Some of the 700 Miami-area electronics retailers placed under enhanced reporting requirements by the U.S. Treasury Department last year are routing payments through recently-created offshore branches to circumvent the rules.
U.S. officials are likely to gather a wealth of data from the imposition of newly-mandated reporting requirements but may have limited means to directly enforce compliance with the rules, according to government sources.
Hampered by restricted access to international wire data, U.S. federal officials are hoping to shine a light on a suspected money-laundering ring through reports on cash payments in Miami's electronics sector.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday directed hundreds of electronics companies near Miami to comply with enhanced cash reporting requirements as part of a federal effort to expose a trade-based money-laundering scheme.