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California MSB Will Enter into Record $25 Million Settlement with Justice Department in AML Case
By Brian Monroe
printUPDATE: Adds details of penalty in the first and third paragraphs. Money transmitter Sigue Corp. will forfeit $15 million and spend $9.7 million to upgrade its anti-money laundering program as part of an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to settle charges it violated anti-money laundering rules in handling remittances to Latin America, according to a person familiar with the matter. The record settlement with the Justice Department by a money service business is part of a deferred prosecution agreement that could be issued as early as next week, people familiar with the matter said. The agreement will focus on...
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By targeting Sigue Corp. rather than the affiliated agents where alleged money laundering took place, the Justice Department "squandered a golden opportunity" to go after the element of the MSB industry that presents the greatest laundering risks, an AML consultant says.
Sigue, based in San Fernando, Calif., will forfeit $15 million and spend $9.7 million to upgrade its AML program as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department. Fortent Inform first reported the record penalty on January 11.