New Zealand's Ministry of Justice called for industry input ahead of the government's submission next year of legislation that could impose anti-money laundering rules on non-bank businesses and amend suspicious activity reporting obligations.
A jewelry industry advocacy group is helping anti-money laundering examiners at the IRS to better understand the vulnerabilities and business models of dealers in precious metals and stones.
The U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a rule confirming that precious metals dealers and insurance companies are required to maintain anti-money laundering programs.
The Internal Revenue Service will not start implementing most jewelry business examinations for Bank Secrecy Act compliance until at least fiscal year 2008, an agency official said Monday.
Jewelry dealers left an AML seminar last week in New York with unanswered questions about their Bank Secrecy Act responsibilities. The IRS representative who led the session said she couldn't give certain answers in part because she doesn't yet know the particulars of the industry.
Spanish authorities cracked a major gold-based money laundering scheme by a group of jewelers. Experts say the jewelry and precious metals industries lack controls to prevent laundering.
U.S. FinCEN is poised to issue its long-awaited regulations under USA Patriot Act Section 352 for jewelers and precious metals dealers. The rules are expected before the end of May.
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