A U.S. District Court judge Wednesday signed an order ending Wachovia Bank's deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Justice Department for failing to identify transactions potentially tied to drug cartels.
Federal regulators have increased their scrutiny of correspondent relationships that could be used to mask nested accounts for non-U.S. money remitters otherwise barred from American banks because of compliance risks.
Wells Fargo & Co., the parent company of Wachovia Bank, will pay $160 million to settle anti-money laundering compliance problems tied to accounts with Mexican currency exchange companies, the company said Wednesday.
Two Mexican exchange houses transferred money through U.S.-based banks that was used to buy aircraft for transporting more than $1 billion worth of cocaine, the Mexican government said this week.
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