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A senior U.S. official has signaled that a legal power typically used against foreign banks and nations that allegedly handle criminal and terrorist funds may soon be deployed against more-unorthodox targets: certain types of transactions and financial relationships. Designating certain financial instruments as a "primary money laundering concern" under the Patriot Act may give the U.S. a view into the rapidly evolving financial sector, where transactions and investments increasingly bypass traditional banks, said Jamal El Hindi, deputy director of the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. "[Amid] the potential for greater disintermediation, it makes perfect sense ... to consider appropriate...