The U.S. Treasury Department should require financial institutions to provide more details on suspicious transactions and accountholders in response to requests made by law enforcement through a confidential data-sharing mechanism, government auditors recommend. Under Section 314 of the Patriot Act, U.S. law enforcement agencies can "ping" financial institutions for the names, social security numbers and other personal details tied to accounts held by suspected money launderers or terrorist financiers, and financial institutions can voluntarily share similar details with one other without incurring civil liability. But in a 29-page report released Tuesday, the Treasury Department's Office of Inspector General, or OIG,...
print