libro de Isabel Arvide. Arturo Glz Rascón, Procurador de Chihuahua. Alejandro Castro Valles, Jefe de la Policía Judicial de Chihuahua.
• En 2002, el Norte divulgó un secreto a voces en Chihuahua: Francisco Minárez era el principal operador de las desapariciones forzadas o levantones en Ciudad Juárez.
• Francisco Minjárez cayó asesinado por un poder que lo rebasaba, y al que dejó de ser útil.

Miss Iztapalapa. Marco Lara Klahr.

• Una de las formas habituales en que Iztapalapa da la bienvenida: matricidio en Santa Cruz Meyehualco.
• Ocho barrios la conforman: Santa Bárbara, San Lucas, San Ignacio, La Asunción, San José, San Pedro, San Miguel y San Pablo. Más la Alcancía, atrás del mercado; el Callejón La Libertad y Callejón San Felipe, que corre de Ermita-Iztapalapa a la vecindad.
• Colonias que crecieron de la nada, en tierras salitrosas: Ejército de Oriente, Santa María Aztahuacán, Vicente Guerrero. El Camino Real, hoy Ermita-Iztapalapa. 
• Crecimiento exponencial: 1950, 76 mil habitantes. 2000, 1.8 millones. 
• El Boggie y su metralleta en los tiempos del Negro Durazo y la División de Investigaciones para la Prevención de la Delincuencia (DIPD) del DDF, los Dipos. Extinción de la DIPD: silenciamientos necesarios, sus agentes limpian huellas a tiros.
• 5 familias dominan el narcomenudeo en Iztapalapa: Los Tanzanios, Los Texanos, Los Cano, Los Salgado y los Rippers.
• Santa María Aztahuacán: arsenal clandestino de la ciudad y semillero de sicarios al servicio del crimen organizado. Producción artesanal de armas: tumberas.
• Consumo intensivo de drogas: piedra (crack), marihuana, cristales, ácido, hongos, hexágonos, ajos, pitufos, euros, tachas, simpson.
• —Y su esposa ¿no le dice nada? —Pues sí, me dice "échate gotas".

No saben con quien se metieron. Juan José Rodríguez.

• Mazatlán. Operativo Carnaval Seguro. Balacera en Zona Dorada. Agente Antonio Arias y sospechoso Jorge Pérez López, ambos caídos.
• —No saben con quién se metieron. Por el acento acholado parecía ser de Tijuana.
• En su cartera, una foto muy tierna de una niña con síndrome de Down... creo que uno de los Arellano tiene una hija con síndrome de Down.
• Ricardo González Macías ha ganado la V Bienal de Fotoperiodismo 2002 por su serie La muerte de Ramón Arellano.

Viento rojo. Héctor de Mauleón.

Cuando el Mayo Zambada dijo: —Amado, este es el doctor del que te he platicado, Ernesto Ibarra Santés (EIS) debió haber sabido que iba directo al cementerio. EIS era Subdelegado de la PGR en Tijuana a cargo del Operativo Alacrán, la mayor embestida contra el cártel de los Arellano Félix.

Los Arellano Félix tenían su propio servicio de espionaje. El comandante Vargas, subdelegado en Tijuana del Instituto Nacional para el Combate a las Drogas (INCD): —El doctor acaba de descender del avión. 30 perforaciones de AK-47 en el taxi. —Tráigame a los hijos de la chingada que mataron al doctor. Alfredo Hodoyán Palacios, Emilio Valdez Mainero, hombres al servicio de Fabián Martínez, el Tiburon. La especialidad del Tiburón es matar federales. Cuando va a tirar, agarra la gorra y se la voltea. Ésa es su seña.

Captura de Alejandro Hodoyán Palacios, hermano de Alfredo, por parte del ejército: —En Tijuana nadie mata gratis. Tortura e intento de desaparición. Su nacionalidad norteamericana lo salva, es rescatado por la DEA que le ofrece un trato. Entrevista grabada. Al no llegar a un acuerdo, es liberado en Tijuana, posteriormente levantado y desaparecido.

El viento rojo que azotó el norte de México inició cuando el Mayo Zambada, que estaba asociado con los Arellano Félix, prefirió no pagar la deuda de 20 MD que tenía con sus compadres y unirse a Joaquín Guzmán Loera, el Chapo. El asesinato del Rayo López. Puerto Vallarta, 1992, Disco Christine, 50 hombres del Chapo van por los Arellano Félix. El Cartel de Juárez filtra información a ambos bandos a través de la PGR. Los Arellano van por el Chapo y viceversa al aeropuerto de Guadalajara: —Tocó la mala suerte de que también el cardenal estuviera ahí. Ambos se la juran a Amado Carrillo.

Nueva York nunca dejará de ser Nueva York. Élmer Mendoza.

• Herminio Barraza, jefe del Cártel del Oeste. Rosario Cota, jefe del Cártel del Este. 

—Doy 12 millones de dólares por la frontera de Baja California y Chihuahua.

—Tengo una oferta por 13 MD.

—Pues mire, la oposición la ofrece por 5 MD.

• Adelantaron la reunión anual y acordaron que fuera en New York.  —¿Has notado que cada vez los políticos tienen menos escrúpulos?
• —A según la veo tenemos tres opciones:

1. Hacer quebrar al país, para que vean que nos necesitan.
2. Llegar a arreglos con los políticos y seguir como hasta ahora.
3. Administrar bien la petrolera y hacer crecer el país.

—Veo que le gusta la segunda.

—Me traerá lo de siempre, camisas GAP, pantalones Dockers, truzas Banana Republic, perfume Armani ¿y a ti?. —Lo mismo, sólo que las camisas serán Polo.

Nadie sabe nada. David Aponte.

• —Necesitamos información sobre Fabián Martínez, el Tiburón, también sobre Alcides Ramón Magaña, el Metro.
• La empresa vendía protección a los narcotraficantes. Contaban con credenciales del ejército, la PGR, la PFP y la SSP.
• Cuando desarticularon la red, Rafael Macedo de la Concha, Procurador de la República y Clemente Vega García, Secretario de la Defensa Nacional, solo ofrecieron generalidades sin abundar sobre los perfiles. —Si se pregunta en la Defensa , nadie sabe nada.

Las damas del narco. Mónica Lavín.

• Las narco barbies: Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, la Güera y Rolando Gómez del Paso.
• Una hembra si quiere a un hombre: Rosario Ruiz, Griselda y el Chapo.
• Las  amazonas: Sandra Ávila Beltrán, la Reina del Pacífico. Delia Patricia Buendía, líder del cártel de Nezahualcóyotl. Enedina Arellano Félix, del cártel de Tijuana.
• Las que perdonan: La esposa lo tiene quietecito tras las rejas y comiendo de su mano. La flaqueza del chofer fue el poder de su ama.

Supervisory plan

A risk-based supervisory plan should detail scope, objectives, and timelines for conducting supervisory activities for the short-term ensuring that higher risk institutions receive more comprehensive and frequent supervision, while lower risk institutions are subject to less intensive oversight:

1. Awareness. Promoting a culture of compliance.
2. Outreach and guidance. Targeting emerging risks, best practices, risk mitigation techniques and regulatory requirements.
3. Data analysis. Performing regular analysis of customer and transaction data to identify potential risks.
4. Cooperation. Collaborating with domestic and international actors to share information, trends, and typologies on institutions.

Prioritizing supervisory activities

Factors in determining the prioritization, planning, and allocation of resources for supervisory activities:

1. Level of inherent risk in combination with information on the effectiveness of internal controls.
2. Institutional complexity. More complex institutions generally may pose higher ML/TF/PF risks and may require more extensive supervisory efforts.
3. Reputation. The institution’s record of effective risk mitigation and compliance.
4. Intelligence or information received from other authorities.

Supervisory toolkit

The supervisory toolkit contains a blend of various onsite and offsite supervisory activities:

• Onsite activities may involve inspections at financial institutions to assess actual implementation of AML/CFT requirements by reviewing and testing processes, systems and customer files, interviewing staff, and assessing operations and controls.
• Offsite activities may involve analysis of reports, data submissions, and other relevant information to assess ongoing compliance.

The onsite and offsite activities can consist of:

1. Full-scope inspections. Comprehensive end in-depth review of the institution’s operations, systems, policies, and procedures related to AML/CFT.
2. Targeted inspections. Focus on on specific ML/TF/PF risks or control weaknesses.
3. Thematic inspections. Risk mitigation across multiple institutions on specific risk areas, emerging trends, or areas of supervisory concern.
4. Periodic compliance meetings. Useful for lower risk financial institutions to ensure that they are covered by supervisory activities.
5. Outreach and capacity building initiatives. To understand obligations and implement effective AML/CFT measures.
6. Enforcement and sanctions. The toolkit should also have a range of enforcement measures and sanctions against institutions that fail to comply with AML/CFT requirements.

Home and host supervision

Home and host financial supervision for cross-border financial activities.

Home financial supervision conducted by the country of a financial institution. The primary responsibility of home financial sector supervisors is to oversee the operations and activities of all financial institutions within the group and ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and standards.

Host financial supervision conducted by the jurisdiction where a foreign financial institution operates or provides financial services through a branch, subsidiary, or offering its services on a cross-border basis. Host financial sector supervisors have the responsibility to ensure that foreign financial institutions operating within their jurisdiction, through a branch or a subsidiary, comply with local laws, regulations, and supervisory requirements.

Both supervisors, home and host, work in coordination:

1. ML/TF/PF risk assessments. Home and host share their ML/TF/PF risk assessments of the financial institutions under their jurisdiction. This information will help the supervisors understand the inherent risks posed by the financial institutions.
2. Emerging ML/TF/PF issues. Home and host share information on emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and typologies. This includes intelligence related to new methods, techniques, or channels used for ML/TF/PF purposes. By exchanging this information, supervisors can enhance their understanding of evolving risks and adapt their supervisory approaches accordingly.
3. Supervisory findings. The supervisors can share their findings, inspection reports, enforcement measures and other supervisory information related to ML/TF/PF risk management and AML/CFT compliance of financial institutions, but also on fit and proper assessments. This includes details on deficiencies, weaknesses, and areas of improvement identified during inspections or ongoing supervision. The supervisors can use this information to complement their supervisory activities and assess the effectiveness of the institutions operating within their jurisdiction.
4. Changes in AML/CFT regulations. Home supervisors can inform host supervisors about changes in AML/CFT regulations, laws, or guidance within their jurisdiction. This exchange of information ensures that host supervisors stay updated and can align their supervisory expectations and requirements with the evolving AML/CFT standards for the group.
5. Joint inspections. Home and host supervisors can conduct joint inspections in the host countries. For some overarching AML/CFT topics, such as the AML/CFT risk management and governance systems of a financial institution, joint supervisory activities or inspections might be a good option.

Grim prayers

Grim Prayers. Wiktor Miesok, Felix Charin. 2026.

Adaptability 

I ponder sometimes on how our moods change, and how little it takes to enjoy life if one has the right attitude. Adaptability is the great gift of the human species. We can survive anywhere; we can get used to anything. But this trait can also cost us everything, rob us of our morals, values and what makes us human in the first place.

Kintsugi, the art of repairing broken pottery. When it cracks, they do not hide the damage but seal it with golden glue, and the fracture becomes part of the design.

The vory look at pain differently than the regular men. We embrace it, we make it our ally. That’s why it is so hard to break or corrupt a vor with threats or torture. But we all have breaking points, even the hardest of us.

Nothing to lose 

If you take everything from a man, and he has nothing else to lose, he might snap back at you.

Friendship

Fighting pain and struggling together brings men closer, but having your brother pick ticks from your ass makes you family.

A man has to fight for his family.

Division

It is easier to see such things in hindsight when the fog of war lifts and the perspective widens. But when we are in the midst of turmoil, when we need to survive in the moment, and are blinded by petty grievances, we easily fall prey to the trap of division.

The polarized society can’t stand together against the tyranny of the few.

Divide et impera.

Look at your own adversaries today, droog. Are they opposed to you by their own will? Maybe someone else has pitted them against your cause, to keep you busy from seeing the invisible prison you’re in.

Vengeance

Don’t ever cross a woman, because their vengeance can be the polar opposite of their normally caring nature. Cold, calculating, and absolutely ruthless.

Mortality

Born once by your mother, die once, like no other.

There is no equality in the universe, except for the fact that we are all going to die. But you seem to know that yourself.

Remember that we are all mortal, and everything that we do has meaning because of this. Be on your way, follow your path, and be honorable!

RBS strategy components

Four important components of a risk-based supervisory strategy:

1. Medium-term and long-term objectives, approaches, and resources required highlighting the different approaches and objectives for the different categories of risk profiles-- for instance, higher, medium, or lower risks.
2. Operational plan focused on a sector or a group of financial institutions: Processes, compliance testing. 
3. Supervisory activities analyzing trends, typologies, and risks, on one hand, and informing developments, priorities and training, on the other. 
4. Stakeholder engagement with domestic and international relevant actors, facilitating the exchange of best practices, emerging trends, and effective risk mitigation strategies.

Residual risks

The assessment of the inherent risks in combination with the assessment of the AML/CFT controls, will result in the residual risks of an institution. The residual risk will inform the risk profile of an institution.

Inherent risks are ML/TF/PF risks intrinsic to a financial institution’s business activities before any AML/CFT controls are applied. With respect to AML/CFT, inherent risks are generally linked to these risk factors: customers, transactions, products and services, geographic areas, and delivery channels.

AML/CFT controls refers to the measures that an institution has in place to mitigate ML/TF/PF risks by way of policies, procedures and systems. Qquestionnaires or self-assessments tools with assigned weightings. 

Residual risks are the ML/TF/PF risks of a financial institution after AML/CFT controls have been implemented. Determining the residual ML/TF/PF risks is an important part of the process of developing a risk profile of a financial institution. A risk profile will help categorize financial institutions into risk levels, allowing the supervisory authority to allocate resources and apply appropriate levels of oversight. 

The relationship between the inherent risks, AML/CFT controls and the resulting residual risks can be depicted in a heatmap or matrix.

Securities Sector risks

National Risk Assessment (NRA). Supervisors should know the ML/TF/PF risks of their country. Where higher risks are identified in a country, supervisors should ensure, to the extent relevant for their task, that their AML/CFT supervisory framework addresses these risks.

Sectoral Risk Assessments (SRA) provide a deeper understanding of the unique ML/TF/PF risks associated with a sector, allowing for the use of targeted risk mitigation measures and regulatory actions across a sector. Supervisory authorities are natural candidates to lead the SRA exercise. The starting point for the development of an SRA is the collection of relevant information about the sector, its participants, and its characteristics. This includes understanding the types of products and services offered, customer profiles, transaction patterns. Subsequently, ML/TF/PF threats specific to the sector are identified as well as the vulnerabilities specific to the sector.

Banking sector risks

Private banking. Management of the wealth of high-net-worth families and individuals. Complexity to ascertain the legitimacy of the source of wealth, as well as the high value and complex transactions typically undertaken by persons using this type of service.

Corporate banking. Large conglomerates with complex corporate structures active in many countries (including countries with a higher risk profile), and the international transactions that they conduct.

Commercial banking. Transactions from businesses having clients who deal in precious metals, precious stones, or in art and antiques, e.g., cash deposits and third-party payments, cash-intensive services.

Trade finance. Goods and funds related to proliferation-sensitive items. Finance products that could be used to finance the procurement of embargoed goods or to obscure the true nature and destination of certain transactions, making it a higher risk area for proliferation financing.

Remittances. Easiness, speed and anonimity of fransferences that can be used to funnel money across borders to support illegal activities.

Grim business

Grim Prayers. Wiktor Miesok, Felix Charin. 2026.

A Grim mindset is the foundation of business success: Passion. Thunder. Focus. Sincerity. Endurance. Team.

1. Test and find out if what you are building is something people actually want. Don’t build something you don’t love. And don't build something people don’t love. Test early. Test sincerely. Talk to your potential customers. See if their eyes light up. If you don’t find real passion inside you, and inside them, try a different product.
2. Thunder is your friend. Grim comes from the Slavic word Grom which means thunder. Thunder does not wait for perfection. Thunder strikes. No matter if thunder hits or misses, it strikes again. Start small. Build a prototype. Ship Fast. See what works. Change what doesn’t. Strike again. Good is better than perfect, remember that. Because good lets you strike.
3. Focus on one core problem. Life is grim. Harsh. Cold. That’s the problem. And the problem is your friend. Good startups do one thing well. They focus on one problem. And solve it. Distraction kills early companies faster than competition. Filter without mercy: If your product does not solve the problem – cut it. No extra features. No side quests. No shiny shit. Fall in love with the problem, not with the solution.
4. Build a culture of radical honesty. Grim means earnest, serious. No games. Inside your team, truth is oxygen. No politics. No egos. No hiding mistakes. Founders who don't like hard conversations destroy their own enterprises. Speak directly. Eye to eye. And always with respect. But speak honestly. Bad news now is always cheaper than bad news later.
5. Take care of your energy. Take care of your people. Startups die when teams die. And teams die when founders burn out. Sleep well. Train the body. Take silent days. Be a brother, not a colleague. And always, always keep walking.

Risk and uncertainty

Economist Frank Knight made a distinction between risk and uncertainty.

According to Knight, risk refers to situations in which the probability distribution of outcomes is known or can be estimated objectively. In other words, risks are situations where the probabilities of different outcomes can be assigned based on statistical analysis or historical data. Risk, in this context, can be quantified and managed through risk management techniques.

On the other hand, Knight defined uncertainty as situations where the probabilities of outcomes cannot be determined or estimated objectively due to the lack of available data or predictability. Uncertainty involves events or situations that are characterized by ambiguity, novelty, and unpredictability. Unlike risk, uncertainty cannot be easily quantified or managed using traditional statistical methods.

The 3 factors of risk

Risk is a function of three factors:

A threat is a person or group of people, object, or activity with the potential to cause harm (to the state, to society, or to the economy). 

Vulnerabilities are the legal, technical, cultural, political, geographical, and other features that can be exploited by threats or that may support or facilitate criminal activities. (i.e. outdated or ill-designed regulation on beneficial ownership).

Consequence refers to the impact or harm that money laundering, terrorist financing, or proliferation financing may cause, and it includes the effect of the underlying criminal or terrorist activity on financial systems and institutions as well as on the economy and society more generally. (Legal consequences, financial losses, reputational damage, hampering growth, operational impact).

Ideally, a risk assessment, involves making judgments about threats, vulnerabilities and consequences. The ML/TF risk assessment is product of a methodology, that attempts to identify, analyze and understand ML/TF risks and serves as a first step in addressing them. 

Supervisory response

The nature of the supervisory response will be informed by the following:

1. Ongoing monitoring. Review and assessment of the financial institution's AML/CFT measures to ensure that they remain effective in mitigating the identified risks. This will involve, among others, conducting periodic assessments of the financial institution's risk profile, reviewing its AML/CFT policies and procedures, and sampling its customer and transaction data.
2. Offsite and onsite activities. Appropriate balance of resources and efforts between offsite and onsite supervisory activities in line with the risk profiles of the financial institutions. The scope and intensity of these supervisory activities will also be based on the assessed risks.
1. Offsite activities generally focus on identifying and assessing an institution’s ML/TF/PF risks, though they may also include broader AML/CFT-related topics.
2. Onsite activities typically involve assessing the level of AML/CFT compliance, but they can also serve to gain deeper insights into an institution’s risk management practices.
3. Periodic re-assessment. Adequate follow-up by the supervisory authority of any new facts or developments within a financial institution or sectors that may impact on the ML/TF/PF risks for the financial institution or sector, a structured dialogue with supervised institutions’ management, and outreach sessions and feedback meetings with a financial institution or the sector as a whole.

How to deal with enemies

Grim Prayers. Wiktor Miesok, Felix Charin. 2026.

Be thankful for your enemy. He will teach you everything you need to know about your mind, your life, and your death.

1. You are not a rock. You are an ocean. A good enemy will teach you that before strategy, before words comes control over the ocean that is inside of you. Is it storming? Then better not go and sail towards your enemy, bratan. Do not engage with your enemy in anger. An enemy wants a reaction. Rage. Fear. Impulse. You will not give him that. Silence is your shield. Silence is your sword.
2. Reduce yourself. Limit exposure. Limit information. Limit emotional availability. The less access an enemy has to your time, data, and energy, the weaker they become.
3. Build boundaries. State clearly what you will accept and what you will not. Once. Calmly. Respectfully. Without explanation. Then enforce through consistency, not outbursts. Never fight in public. It turns disagreement into big theater. Egos rise. Faces must be saved. Positions harden. Silence again is your master.
4. Stop personalizing, start analyzing. Do not take things personally. You are not the center of the world. You do not really matter. Most enemies are not driven by hatred towards you. They are driven by their own fear, status, resources, insecurity. Ask yourself: What do they gain by opposing me? Then remove or neutralize that gain. You don’t defeat enemies by insults. You defeat them by making opposition unprofitable.
5. Document. Memory can lie. Paper does not. Write down facts. Dates. Words. Actions. Not with emotion. With precision. Documentation is quiet power. It protects you when stories shift and narratives are rewritten. The calm record outlives the loud accusation.
6. Generosity. Follow the rules of Silence, Boundaries, Ani-Personalization, Analyzation, Documentation and then in a sudden moment, your biggest weapon to diffuse the enemy is honor. Be generous to your enemy, use it like a weapon. It has worked many times.
7. Remember Death. Your enemy will teach you an important lesson. When death greets you all you have is who you have become. If you have become full of hate, then you take this into the afterlife. Don’t do it.

Key supervisory objectives

An effective AML/CFT supervisory framework with the following key objectives:

1. Identify and assess ML/TF/PF risks. Analyzing the nature and scale of inherent ML/TF/PF risks and the effectiveness of AML/CFT systems and controls in place.
2. Ensure compliance. Assessing the AML/CFT systems and controls of institutions, and incentivize compliance.
3. Mitigation of ML/TF/PF risks. Providing guidance on best practices for AML/CFT compliance commensurate with the identified risks.
4. National and international cooperation. Facilitate cooperation and coordination by working with other national and international AML/CFT supervisors and law enforcement authorities to share information and coordinate efforts.
5. Enforcement. Put in place enforcement measures proportionate to the severity of breaches (administrative sanctions, such as fines, or referring the matter to law enforcement for criminal prosecution).

Cinco de Mayo en EU

• New York. Stone Street.
• Chicago. Pilsen, Logan Square, Little Village.
• Seattle. El Centro de la Raza.
• Los Angeles. Historic Broadway.
• Phoenix. Downtown at 1st Avenue and W Washington Street.

En legítima defensa

En legítima defensa. Yakiri Rubio y la gran batalla contra la violencia machista y el sistema penal. Ana Katiria Suárez. 2017. Grijalbo. 208 pp.

Violación:

9 de diciembre de 2013. 
Metro Doctores.
Calle Dr. Liceaga. 
Hotel Alcázar.

Cronología:

1. 9 de diciembre de 2013, Yaki pasa de victima de violación a homicida con alevosía.
2. 13 de diciembre de 2013, Yaki es recluida en Santa Martha Acatitla.
3. 18 de diciembre de 2013, Yaki es trasladada al penal de Tepepan.
4. 5 de marzo de 2014, Yaki deja el penal de Tepepan bajo fianza.
5. 21 de mayo de 2014, Yaki es absuelta.

Dramatis Personae:

Miguel Ángel Ramírez Anaya, violador, muerto en legítima defensa.
Luis Omar Ramírez Anaya, secuestrador, libre.
Jorge Antonio Ramírez Anaya, hermano, preso por delitos graves.
Miguel Ángel Ramírez, padre, preso por delitos graves.
Víctor Núñez, administrador del hotel.
Víctor Hugo Pineda, recamarero del hotel.
Juan Antonio Serralde, apoderado legal del hotel.
Reina Romano, primera policía en contacto con Yaki.
Mario Antonio Mejía Medina, ministerio público que recibe a Yaki.
Leticia Ramírez Martínez, ministerio público que recibe a Yaki.
Roberto Torres Ortega, ministerio público que consigna a Yaki.
Lucía Reza Jiménez, fiscal de la agencia 50, especializada en temas de género, toma la primera declaración de Yaki.
Santiago Ávila Negrón, juez del juzgado 68.
Jesús Sevilla Flores, secretario de acuerdos.
Rodolfo Ríos Garza, procurador capitalino.
Edmundo Porfirio Garrido Osorio, subprocurador capitalino.
Silvano Aureoles, senador del PRD.
Crystal Tovar, diputada del PRD.
Édgar Elías Azar, presidente del TSJDF.
Celia Marín Sasaki, magistrada de la quinta sala.
Julia Cervera, defensora de género española.
Roxana Arroyo Vargas, perito ante la CIDH.
Miguel Ángel Mancera, jefe de gobierno.
Héctor Serrano, secretario de gobierno.
Juan José Ochoa, subsecretario de gobierno.
Beatriz Santamaría, directora de Inmujeres DF.
Olga Sánchez Cordero, ministra de la Suprema Corte.
Fausto Agustín Favela Ayala, juez del juzgado 23.

Citas:

—¡Cómo no, abogada! —respondió [el doctor en derecho Santiago Ávila Negrón], devolviéndome una mirada torva, lasciva, tan pesada como las losas que rodean al penal—. ¡Pero qué cambiada estás, mira nada más qué guapa te has puesto! ¿Y ahora cuántos novios tienes? —preguntó mientras hurgaba descaradamente en mi ca­misa—, porque me imagino que los has de tener a todos muy contentos.

 —Pero antes dime —continuó [Édgar Elías Azar, presidente del TSJDF], colocando una de sus manos sobre mis piernas—: ¿qué opinarías de ser la novia del presidente del Tribunal Superior de Justicia?

Dealing with perspective

Perspective correction tool.
Lunapic.
Imageonline.
Picfix.
Mockover.

Tamaño credencial

Formato ID-1, estándar ISO/IEC 7810:2019:

85.60 mm
53.98 mm
00.76 mm

Tarjeta de crédito, credencial del INE, tarjetas SIM.

Business is business

Grim Prayers. Wiktor Miesok, Felix Charin. 2026.

1. If you have nothing, first get a skill. A high-income skill. In prison these are: medical skills, cutting hair, fixing clothes, or technology. In real life this is a skill that pays 100 Dollars per hour and more. Take six months to learn minimum two hours every fucking day.
2. No matter how much money you make, stay humble, save your money. Save 55% of what you make.
3. Multiply. You will never get rich if you trade time for money. You get rich when you multiply your time WITH money.
4. Invest into compounding assets with leverage. Compounding assets are things that become more valuable over time. Leverage means you use the money you have now to easily get more money in the future. Honor makes you more money in the long run than dishonor. Every century a major monetary system gets reset. That means only those people with hard assets like real estate will have something left. Everyone else’s money, stocks, bonds will be devalued, they will be stolen. Look at history. And look into the future.

Judicial review

The judicial review process allows an affected party to challenge the decision made by the regulatory or administrative body by seeking a review of the decision by a higher authority, typically a court of law.

Three main grounds of judicial review:

1. Illegality. The regulatory or administrative body has acted outside its legal authority when imposing the sanctions (e.g. discretionality).
2. Unfairness. The regulatory or administrative body has not followed a reasonable process. It might be because a decision-maker was biased or the institution was not given the chance to make representations.
3. Irrationality. This applies when the decision to impose the sanctions is so unreasonable that no reasonable regulatory or administrative body could have made the decision in question. This may include a decision that is arbitrary, capricious, or based on irrelevant considerations.

Pros and cons of publishing sanctions

Publicizing the administrative sanctions for AML/CFT violations.

Pros:

• Deterrent to other financial institutions. 
• Foster culture of responsibility among financial institutions.
• Motivate financial institutions to prioritize mitigating ML/FT/PF. 
• Promote transparency in the financial system. 
• Build trust in the supervisory authority and financial institutions.

Cons:

• Public action may not be appropriate, proportionate, or achieve the intended outcome.
• Impact reputation of the financial institution.
• Impact institution's ability to attract and retain customers, investors, and employees. 
• Increase the risk of legal action against the financial institution. 
• Disclosure of sensitive information related to the financial institution's operations.
• Revelation of  confidential or very sensitive information 
• Potentially systemic impact on the whole sector.

types of sanctions

1. Reprimand Letter. Warning the institution to discontinue minor AML/CFT violations.
2. Corrective Action Order or Instruction. To take specific actions to address AML/CFT violations, such as implementing new policies and procedures or improving internal controls.
3. Cease and Desist Order. To stop engaging in activities that violate AML/CFT regulations. These may be accompanied by fines (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly) for non-compliance with the order.
4. Monetary Fine. Calculated based on severity and frequency of the non-compliant behavior, and proportionate to the financial institution's size and financial resources.
5. Appointing a Caretaker. A team to manage and oversee the AML/CFT operations when there are serious concerns about the institution's AML/CFT compliance.
6. Operational Limitations or Prohibitions. To limit from engaging in specific activities related to AML/CFT, such as opening new accounts or conducting certain types of transactions.
7. Suspension or Revocation of License. In cases of criminal involvement, prevents the financial institution from operating in the financial system until they address the issues and meet the necessary regulatory requirements. Las resort.

Ne Bis in Idem Principle

Any action that violates administrative law will be sanctioned by an administrative regime and any action violating criminal law will be sanctioned under criminal law. Nevertheless, some actions can be in breach of both administrative and criminal laws; and therefore, could be punished twice. This will depend on if and how the principle of ne bis in idem is applied in that country.

Effective, dissuasive, and proportionate

FATF Recommendation 35 requires that supervisory sanctions for breaches of AML/CFT requirements by institutions be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

• Effectiveness. Sanctions should have a real impact on the financial institution and its behavior, to serve as a deterrent and send a message to other financial institutions. 
• Dissuasiveness. Sanctions should discourage the financial institution from engaging in noncompliant behavior. The cost of noncompliance should outweigh any potential benefit (fines or public disclosure of noncompliant behavior).
• Proportionality. Sanctions should be commensurate with the offense, and should be appropriate to the severity and frequency of the noncompliant behavior. Not too severe, not too lenient. Sanctions must be fair and transparent.

Principles for corporate governance

Corporate governance. A set of relationships between a company’s management, its board, its shareholders and other stakeholders which provides the structure through which the objectives of the company are set, and the means of attaining those objectives and monitoring performance. It helps define the way authority and responsibility are allocated and how corporate decisions are made.

Some components:

1. Board and Senior Management Oversight. Provide oversight and leadership on AML/CFT issues. This includes setting policies and procedures, providing adequate resources, ensuring that ML/TF/PF risks are effectively managed, and promoting a well-grounded culture of compliance.
2. Risk Management. Risk-based approach to AML/CFT appropriate for their size, complexity, and risk profile. This includes setting an ML/TF/PF risk appetite and risk tolerance, conducting ML/FT risk assessments and monitoring for ML/TF/PF risks, and implementing appropriate risk mitigation measures.
3. Policies and Procedures. Tailored to specific risks and business activities: customer due diligence (CDD), ongoing monitoring, reporting suspicious activity, record keeping, and training employees.
4. Internal Controls. Trained employees on AML/CFT issues and aware of reporting and escalation lines, and adequate separation of powers and functions, and regular review of risks.
5. Compliance. Continuous monitoring of the effectiveness of the AML/CFT program.
6. Audit. Assessment of the effectiveness of their AML/CFT program: Adequacy of policies and procedures, verifying compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and providing recommendations for improvement.

Fitness and propriety

Assessing fitness. Has a candidate sufficient relevant knowledge and displays the required professional behavior to perform the job?

• Education. Background information.
• Work experience. Professional history.
• Competencies

Consider circumstances such as:

• Specific position
• Type of institution
• Composition of the board

Main focus:

• integrity
• veracity
• sense of responsibility
• respect for the law
• openness
• sincerity
• prudence
• incorruptibility
• discretion

Assessing propriety. One-time procedures.

• Government databases
• Open sources

Involve:

• Financial intelligence unit
• Tax authorities
• National police 
• Law enforcement agencies 

Final decision should be negative, when:

• Keeping doubts unresolved.
• Indeterminacy of the propriety of the person.

Licensing process

During the licensing process, financial sector supervisors can take the following measures:

• Disclose the identity of the beneficial owners.
• Provide evidence of the source of their funds.
• Gather information on the institution.
• Share information on the institution with law enforcement agencies.
• Review thoroughly founding documents and trust deeds.

Avoid granting license to financial institutions:

• If there are doubts regarding beneficial ownership or source of funds.
• Whose shares are held via nontransparent or complex structures.
• If there is evidence of criminal involvement.
• If there are obstacles to effective supervision.

Assessment in Licensing

1. Who are the beneficial owners, board members, managers and key employees?
2. Where are the funds coming from?
3. How transparent is the group structure?
4. What is the plan to carry out operations to cope with risks?

4 virtudes para gobernar

Martín Ríos Saloma. La España de Carlos I. CEHM. 2016.

Las cuatro virtudes cardinales:

1. Fortaleza
2. Justicia
3. Templanza
4. Prudencia

Risk-based supervision

Risk-based approach to supervision. Supervisory activities focus on areas that pose highest risks.

• Risk assessment of financial institutions and sectors under its supervision
• Type of customers
• Products
• Services
• Transactions
• Geographic locations
• AML/CFT framework
• Reputation of the institution
• Size
• Complexity
• Resources 
• Develop a tailored supervisory plan considering:
• Risks posed by the financial institutions and sectors.
• Frequency and scope of supervisory activities
• Tools and techniques to use
• Customer due diligence
• Transaction monitoring
• Suspicious activity reporting
• Collaboration with other authorities:
• Prudential supervisors 
• AML/CFT supervisors in other jurisdictions
• Law enforcement agencies
• Financial intelligence units

Simple rules to keep yourself in loneliness and isolation

Grim Prayers. Wiktor Miesok, Felix Charin. 2026.

1. Move your body. I tell that to all my young associates, and it is the simplest rule to follow. Your body is made for action, so give it some.
2. Use your mind. Now that your body is active, and your mind is calm, focus it, and think. Contemplate on your mission, droog, on what you will do after you get out. Play chess in your head or pretend to write stories and letters.
3. Know yourself. Sometimes to know who you are, you must know who you are not, and by defining your enemies, you come to understand your values.
4. Rein in your emotions. Look at the feelings, observe them, learn from them. When you master your emotions, you won’t be afraid of solitude ever again. Breathwork can be helpful.
5. Keep faith. It is a well-established phenomenon that people with faith often survive, heal faster, and overcome more than those who believe in nothing. Believe in something. Find a meaning and hold on to it.
6. Think about your death. Consider your own mortality, and make it fuel your willpower.

Accessing records

Scope of powers.

• Clear limits. Prevent misunderstandings or misuse of powers. 
• Protocols. Clear procedures to compel the production of records and have unrestricted and timely access to information. 
• Transparency and consistency with the law. 
• Capacitation. Institutions should understand their obligations and responsibilities.

Data and privacy protection. 

• Data protection. Information collected is used only for the purpose of fulfilling their supervisory responsibilities. 
• Confidentiality. Protect integrity and trust. 

Provision of records. 

• Notice. Time to gather and submit records and information. 
• Clarity. Specify types of records and information. 
• Clearance. Access to suspicious transaction reports is essential. Confidentiality requirements to access suspicious transaction reports, should not apply to supervisory authorities.

Murph Challenge

Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy originally called this workout "Body Armor". He gave it this name because he performed the routine while wearing his 20-pound military-issued body armor or a weighted vest to better simulate the conditions he faced as a Navy SEAL. 

After his death in Afghanistan in 2005, CrossFit officially renamed the workout "Murph" in his honor when it was first posted as a Hero WOD (Workout of the Day) on August 18, 2005. 

The workout consists of:

• 1-mile run
• 100 pull-ups
• 200 push-ups
• 300 air squats
• 1-mile run

All performed while wearing a 20-pound vest or body armor.

AML/CFT supervisory responsibilities

1. Developing and implementing effective supervisory frameworks for AML/CFT.
2. Conducting risk assessments of financial institutions and the financial sector to determine their ML/TF/PF risk profiles.
3. Monitoring and supervising financial institutions management and compliance with AML/CTF.
4. Providing guidance to financial institutions to effectively manage ML/TF/PF risks.
5. Coordinating with other national and international authorities to combat ML/TF/PF.
6. Taking appropriate enforcement actions against financial institutions that fail to comply with AML/CFT laws and regulations.

Recommendation 27

FATF. Recommendation 27.

Supervisors should have power to:

• Monitor financial institutions under the AML/CFT requirements.
• Ensure compliance by financial institutions with the AML/CFT requirements.
• Conduct inspections of financial institutions.
• Compel production of any information from financial institutions that is relevant to monitoring compliance.
• Impose disciplinary and financial sanctions for failure to comply with the AML/CFT requirements.

Pagano, infiel o hereje

Martín Ríos Saloma. La España de Carlos I. CEHM. 2016.

1. Pagano. Aquel que no conoce el nombre de Cristo.
2. Infiel. Aquel que conociendo el nombre de Cristo, no quiere creer.
3. Hereje. Aquel cristiano bautizado que no sigue la liturgia, doctrina o disciplina de Roma.

Recommendation 26

FATF. Recommendation 26.

The specific process of supervising institutions:

• Financial institutions are licensed and registered.
• Financial institutions are subject to adequate regulation.
• Competent authorities apply fit and proper measures.
• Financial institutions are subject to risk-based supervision for AML/CFT purposes.

How you grow

Grim Prayers. Wiktor Miesok, Felix Charin. 2026.

1. Breaking is part of becoming. Boys do not become men without something dying. An old identity must crack before a stronger one forms. If you fight the break, you stay small.
2. Pain calls for meaning. I saw this in prison and in freedom. Pain plus meaning equals depth. Pain minus meaning is bitterness. If you ask, “Why did this happen to me?” you shrink. If you ask, “What is this teaching me?” you grow.
3. Accept new identities without losing yourself. Own your transformation. Boys become men through rites of passage. Those who say, “I am who I am, I won’t change,” will not grow. I went from a soldier to a vor, from a vor to an entrepreneur, and from a prisoner to a free man. Identity is not a prison unless you refuse to outgrow it.
4. Pride stunt your growth. Men who were strong, who grew, were not alone. They spoke about pain without drowning in it, and they allowed support. The ones who said, “I need no one,” who saw vulnerability only as weakness, who refused a helping hand—they broke even more, year by year. They either turned inward, becoming subdued and depressed, or lashed out, hurting anyone who crossed their path. Pride lies, telling you that you are stronger than you really are. Growth begins when pride cracks.
5. Do not hide your scars, especially from yourself. Kintsugi does not conceal the fracture. It highlights it. Your scars are not shame. They are proof of survival and a rebirth. Face your shadows. Inside you there is anger, fear, envy, weakness. If you pretend it is not there, it controls you. Look at it. Name it. Discipline it. After all that I lived through, I realized that I did not chose what happened to me. But I choose who I would become.

International Organization of Securities Commissions

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) is the global standard setter for the securities sector. Currently, it has more than 230 members. IOSCO’s Objectives set out 38 Principles of securities regulation:

• Protect investors
• Ensure market fairness, transparency and efficiency
• Reduce systemic risk

How to deal with loss

Grim Prayers. Wiktor Miesok, Felix Charin. 2026.

1. Keep tight in public. Easier said than done but keep your grief private. Don't fall apart in public. If you collapse in front of people, you invite predators, and you also weaken the ones who depend on you. Be their pillar to lean on.
2. Accept that the world moves on. The sun will rise tomorrow whether you are ready or not. Life continues, problems multiply, and your enemies move. So, you move too, even if your chest feels like it’s full of stones.
3. Don’t romanticize the dead. They weren’t saints. None of us are. Honor who they really were, the good and the ugly, because truth is the only respect that lasts.
4. Use the past as fuel, but don’t live in the past. Remembrance is useful, it can push you forward. But if you crawl inside it and live there, then instead of honoring the dead you’re hiding from life. Make memories into a tool to inspire you, not into a home to hide in.
5. Carry on. Finish the mission you had together. That is loyalty: family, work, a promise, even a simple way of living. When you complete what the two of you began, grief turns into duty, and you find peace in your soul.
6. Keep moving. If you fell, rise and continue walking. One step at a time. Move forward, every fucking day.

International Association of Insurance Supervisors

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) is the international standard setter for the supervision of the insurance sector. It comprises insurance supervisors and regulators from more than 200 jurisdictions. The IAIS Insurance Core Principles (ICP) seek to encourage high standards in member jurisdictions:

1. Supervisory principles. Licensing and supervisory process, and the prudential requirements for insurers.
2. Market principles. Market structure, market conduct, and consumer protection.
3. Infrastructure principles. Accounting, actuarial practice, risk management, and supervision of group-wide activities.

From an AML/CFT perspective, ICP 22 is the most important, it requires the supervisor to take effective measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, and also requires insurers to have appropriate risk-based policies and procedures in place to prevent, detect, and report.

Recomendaciones de Reverte

Arturo Pérez Reverte en Wild Project. 2025.

• Alatriste. 2006.
• Fauda. 2015.
• As bestas. 2022.
• La suerte. 2025.