FinCEN – Investigates JPMorgan, BoA – money laundering

Editor’s Note – Money laundering to places like Cube, Iran, and Venezuela? Is someone actually going to serve time? No, of course not; not with current DoJ. Business as usual; nothing to see here; keep moving, keep moving…

This is what they are supposed to do, but like previous investigations, they will levy a hefty fine – cost of doing business…:

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Treasury Dept.

FinCEN’s Mandate From Congress - 31 U.S.C. 310

This statute establishes FinCEN as a bureau within the Treasury Department and describes FinCEN’s duties and powers to include:

1. Maintaining a government-wide data access service with a range of financial transactions information;
2. Analysis and dissemination of information in support of law enforcement investigatory professionals at the Federal, State, Local, and International levels;
3. Determine emerging trends and methods in money laundering and other financial crimes;
4. Serve as the Financial Intelligence Unit of the United States;
5. Carry out other delegated regulatory responsibilities.

JPMorgan Being Investigated for Money Laundering

By Connor Simpson – The Atlantic Wire

Federal authorities are investigating JPMorgan, Bank of America and other big U.S. financial institutions for potential non-compliance with federal money laundering laws, according to a report from the New York Times.

The Times reports the investigation is being led by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, in conjuncture with the Justice Department and the Manhattan district attorney’s office. JPMorgan is the biggest bank being looked at, and the Times says the focus on the bank stems from last year’s $88.3 million settlement over transactions with Cuba and Iran that violated U.S. trade sanctions.

No one has commented on the exact scope and size of the investigation, but Reuters reports officials are paying close attention to potentially illegal transactions made in Venezuela.

The investigation focuses on whether the banks are complying with the regulations of 2008′s Bank Secrecy Act. Whether or not the banks were meeting the bill’s guidelines got relegated to the backseat once the financial crisis hit. Now that regulators have more time to focus on money laundering laws again, it could lead to one of the biggest crackdowns on money laundering in decades.

For more on the subject, read here at the NY Times.

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