January 23, 2006 News Archive

OFAC Releases Sanctions Enforcement Procedures for Banking Institutions; Seeks Comments
In a press release, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced it had published guidelines in the Federal Register titled "Economic Sanctions Enforcement Procedures for Banking Institutions Regulated by FFIEC-member Supervisory Agencies."

In reviewing apparent violations, OFAC said it would consider such factors as the opinion of a bank's primary federal regulator; the institution's history of OFAC compliance; the circumstances surrounding the violations, including any patterns or weaknesses in an institution's compliance program and whether those weaknesses indicate negligence or fundamental flaws; whether violations were voluntarily disclosed; enforcement information provided by the institution to OFAC; the number of transactions or accounts handled improperly; and the bank's actions to correct violations and to ensure future compliance. OFAC said it will notify and discuss with a bank its preliminary assessment before taking final action.

The guidelines go into effect Feb. 13, with a comment deadline of March 13, 2006.

Federal Government Publishes Comprehensive Money Laundering Report
Sixteen government agencies released a report examining money laundering vulnerabilities in the United States on Jan. 11. The U .S. Money Laundering Threat Assessment is the first government-wide analysis of its kind providing profiles of specific methods of money laundering, outlining the current legal and regulatory landscape, and presenting known patterns of abuse, geographical concentrations and case studies. The report noted that new areas of concern include stored-value cards, online payment systems and shell companies. The report found that the top cities for filings of suspicious activity reports for mortgage fraud were: Ann Arbor, MI; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Calabasas, CA; and New York City. For suspicious activity reports concerning identity theft, the top five cities were: Wilmington, DE; Salt Lake City, UT; Phoenix, AR; Sioux Falls, SD; and Las Vegas , NV. For credit or debit card fraud, the top cities were: Phoenix, AR; Wilmington , DE; Salt Lake City, UT; Sioux Falls, SD; and New York City. (PDF)