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Two Years After Agreement, Western Union Remittance Data Remains Underused: Former Arizona AG
printUnscrupulous financial institutions, legislative delays and a lack of quick action by U.S. federal officials are allowing drug cartels to wash money in the United States "right before our eyes," according to Terry Goddard, the former Attorney General of Arizona. Goddard's eight-year tenure as Arizona's chief prosecutor is marked by numerous successes in the field of anti-money laundering, including a February 2010 agreement with Western Union that required the world's largest money services business to provide law enforcement ongoing access to remittance data to settle charges that it laundered money for human traffickers. The settlement also launched the Southwest Border...
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One of the world's largest money services businesses will pay nearly $10 million and share transactional data with U.S. states and Mexico as part of an extension to a 2010 settlement.
Money launderers working on behalf of Mexican cartels have moved southward after a deferred prosecution agreement between Western Union and Arizona gave investigators unprecedented access to remittance data in Northern Mexico, according to Vince Piano.
The nation's largest money services business has begun imposing new anti-money laundering checks on subagents in Mexico in an effort to comply with its March 2010 agreement with Arizona prosecutors, say sources.
For the second time this year, the nation's largest money transmitter has asked Arizona for additional time to upgrade its anti-money laundering program, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Arizona has granted the nation's largest money transmitter an additional three months to improve its anti-money laundering compliance program and avoid criminal prosecution.
One of the world's largest money services businesses is in danger of criminal indictment for failing to meet the terms of a 2010 settlement with the state of Arizona, say sources.
The New Mexico Attorney General's Office has expanded its team of anti-money laundering investigators as a result of a 2010 settlement between the state of Arizona and Western Union, according to the state's top prosecutor.
When the DOJ accused 14 in June of washing Mexican cartel money via a horse racing operation, it signified a rare feat in the drug war: a prosecution built solely on money laundering charges. Despite years of trying to choke the cash networks of Mexicans drug gangs, such cases remain the exception.
When Mexico's President Felipe Calderon relinquishes power in December to his successor, he'll leave behind a decidedly mixed legacy in the fight against the country's drug cartels. But U.S. law enforcement agents and other officials worry that Mexico's next leader could do worse, sources say.
A 2010 agreement by Western Union to share data with Arizona and other Southwestern states is the catalyst for a major AML prosecution that came to light Thursday.
An agreement by one the nation's largest money transmitters to better share transactional data with investigators has resulted in greater scrutiny, both for the business and its chief competitor.
State prosecutors along the U.S.-Mexico border are studying whether drug traffickers are acting as subagents for Mexican banks that front payments on behalf of American money services businesses.
The implementation of U.S. dollar deposit limits at Mexican financial institutions has sparked an influx of cash deposits into U.S. banks, who are failing to properly scrutinize the funds, according to Cameron Holmes, a senior litigation counsel in the Arizona Attorney General's office.
Concerns about drug cartel money smuggling could shape expected U.S. Treasury Department compliance rules on how companies should treat stored value cards, according to investigators.
Western Union will pay $94 million to resolve claims by the Arizona Attorney General's office that the company wasn't doing enough to combat Mexican money launderers and human traffickers.
Arizona's Supreme Court struck down a ruling Wednesday that would have allowed the attorney general to order freezes on wire transfers from 28 other states to locations in northern Mexico.
Arizona investigators are free to seize Western Union money transfers believed to be tied to human smuggling operations, even when the transfers originated from other states, a state court said.
The case points to the difficulties that large money service businesses face in detecting compliance violations at associated stores, compliance consultants say.