A U.S. Treasury Department rule finalized in 2011 has prompted foreign money services businesses to incorporate affiliates in the United States in an effort to retain access to American banks.
Thousands of small money services businesses have lost some federal anti-money laundering oversight and guidance due to budget cuts involving two U.S. Treasury agencies, according to current and former government officials.
A soon-to-be introduced House bill could allow state financial examiners to better share the results of their money services businesses examinations with counterparts throughout the country.
Hundreds of money services businesses and other small financial institutions will miss the U.S. Treasury Department's June 30 deadline to file all of their anti-money laundering reports electronically, say sources.
When Robert Frimet arrived last summer at a small check cashing business in California to audit its compliance with financial crime and sanctions rules, one problem immediately stood out: the business had never heard of the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Money services businesses have been slow to respond to an April request by the U.S. Treasury Department to provide more data on their individual agents, say compliance professionals.
The U.S. Treasury Department Monday imposed new compliance duties on foreign money remitters and other businesses that serve U.S. clients as part of broader efforts to track global illicit finance.
Last year's failed Times Square car bombing has been the chief impetus behind a recent U.S. Treasury Department's initiative to identify unregistered money services businesses and hawala networks, according to sources.
A Manhattan court Wednesday indicted a New York man for allegedly transferring money illegally to Faisal Shahzad, the 31-year-old man who attempted to detonate a homemade bomb in Times Square.