News
Lawmakers Again Rap White House Over Delayed Prepaid Card Declaration Rule
By Colby Adams
printAn apparent decision by White House officials to postpone the issuance of final rules governing the cross-border transport of prepaid access products has once again drawn criticism from U.S. lawmakers. On Monday, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) sent letters urging Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and White House budget director Shaun Donovan to finalize a 2011 proposal that would require travelers carrying $10,000 or more in prepaid value to fill out declaration forms when crossing U.S. borders, as they must with cash. The White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has yet to complete its budgetary review...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
Prompted by signs that criminals are increasingly exploiting prepaid cards, federal and state investigators are turning to a handful of recent legal decisions to justify reading the value held on the instruments, sources say.
An amended version of a long-delayed U.S. Treasury Department proposal to place new controls on the international transport of prepaid cards is under White House review and slated for introduction within three months.
As U.S. officials work to shield American prepaid cards from abuse by financial crooks, foreign-issued stored value products remain a relatively easy avenue to move money into the United States anonymously.
American officials will begin field-testing prepaid card readers at U.S. border stops next month as part of the lead-up to the Treasury Department regulations governing their cross-border transport, say officials.
Disputes and confusion over which companies will be responsible for anti-money laundering rules on stored value products has delayed federal registration and oversight of the sector, say industry representatives.
Displeased with proposed regulations, federal and state law enforcement officials are asking lawmakers and the U.S. Treasury Department to strengthen controls on the cross-border movement of prepaid access products.
The U.S. Treasury Department Tuesday prescribed new compliance rules on the prepaid product industry, a sector largely unregulated despite concerns about its vulnerability to money launderers.
A dearth of U.S. Treasury Department regulations governing the cross-border transportation of prepaid access products has hamstrung American efforts to combat Mexican drug-trafficking organizations, according to lawmakers.
Senators chastised the U.S. Treasury Department Wednesday for delays in regulating prepaid access products that can be used to smuggle drug proceeds from the United States into Mexico.
The U.S. Treasury Department's proposals to better regulate prepaid access products fail to outline how the new rules will be implemented and enforced, according to a governmental watchdog group.
Proposed regulations by the U.S. Treasury Department on the prepaid card industry are raising questions and concerns among anti-money laundering compliance consultants on how the rules can be implemented and enforced.