Draft U.S. Treasury Department rules on customer due diligence requirements for financial institutions would not prevent criminals from exploiting shell companies, according to Elise Bean, former staff director and chief counsel of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
The proposed customer due diligence rule that was released July 30 was notable for what it didn't require, perhaps even more than for what it did.
Intergovernmental plans to better identify corporate owners will do little to thwart financial crooks, even at great cost to banks and governments, according to an academic report on offshore financial flows.
Taking federal bailout money can come with a lot of strings attached: public relations strings, capital oversight strings and, surprisingly, anti-money laundering compliance strings.
The head of a powerful U.S. Senate panel is pushing to include new corporate transparency measures as part of broader financial reform legislation, according to former and current staffers.
U.S. investigators arrested the former chief executive officer of a Manhattan-based bank Monday for allegedly embezzling money from a fraudulent loan and attempting to cheat the government out of federal bailout funds.
U.S. financial regulators reiterated calls Friday for banks to verify the beneficial owners of corporate accounts, including trusts and private investment companies, as part of their anti-money laundering programs.
The proposed governmental program allowing the purchase of toxic bank assets "presents an ideal opportunity" for criminals wishing to launder money, a U.S. watchdog agency said Tuesday.
Federal regulators that uncover anti-money laundering lapses at banks could face an unusual challenge this year: how to penalize an institution that has been propped up with government money.
Plans to have flailing financial institutions certify how they use bailout funds may leave the companies open to large fines under the False Claims Act, say legal experts.