Latest news with #FinancialCrimesEnforcementNetwork
Scoop
28-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Providing Sanctions Relief For The Syrian People
Marco Rubio, Secretary of State May 23, 2025 In accordance with the President's promise to deliver sanctions relief to Syria, I have issued a 180-day waiver of mandatory Caesar Act sanctions to ensure sanctions do not impede the ability of our partners to make stability-driving investments, and advance Syria's recovery and reconstruction efforts. These waivers will facilitate the provision of electricity, energy, water, and sanitation, and enable a more effective humanitarian response across Syria. In addition, the Department of the Treasury issued Syria General License (GL) 25 to authorize transactions by U.S. persons previously prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations, effectively lifting sanctions on Syria. The GL will allow for new investment and private sector activity consistent with the President's America First strategy. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is providing exceptive relief to permit U.S. financial institutions to maintain correspondent accounts for the Commercial Bank of Syria. Today's actions represent the first step in delivering on the President's vision of a new relationship between Syria and the United States. President Trump is providing the Syrian government with the chance to promote peace and stability, both within Syria and in Syria's relations with its neighbors. The President has made clear his expectation that relief will be followed by prompt action by the Syrian government on important policy priorities. The sanctions waiver is issued pursuant to section 7432(b)(1) of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 8791 note).
Boston Globe
23-05-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Danvers man sentenced to 6 years in federal prison for laundering more than $1 million via unlicensed Bitcoin exchange service
From September 2017 through October 2020, Nguyen operated National Vending, LLC, charging customers a fee to convert cash into Bitcoin, according to the statement. However, in violation of federal law, Nguyen never registered the company with the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the statement said. Instead, he posed it as a vending-machine business to banks, crypto platforms, and state authorities. He also accepted large cash payments tied to crime, the statement said. In 2018, he took $250,000 from a man he knew was meth dealer; then, in 2019 and 2020, he took $445,000 from three Advertisement Nguyen also failed to report any of these transactions as suspicious or exceeding $10,000, as required by law. Instead, he used encrypted messaging apps to communicate with clients and disguised large cash deposits by breaking them into smaller amounts across multiple days and bank locations, the statement said. Advertisement He even enrolled in a paid course that taught him how to avoid detection, advising him to present the company as a business where 'cash deposits from around the country make sense,' to invent fake supplier lists, and to 'never say the word Bitcoin,' according to the statement. Rita Chandler can be reached at
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Judge Halts Federal Scrutiny of $200 Transactions
Among the many intrusions of the federal government into our lives is the requirement that cash transactions of $10,000 or more be reported to the authorities. It's just one exercise in surveillance of our lives that should be done away with. But instead of abolishing currency transaction reports, the federal government recently lowered the reporting threshold to $200 in some border areas. Fortunately, a federal judge blocked enforcement of the order in California while legal challenges move forward. "Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) to further combat the illicit activities and money laundering of Mexico-based cartels and other criminal actors along the southwest border of the United States," the U.S. government's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network announced March 11. "The GTO requires all money services businesses (MSBs) located in 30 ZIP codes across California and Texas near the southwest border to file Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) with FinCEN at a $200 threshold, in connection with cash transactions." A decade ago, the policy change might have been justified in the name of fighting terrorists; these days, the feds fret over criminal cartels (although, as Reason's Joe Lancaster reported, President Donald Trump split the difference by designating cartels as terrorists). But no matter who government officials claim to be targeting, the burden of compliance always falls on individuals and small businesses. The change is a big one. Prior to the March 11 announcement, the threshold had been set at $10,000 since 1972. The dollar has lost much of its purchasing power since then, meaning that more and more transactions are subject to the reporting requirement, increasing the burden of compliance. "The inflation-adjusted threshold in 2023 would have been about $72,880," a December 2024 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report observed. "Using an inflation-adjusted threshold would have reduced the number of CTRs filed by at least 90 percent annually since 2014." Not only are Americans suffering under intrusive paperwork, but law enforcement is trying to drink from a firehose of reports. "Law enforcement agencies accessed less than 3 percent of CTRs filed from 2014 through 2023," the GAO added. But instead of eliminating or streamlining the reporting requirement, the feds lowered the threshold. That means much more paperwork for everybody in the affected ZIP codes. "Esperanza Gomez and Arnoldo Gonzalez, Jr. run small businesses near the U.S.-Mexico border that provide everyday, small-dollar financial services—often for customers without bank accounts," the Institute for Justice noted in an April 15 press release about a lawsuit challenging the lowered reporting threshold. "While $10,000 is a large amount to Esperanza and Arnoldo's customers—Esperanza's business, for instance, has never had a transaction that large—lowering the threshold to $200 will mean that almost every transaction triggers a report. The reports require detailed information including birthdates, Social Security numbers, and home addresses." Each report takes Gomez and Gonzalez 20 minutes to file, which means hours of extra work every day. Meanwhile, any actual criminals interested in evading the reporting requirement can take their business to a ZIP code outside the affected area. The excessiveness of the policy change proved persuasive to U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino of the Southern District of California. On Tuesday, she issued a temporary restraining order that applies to enforcement of the reporting threshold change in the California ZIP codes. "Sammartino ruled that the San Diego plaintiffs, Gomez and her business, Novedades y Servicios Plus, 'have demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of their claims,'" reports Alex Riggins of The San Diego Union-Tribune. "The plaintiffs had argued that the geographic targeting order was unlawfully issued without undergoing the notice-and-comment procedures prescribed by federal law and that the rule is arbitrary and capricious under federal law." "The government's order enlists these businesses to carry out an unprecedented and sweeping government surveillance system, and buried them in paperwork in the process," commented Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Rob Johnson. "We are grateful for this temporary relief and will continue to fight to make it permanent." The plaintiffs plan to request an extended restraining order that will remain in place for the duration of litigation. Ultimately, they hope to entirely overturn the lowered reporting requirement. Earlier this month, financial services businesses along the Texas border won a more-targeted restraining order against the government that temporarily relieves them of the burden of compliance while their lawsuit proceeds. One of the plaintiffs in that case pointed out that many of his competitors are located on the Mexican side of the border, beyond the reach of U.S. government reporting requirements. In a May 2024 piece for Reason, Nicholas Anthony and Naomi Brockwell pointed out that financial surveillance has become increasingly intrusive in recent decades with relatively little pushback relative to other forms of government snoopiness. "Compared to today, customers in the 1970s had far more freedom in opening accounts and interacting with their own money. Back then, the decision to transact with a bank could be based on the cash in one's pocket," they wrote. "Transactions were not scrutinized for threats of terrorism or drug trafficking. Customers were not legally required to supply a photo ID to set up an account." Change, and the erosion of financial privacy, came with the passage of the Bank Secrecy Act, they added. Inflation has further extended the government's reach by applying what were once high-dollar thresholds for scrutiny to relatively common transactions. Along with the Biden administration's aborted attempt to monitor cash flows of as little as $600, the recent FinCen reduction of the reporting threshold to $200 makes it clear that government officials want to know where our money is at all times. Hopefully, more forceful pushback against financial surveillance will begin with the temporary restraining order in California and its companion in Texas. The post Judge Halts Federal Scrutiny of $200 Transactions appeared first on
Time Magazine
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal Are a Blast to Watch in The Accountant 2
I suffer from what I call an Afflecktion: a love for Ben Affleck that's also just a little apologetic, as if I know there are classier actors out there— Cillian Murphy, Adam Driver, Josh O'Connor —who are of course all great, but who just don't ring the same bell. Affleck has one of those 'Sure, why not?' faces. Play an eccentric sneaker mogul, an alcoholic construction worker who finds redemption coaching high school basketball, a tortured actor who played Superman on TV but longed for meatier rules? How about the most somber, miserable Batman ever? Sure, sure, sure, and sure: why not try it all? In 2016 Affleck accepted, probably with pleasure, the challenge of playing a neurodiverse hit man who lives out of a weapon-filled Airstream trailer and has trouble forging meaningful relationships with other humans. The Accountant —directed by Gavin O'Connor and written by Bill Dubuque—was a surprise hit. For all kinds of reasons, including a pandemic, it has taken nine years to get a sequel, but at last, The Accountant 2 is here; written and directed by the same duo, it builds on every promise of the first movie, even as it's also—mostly—jauntier, looser, more entertaining. Affleck once again plays a guy more comfortable with infinitely complex mathematical equations (and firing automatic weapons) than he is with talking to a beautiful woman in a bar. Because—sure, why not? The story begins reasonably enough before dissolving into something almost unapologetically unfollowable. Ray King (J.K. Simmons, returning from the first film, albeit briefly), having retired from his job as Treasury Director and now moonlighting as a private detective, meets with a mysterious, affectless young woman, Anaïs (Daniella Pineda), in a cheerfully seedy Los Angeles bar. He shows her a picture of a small family from El Salvador, father, son, and mother, imploring her to find them. She has no idea what he's asking her to do, or why; she looks at him blankly as he urgently tells her of something called 'acquired savant syndrome.' Then Ray is murdered by a bunch of thugs who have been trailing him, and his former employee, Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), now head of the cheerfully named Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, tries to find out who killed him and why. She's flummoxed, though he has left a clue: When Ray realizes his goose is cooked, he ducks into a bathroom stall and carves a message on his forearm: 'Find the accountant.' Luckily, Marybeth knows just how to do that, and before long Affleck's Christian Wolff has wheeled into town in his trailer, his face unreadable but his spirit somehow willing to help. The plot mechanics include human trafficking and unconscionable treatment of child migrants: these elements, somber and depressing, especially given certain current political realities, often throw the movie's vibe out of whack. It's the kind of picture that makes you feel a little guilty for having fun—as if we needed to be reminded that horrible things happen in the world we live in. But the tonal wobbliness of The Accountant 2 is offset by all it does right: The story expands on the role of the bucolic New Hampshire school, the Harbor Neuroscience Academy, that gave Christian the confidence to function in the world in the first place. We see a gorgeously appointed, cheerful facility, where children whom Robert F. Kennedy Jr., would consider hopeless are instead encouraged to explore and sharpen their gifts. Led by Christian's childhood friend Justine (she's played by Allison Robertson; her voice, with its proper British pinkie-up diction, is provided by Alison Wright), these kids make short work of solving every logistical puzzle Christian and Marybeth toss their way. Best of all, Jon Bernthal returns, with lots more screentime, as Christian's brother Brax, also a highly efficient contract killer. (He gets a great entrance, nonchalantly checking into a Berlin hotel, where he's given a gun in a presentation box; we don't see what he does with that gun, but before you know it, he's surround by an array of dead baddies who don't know what hit them.) We get a better sense of the bristly dynamic between these two brothers: Christian, it becomes clear, hasn't contacted Braxton in years—he promised to do so at the end of the earlier movie, and then just took off. Braxton, wounded, refuses to warm up to his inscrutable brother, and then relents: they share an evening hanging out atop Christian's trailer, where Braxton reveals that he's trying to adopt a dog. Christian informs his brother, flatly—because that's the only way he knows how to express himself—that he's really more of a cat person. And damned if he isn't right. As they bicker and spar, Bernthal and Affleck are unsurprisingly wonderful together, because each is wonderful on his own. Bernthal has that beefy, craggy tough-guy look that you just know is a front for a tender heart; he's an heir to the late, great Fred Ward. He's a great foil for Affleck, who seems to be having a deadpan blast in The Accountant 2. In an early scene, poor Christian attends a dating event, having gamed the system, with his perfect numerical logic, so that all the potential lovelies are lined up at his table. They look at him, their eyes shiny—because the man playing this character is, after all, lantern-jawed Ben Affleck—as they try to make small talk: 'I'm Ann Renee, and I just love love LOVE accountants!' says one, only to feel rebuffed when Christian looks at her with a face of stone. Later, when he and Braxton stop into a country-and-western bar for a drink, a sweet, gorgeous woman in shorts and cowboy boots flirts with him unapologetically, only to slink away when his face signals nothing but bewilderment. Braxton lectures his older brother—earlier, he has assessed Christian's chances of landing a date and declared them zero, thanks to Christian's puffy-soled 'Forrest Gump shoes'—telling him that all he had to do was ask the woman to dance. Why is that beyond him? 'Because my brain doesn't work that way,' he blurts out, and we understand the frustration roiling behind those evenly set eyebrows, even though his face betrays none of it. That's the Affleck touch. The Accountant 2 is not, and is not trying to be, a movie about the realities of autism. Even so, it challenges us to think about how our brains work, why we do and say the things we do—and to recognize that even though we may think there's a normal way to respond to social cues, not everyone is wired the same way. Affleck takes the character of Christian Wolff seriously, even as he also understands everything that makes him funny, including the way he fills out, perfectly, a ridiculous Sriracha 'Awesome Sauce' T-shirt. This is the Ben Affleck we've come to know and love: the actor who takes everything very seriously, but who also knows how to say, 'Get over yourself, dude' just in time. In the end, in that bar, Christian does join that beautiful young woman on the dance floor, because he realizes that line dancing, so orderly and predictable, is right up his alley. He's having a great time; you can see it on his face, sort of. This is just one example of what Ben Affleck can do, when he's not winning Oscars for producing or screenwriting. He thinks everything through, and then he jumps: Sure, why not? The least reckless of all actors, he makes taking chances look easy. And he can make Forrest Gump shoes look hot, which may not be something you want to think about, until you actually see it.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinion - America has a fentanyl and human trafficking crisis. We must secure our financial borders to fix it
President Trump is rightly prioritizing two of the most urgent threats to our nation's security: fentanyl poisoning and human trafficking. But border security is a multidimensional issue. To dismantle the criminal networks flooding our communities with deadly drugs and exploiting our vulnerable citizens, we must also secure our financialborders. Drug cartels and trafficking organizations don't just rely on smuggling routes; they depend on financial systems that allow them to launder massive amounts of illicit profits with little oversight. The Trump administration recently took a bold step by designating certain drug trafficking organizations as foreign terrorist organizations. This significant move signals a clear recognition: stopping traffickers means following the money. For one, it raises the stakes for financial institutions to take their anti-money laundering responsibilities seriously — TD Bank got hit last year with a historic $3 billion in U.S. fines, in part for contributing to the fentanyl and synthetic drug crisis. Additionally, the new designation will give U.S. law enforcement a stronger political mandate to 'follow the money' to stop the cartels. Canada is now following suit. Yet even as we raise the stakes abroad, the United States has held the door open to the world's dirty money. For years, our nation has been one of the easiest places on the globe to set up anonymous shell companies, making it a prime destination for drug traffickers looking to hide their profits. Ample evidence shows that fentanyl networks and trafficking cartels have relied on anonymous U.S. companies to perpetrate their lethal schemes. Even Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted in a recent interview that in some cases, traffickers and their money launderers set up 'shell companies, to hide their profits and be able to distribute the funds they have.' Congress took action to address money laundering entities in 2021 by passing the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which requires certain companies to disclose their true owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). This law, passed under the first Trump administration, marked the most significant update to U.S. anti-money laundering law in two decades. Most notably, if implemented correctly, federal, state and local law enforcement would have access to vital information on the beneficial owners of these formerly anonymous companies. Prior to this, law enforcement investigations into the financing of these trafficking and drug networks were derailed by layers of corporate secrecy. But today, enforcement of this critical anti-trafficking tool is at risk, facing opposition from some business groups and lawmakers who want to weaken its implementation. Worse still, the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently announced it will notenforce key parts of the CTA. This is an alarming reversal that directly undercuts law enforcement's ability to fight trafficking and fentanyl distribution. At a time when traffickers are growing more sophisticated, we cannot afford to let them exploit loopholes in our financial system. Effective efforts to stop fentanyl and traffickers require fully implementing the CTA and fully funding FinCEN's efforts to track the illicit financial flows fueling the fentanyl crisis. What's more, this law assists the administration in continuing its work building robust relationships with our neighbors to support law enforcement cooperation and information sharing to dismantle these transnational crime operations. Our government recognizes the need to work with Canada and Mexico to crack down on the financial enablers of drug and human trafficking. Failing to enforce the beneficial ownership information requirements of the CTA, as announced by the Department of Treasury last week, is a significant step back in our fight to improve public safety. Other nations are stepping up. Canada already requires disclosures similar to the Corporate Transparency Act, Mexico has anti-money laundering measures that generate crucial financial data ripe for analysis. With proper enforcement, the United States can lead a regional effort to choke off the flow of criminal proceeds and dismantle these dangerous transnational networks. But if we abandon our own enforcement tools, we make America the soft target. We invite cartels and traffickers to hide their profits here, undermining the very border security and law enforcement efforts we claim to champion. Stopping trafficking means going after the money. It means equipping our law enforcement agencies with every available tool — including the CTA. Tariffs alone won't stop trafficking. Increasing border security alone won't stop fentanyl. But making it harder for criminals to both profit and move their money? That's where it hurts. Follow the money. Secure America's financial borders and bring these criminals to justice. Frank Russo is vice president of Modern Fortis Public Safety Strategies and the director of the CPAC's Center for Combating Human Trafficking. Nelson Bunn is the executive director of the National District Attorneys Association. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
