Anti-Money Laundering — (United States)
The Miami Herald has an in-depth article on the challenges that the U.S. government faces, particularly when it comes to enforcement of money laundering crimes.
Another article at the Miami Herald discusses a January 2009 agreement between Lloyds TSB Bank, an international bank based in the United Kingdom, and the Department of Justice, with respect to violations of federal and New York state laws.
Email This Content Posted in News Roundup. Tagged with AML Compliance, Credit Cards, Data Security, FinCEN, Heartland Payments Systems, Payments, Pending Legislation, Supreme Court. By Stan Santos - Tuesday, May 19, 2009Anti-Money Laundering Compliance — United States
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recently released a white paper on the vulnerabilities of casinos and the gaming industry. This APG/FATF report considers casinos with a physical presence and discusses related money laundering and terrorist financing methods, vulnerabilities, indicators to aid detection and deterrence and international information exchange. The report considers vulnerabilities from gaps in domestic implementation of anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism measures. Online gaming and illegal gambling are beyond the scope of the linked study. The report is 1.20 MB pdf and requires Adobe Acrobat to view. There is a special section that covers credit and debit card usage.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance — International
Canadian regulators have stated that financial services firms should maintain their efforts to fight money laundering despite the global recession and intense pressure to reduce expenses, according to an linked article on Investment Executive.
An article at ThisDay reports that the Bank of Tanzania lacks adequate strategies to combat terrorist funding and money laundering activities despite the existence of laws expressly prohibiting such activities in the country.
A French magistrate has recently opened an investigation against the leaders of Gabon, the Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea, in relation to a complaint filed by Transparency International, an international watchdog group, regarding investment derived from embezzled funds in property and other goods located in France. Apparently this has given Transparency the legitimacy it needs in order to press other claims against corrupt leaders, wherever they may be in the world.
Asset Forfeiture Watch reports that the U.S. Department of State has released its Country Reports on Terrorism for the year 2008. The overview which was made public last week praised Mexico’s President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa and his administration for demonstrating “an unprecedented commitment to address national security concerns” but criticized Mexico’s recent terrorist financing law for its lack of asset forfeiture provisions.
Email This Content Posted in News Roundup. Tagged with AML Compliance, Congressional Hearings, Congressional Oversight, Credit Cards, Data Security, Digital Transactions magazine, FDIC, Gaming, Identity Theft, Supreme Court, Upcoming Legislation. By Stan Santos - Monday, May 11, 2009Upcoming Legislation
On April 27, 2009, the Senate voted on a motion to invoke cloture on anti-fraud legislation that was previously considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 was introduced by Sens. Leahy, Grassley and Kaufman on February 5th. On February 11th, the Committee held a hearing to consider the legislation. It was then reported by the Committee on March 5th. You can view the full text of S. 386 here.
On Tuesday, April 29, 2009, shortly after a continued markup of HR 1728, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act, the House Financial Services Committee approved the bill for consideration by the full House, by a vote of 49 to 21.
Public Policy
The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently issued a report on the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, a regulatory body created by the Financial Literacy and Education Improvement Act of 2003. The Commission comprises 20 federal agencies and which the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Financial Education coordinates. Responding to a mandate in the Act, the GAO assessed the Commission’s effectiveness and in December 2006, recommended that the Commission (1) incorporate additional elements into its national strategy to help it serve as a true implementation plan, measure results and ensure accountability; (2) expand current efforts to cultivate sustainable partnerships with states, localities, nonprofits and private entities; (3) obtain independent reviewers for the required assessments of overlap in federal activities and the availability of federal materials; and (4) measure customer satisfaction with its Web site and test its usability.
Email This Content Posted in News Roundup. Tagged with AML Compliance, Credit Cards, Legislation, Mobile Banking, Supreme Court. By Stan Santos - Monday, May 4, 2009