Bank of Bermuda CEO Henry Smith will try to separate fact from fiction on Friday when he gives a keynote address at an anti money laundering conference in New York.

Organised by the Institute for International Research in conjunction with investigative newsletter OffshoreAlert, Mr. Smith will give a luncheon keynote address entitled "Offshore Banking: Weighing Fact vs. Fiction." The conference will be held at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers New York from September 18 to 20 and will also feature Jack Blum, former senior investigator at the US Senate and partner at Lobel, Novinus and Lamont.

Testimony from Mr. Blum has been instrumental for the Internal Revenue Service in their efforts to obtain credit card details of US citizens with offshore accounts, and he will also give a luncheon address entitled: "Money laundering: Securities, Insurance and Other Banking Industries Must Comply Now or Face the Consequences."

The conference also offers two workshops which organisers say covers two of the most important issues financial institutions must face in order to comply with the latest money laundering regulations.

The first is: "Establishing & Implementing and Effective Anti-Money Laundering Program Designed for your Institution", where participants will gain practical strategies for controlling money laundering risks and detecting suspicious activities.

The second is: "Designing an Effective Anti-Money Laundering Training Program", where participants will learn how to create a customised and interactive employee training program tailored to your institution and employee base.

Promotional material for the conference outlines the signing in October by US President George Bush of the USA Patriot Act, a comprehensive anti-terrorism legislation containing provisions to fight international money laundering on the part of all financial institutions.

The material says: "In light of the passage of the Patriot Act, it has become crucial for you to stay abreast of the latest developments in anti-money laundering compliance. Navigating through such developments and rules is a daunting task, especially for newly affected industries."

The conference aims to provide participants with strategies to Comply with the Patriot Act and new anti-terrorist legislation to fight money laundering at your institution, determine whether your business is considered a financial institution under the Bank Secrecy Act and comply with anti-money laundering legislation, unravel the latest developments in "Know Your Customer" measures and deal with foreign political figures, high net worth individuals, and institutions, implement effective anti-money laundering programmes to detect suspicious activity and combat money laundering, train employees on money laundering controls to protect your institution and avoid being the target of fraud and to identify the methods used to launder money offshore and conduct cross-border due diligence to prevent international money laundering.