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ACAMS Speakers Say It’s Not Just About AML Anymore: Editor’s Notebook
By Kieran Beer
printAt least a couple of the federal regulators demanded it, and the anti-money laundering chiefs who spoke at the ACAMS 7th Annual Money Laundering Conference in Las Vegas last week agreed: AML departments must play a greater role in uncovering mortgage and other types of fraud. It's not everyday that the representatives of the four major banking regulators and AML professionals share an enthusiasm. The confluence of aims reflects the fact that loan losses are currently the regulators' number one headache, and AML chieftains want to prove to their institutions they can be part of the solution. Fundamentally, AML professionals...
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The U.S. Treasury Department finalized rules Thursday requiring federal home-loan banks to implement anti-money laundering controls and report suspicious activity.
Plans by the Obama administration to pursue civil and criminal cases against institutions that illegally promoted mortgage-backed securities could also bring scrutiny to anti-money laundering compliance officers.
The number of bank regulatory reports of suspected cases of commercial real estate fraud rose nearly threefold between 2007 and last year, the U.S. Treasury Department said Wednesday.
The U.S. Treasury Department said Monday it plans to close a "regulatory gap" by requiring non-bank mortgage lenders to report suspicious activity to the country's financial intelligence unit.
A U.S. Treasury Department advisory detailing red flags of reverse-mortgage scams takes another step in placing more responsibility for identifying such frauds within banks' anti-money laundering programs, say consultants.
Non-bank mortgage lenders may soon have to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act as part of a broad effort to shield loan companies from money launderers, according to a U.S. regulator.
The current design of federally-mandated suspicious activity reports makes it difficult for banks to report important information tied to suspected mortgage fraud, say former law enforcement agents and consultants.
Mortgage lenders will face greater scrutiny from law enforcement agencies and federal regulators following the passage of an anti-mortgage fraud bill and the announcement that further regulations may be coming.
U.S. lawmakers voted Monday to pass a bill that would expand the definition of money laundering and strengthen anti-fraud laws, paving the way for the measure's passage.
The U.S. Treasury Department asked banks Monday to be wary of individuals and companies trying to take advantage of the government's loan modification program.
Less than two percent of the individuals and companies suspected by banks of mortgage fraud are identified by other financial institutions for separate crimes, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
Plans to increase the number of federal financial crime investigators advanced Thursday as the Obama administration and lawmakers alike called for more resources at the U.S. Justice Department.
Bank reports of suspected mortgage fraud increased more than regulatory filings of any other financial crime in the twelve-month period ending June 30, the U.S. Treasury Department said Wednesday.
The U.S. Justice Department is investigating an undisclosed number of large corporations for fraud "not dissimilar" to Enron's accounting scandal in 2001, an FBI official said Wednesday.
A U.S. lawmaker called Thursday for the formation of a federal task charged with coordinating law enforcement investigations and training related to mortgage fraud.
The Bush administration has added six government agencies, including three financial regulators, to a federal task force charged with fighting mortgage and securities fraud, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Federal regulators are not giving banks any free passes when it comes to anti-money laundering compliance despite a flurry of loan-related enforcement actions, according to an analysis of recent penalty orders.
Banks should streamline their compliance efforts by coordinating their anti-money laundering and anti-fraud programs, the director of the United States' financial intelligence unit said Tuesday.
Financial institutions filed 46,717 suspicious activity reports about potential mortgage fraud in fiscal year 2007, a 31 percent increase in the reports from the previous year, the FBI said Tuesday.
Mortgage fraud cases skyrocketed during the real estate boom of the past decade, and the problem is likely to get worse this year, fraud experts say.