Financial Regulatory Forum

By Stuart Gittleman, Compliance Complete

NEW YORK, June 4 (Thomson Reuters Accelus) – The suspicious-activity reports and other filings submitted by anti-money laundering officers are quite unlike a child’s letters to Santa Claus — they can be assured of an audience, Manhattan’s top local prosecutor and top staffers told reporters last week.
New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said his staff is continuing the war Bob Morgenthau, his predecessor, waged against the usual focus of AML efforts – drugs, fraud, taxes and terrorism – but they are using new tools and methods to fight emerging criminal threats as well as lower-level “street crime.” (more…)

By Brett Wolf, Complinet

The US Treasury Department has announced that it is seeking financial industry representatives to join its 50-member Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group. For the first time, this year’s application process has barred registered lobbyists from the group, whose duties include evaluating potential anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations. Citing an Obama Administration Executive Order and Presidential Memorandum, the Federal Register notice submitted by Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network stated that “member organizations may not designate a representative to participate in BSAAG plenary or subcommittee meetings who is registered as a lobbyist pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 1603(a)”. (more…)