News
Mortgage Abuse Crackdown Will Draw Scrutiny to AML Departments, Say Consultants
By Brian Monroe
printPlans by the Obama administration to pursue civil and criminal cases against institutions that illegally promoted mortgage-backed securities could also bring scrutiny to anti-money laundering compliance officers. The White House initiative will draw on dozens of investigators, attorneys and state prosecutors to "aggressively" pursue leads against banks, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a Jan. 27 press conference. A subgroup of the department's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group has already issued civil subpoenas to 11 financial institutions. The inquiries will also mean a closer look at anti-money laundering (AML) and anti-fraud practices at...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
The U.S. Treasury Department finalized rules Thursday requiring federal home-loan banks to implement anti-money laundering controls and report suspicious activity.
The number of suspicious activity reports citing possible mortgage fraud fell in 2012 for the first time in over a decade, according to a report published Tuesday by the U.S. Treasury Department.
Dozens of state regulators may have trouble absorbing new anti-money laundering oversight duties for nonbank mortgage lenders should Congress approve a plan forwarded by the Obama administration.
Real estate title companies, appraisers and escrow agents may be required to file suspicious activity reports and perform customer due diligence, a U.S. Treasury Department official said Monday.
The costs associated with new federal rules requiring mortgage firms to adopt anti-money laundering programs could drive some nonprofit lenders out of the market, companies say.
The number of bank regulatory reports of suspected cases of commercial real estate fraud rose nearly threefold between 2007 and last year, the U.S. Treasury Department said Wednesday.
The U.S. Treasury Department said Monday it plans to close a "regulatory gap" by requiring non-bank mortgage lenders to report suspicious activity to the country's financial intelligence unit.
A U.S. Treasury Department advisory detailing red flags of reverse-mortgage scams takes another step in placing more responsibility for identifying such frauds within banks' anti-money laundering programs, say consultants.
Non-bank mortgage lenders may soon have to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act as part of a broad effort to shield loan companies from money launderers, according to a U.S. regulator.
The current design of federally-mandated suspicious activity reports makes it difficult for banks to report important information tied to suspected mortgage fraud, say former law enforcement agents and consultants.
Mortgage lenders will face greater scrutiny from law enforcement agencies and federal regulators following the passage of an anti-mortgage fraud bill and the announcement that further regulations may be coming.
U.S. lawmakers voted Monday to pass a bill that would expand the definition of money laundering and strengthen anti-fraud laws, paving the way for the measure's passage.
The U.S. Treasury Department asked banks Monday to be wary of individuals and companies trying to take advantage of the government's loan modification program.
Less than two percent of the individuals and companies suspected by banks of mortgage fraud are identified by other financial institutions for separate crimes, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
Plans to increase the number of federal financial crime investigators advanced Thursday as the Obama administration and lawmakers alike called for more resources at the U.S. Justice Department.
Bank reports of suspected mortgage fraud increased more than regulatory filings of any other financial crime in the twelve-month period ending June 30, the U.S. Treasury Department said Wednesday.
The U.S. Justice Department is investigating an undisclosed number of large corporations for fraud "not dissimilar" to Enron's accounting scandal in 2001, an FBI official said Wednesday.
A U.S. lawmaker called Thursday for the formation of a federal task charged with coordinating law enforcement investigations and training related to mortgage fraud.
The Bush administration has added six government agencies, including three financial regulators, to a federal task force charged with fighting mortgage and securities fraud, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
New Year's Eve may have come and gone and all of the post-celebration headaches faded, but financial institutions are going to need many more months to recover from 2008.