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FinCEN Says Financial Intermediaries for Small Loans, Veterans Benefits Not MSBs

Third-party financial companies acting as clearinghouses to settle loan payments for foreign entrepreneurs or move government retirement benefits into direct deposit accounts are not subject to the Bank Secrecy Act, the U.S. Treasury Department said Friday. The administrative rulings by the department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) originated from two companies that requested guidance on whether the loans they were processing to spur business in the developing world or money orders they issued to veterans and Social Security recipients made them subject to anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. One of the companies sent the bureau a letter in May 2008 asking...

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