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Rise of ‘Money Mule’ Investigations Contingent on Bank SARs
By Brian Monroe
printLaw enforcement's efforts to curtail criminal organizations' use of unwitting third parties to transfer dirty money will rely largely on requested bank data and regulatory filings on suspicious transactions. Last month, the acting chief of the FBI's cyber crimes section, Patrick Carney, disclosed that the bureau had launched 250 investigations into the exploitation of individuals and corporations manipulated into laundering illicit funds, according to news reports. The announcement followed an October 2009 warning to banks by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) about the scams. Known as "money mules," the individuals often believe they are accepting an innocuous job or...
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