Looking Back at 9/11: Gabe Hidalgo - Needing to Make a Difference

On the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack, Tom Fox and guests look back on the tragic event and what it meant for them personally, as well as how it impacted the world of compliance. Tom’s first guest this week is Gabe Hidalgo, anti money laundering compliance expert, who shares how the events of that fateful day changed the course of his career.

Looking Back

Gabe - who worked as outside counsel for insurance companies at the time - remembers turning on YahooTV as soon as he got to his office on 9/11 and seeing the second plane hit the World Trade Towers. He knew immediately that it was a deliberate attack. “I knew that this was kind of a hallmark moment,” he tells Tom, “that this was not an accident.” He details leaving the office in haste to get to his pregnant wife, and the obstacles and roadblocks he faced on the way. When they finally reunited at home, they were overcome with emotion. He remembers feeling gutted thinking about the unborn children who would grow up never knowing their fathers.

Needing to Do Something

Gabe needed to do something more than just shed tears about 9/11, he tells Tom. He started to think about how he could use his skills as an attorney. “I went down the path of looking in private industry, what I can do, and came across anti money laundering compliance, which I thought was fascinating. And I said to myself, I need a way for me to be able to get into that so that I can start making a difference.” He shares his journey into the field, and that it was exactly the right time and the right fit for him. 9/11 was a wake up call for America, he remarks. It made us realize that we need to do whatever we can to prevent anything similar from happening again.

Evolution of AML Since 9/11

Tom asks Gabe how AML compliance has advanced since 9/11. It’s much more difficult for terrorist financiers to move funds now, he responds. “A lot of institutions have strengthened and hardened their compliance programs to the point where they can monitor individual transactions as they're moving across the transactional workflow in the United States. They examine each and every transaction that's coming across from a correspondent banking perspective, which is probably one of the most high-risk channels for money movement.” Gabe and his colleagues have done great work over the past 20 years, which has helped law enforcement stop and apprehend would-be terrorists. However, we can’t be complacent, Gabe says.

Tom asks what 9/11 means for America. The 20th anniversary is a somber one, Gabe replies. 9/11 taught us not to be naive, that we’re not as protected as we think we are. He is proud of the advancements made to keep everyone safe, but the work continues. “It's a moment of reflection,” he points out. “We need to think about not only the people who have lost their lives, but everyone that was impacted - whether they were directly impacted through a family loss, or they were emotionally impacted by what actually occurred.”

Resources

Gabe Hidalgo on LinkedIn