News
Banks Dropping Latin American Accounts Tied to Secondary Market Businesses
By Colby Adams
printCrackdowns on currency exchange and bond swap businesses in Mexico and Venezuela are prompting some U.S. banks to turn away secondary market businesses in Latin America even when they operate legitimately, say consultants. Parallel, or secondary, market companies typically act as money changers by exacting a fee for exchanging U.S. dollars for local currency. The businesses, which often make use of U.S. banking services, can include local manufacturers, retailers, grocers, money transmitters and other companies. But some compliance staff officers broadly conflate the risks associated with the legitimate, regulated secondary markets and those tied to Venezuela's recently-outlawed permuta market, Mexican...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Subscribe
Learn More
Related News
Latin America's economic growth has outpaced its development of institutions tasked with fighting financial crime, according to Monica Arruda de Almeida, an adjunct assistant professor for the Center for Latin American Studies at Georgetown University who researches transnational regulation.
Mexican officials will extend until February an upcoming deadline for nonbank companies to implement anti-money laundering controls, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.
An agreement formalizing cooperation between a Mexican financial regulator and a U.S. overseer of money services businesses and banks is likely to result in more enforcement actions in both countries.
Bank compliance staff should better scrutinize clients tied to Central America and Mexico's cattle industry following a spate of related U.S. sanctions, say current and former officials.
Recent investigations indicate that a number of Mexican brokerage firms are converting drug profits into pesos and using a network of couriers to layer the money in American bank accounts.
A list of alleged Mexican drug traffickers could aid anti-money laundering departments in identifying suspicious transactions, say compliance officers.
U.S. lawmakers may need to earmark more money for Mexico's financial intelligence unit as part of a $1.9 billion aid package intended to help fight drug trafficking, a federal official said Thursday.
With its next presidential election less than a week away, Venezuela has more than an unplanned transition in leadership to sort out. It has, once again, a growing problem with capital flight.
The U.S. government's landmark case against HSBC Holdings Plc for knowingly turning a blind eye to financial crime is seemingly fated to end much as it began: complex and messy.
Changes to the final version of Mexico's new anti-money laundering law leave important gaps in the nation's compliance regime, and may elicit criticism from an intergovernmental policymaker, say analysts.
When Mexico's President Felipe Calderon relinquishes power in December to his successor, he'll leave behind a decidedly mixed legacy in the fight against the country's drug cartels. But U.S. law enforcement agents and other officials worry that Mexico's next leader could do worse, sources say.
Mexico has lost as much $91 billion per year to capital flight associated with tax evasion and corruption during the last decade, according to a report by an American advocacy group.
Narcocorrido balladeers can profit by praising crime in their songs without living the lifestyle. But they can also have direct links to Mexican drug cartels, including by helping to launder dirty money.
American officials are investigating whether banks accepting cash declared by individuals entering the United States from Mexico are filing regulatory reports with the U.S. Treasury Department, say compliance professionals.
U.S. lawmakers Thursday questioned how a blacklisted Lebanese terrorist organization works with political leaders and narco-traffickers in Latin America.
New rules restricting U.S. dollar deposits at Mexican banks could end up pushing billions in illicit cash through U.S. and Latin American financial institutions, say compliance professionals.
The Mexican Finance Ministry Tuesday unveiled strict new limits on cash deposits of U.S. dollars in efforts to curb the flow of illicit cash into the financial system from drug traffickers.
Venezuela's takeover of at least 30 bond brokerages on money laundering charges will do little to stem the tide of illicit proceeds flowing into the country, say analysts.
Brian Stoeckert, president of Los Angeles-based Stoeckert Consulting, Inc. spoke with reporter Larissa Bernardes about risks associated with a Venezuelan bond swap.