Last month's confirmation hearing for Adam Szubin, who is seeking to become undersecretary for Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Crime, lacked the fireworks that might have been expected given the Republican majority's animosity toward the Obama administration's agreement with Iran.
There has been modest success in a decades-long effort to minimize the exploitation of gold. In many instances, money launderers have successfully transferred illicit proceeds through gold by simply tweaking its reported value in customs documents and other records.
Some of the country's largest banks are increasingly monitoring account activity for signs of possible human trafficking, according to individuals familiar with the initiatives.
Human trafficking profits are estimated to be between 10 and 40 billion dollars annually, but few people are taking the time to root out the related money laundering transactions, Dr. Louise Shelley told reporter Larissa Bernardes.