News
Relaxed Cuba Remittance Rules May Lead to Jump in Sanctions Abuses
By Brian Monroe
printNew U.S. Treasury Department regulations easing economic sanctions against Cuba and the compliance burden of financial institutions could make it easier for money remitters to break the rules, say analysts. The Obama administration finalized the regulations on Sept. 4, lifting caps on dollar amounts that can be sent by U.S.-based Cubans to the island and expanding the number of potential recipients to those related by blood, marriage or adoption up to three generational degrees removed from the sender. Under previous rules, remitters could send $300 every three months to family members up to a second cousin. The changes, which are...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday authorized American banks to broadly conduct indirect transactions with their Cuban counterparts as part of an effort to stimulate bilateral trade between the nations.
U.S. Treasury Department officials on Tuesday lifted banking and export restrictions against Cuba they say have stymied yearlong efforts to normalize economic and diplomatic ties with the island-nation.
American depository institutions' hesitancy to establish links with banks in Cuba is likely to impede newly authorized trade with the country, according to U.S. officials.
The White House announced Tuesday plans to excise Cuba from a list of countries that support terrorism, a step that would remove one of the largest hurdles to U.S. financial ties to the nation.
The partial lifting of U.S. sanctions against Cuba is raising new questions for American banks that have issued credit cards to clients traveling to the island-nation, according to compliance experts.
Thursday's partial easing of U.S. sanctions against Cuba will do much to bring money to the island nation, but even a full rollback of economic restrictions won't soon resolve the biggest barriers to entry for American banks: low profit margins and high regulatory risk.
The U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions enforcer issued regulations Thursday permitting American banks to transact directly with their Cuban counterparts for the first time in decades.
President Obama announced plans Wednesday to significantly ease commercial and economic sanctions targeting Cuba, dismantling key elements of the 54-year U.S. embargo against the Caribbean nation.
As U.S. officials and bankers debate the merits and drawbacks of an expected $10 billion sanctions settlement with BNP Paribas, their French counterparts are offering a more unified response: outrage.
The West's financial ties to Russia have given countries pause in considering further sanctions, a Roman judge dropped a money laundering case against the former head of the Vatican Bank and more, in this week's news roundup.
In announcing sanctions against Russian politicians and one bank Thursday, U.S. officials made clear that American financial institutions should prepare for more, and soon.
The financial clearing subsidiary of Deutsche Börse AG will pay the U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions enforcer $152 million for holding money in New York-based accounts on behalf of Iran's central bank.
The U.S. Treasury Department is focusing less on punishing individuals who travel to Cuba and more on egregious, high-dollar violations, according to a government report.
Some South Florida-based travel agencies are at risk of incurring state and federal penalties despite having received approval to send money to Cuba from one U.S. Treasury Department agency.
A contradiction between U.S. sanctions rules and federal guidance on Cuban money remitters is prompting some compliance staff to scratch their heads, say analysts.
The U.S. Treasury Department officially loosened restrictions on money sent to Cuba Thursday, lifting caps on dollar amounts remitted and expanding the number of individuals who can receive the funds.
For U.S. financial institutions, recent talks about a potential thaw between the United States and Cuba have signaled more than just a possible end to a Cold War enmity. They’ve signaled dollar signs.
The U.S. Treasury Department will likely move quickly in drafting regulations that loosen most restrictions on money remitted from the United States to Cuba, say banking professionals.
The Obama administration said Monday that it would lift restrictions on how much money Cuban Americans can send to Cuba, easing financial constraints first established in the 1960s.
U.S. and European banks are dropping their direct and correspondent relationships "and any other ties" with Cuba in an effort to protect themselves from any possible fines or actions they anticipate could be levied by U.S. regulators.