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Treasury Department Steps Up Fight Against Illicit Financing
O Treasury Department outlined the priorities it will pursue this year to intensify the fight against illicit financing.
The agency intends to increase transparency, leverage partnerships and support responsible technological innovation, he said on Thursday (May 16). Press release announcing the publication of his “National Strategy to Combat Terrorism and Other Illicit Financing 2024.”
One of the Department’s priorities for the year is to address legal and regulatory gaps in the country’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) framework, according to the statement. It intends to do so by operationalizing the registration of information on beneficial owners; finalize rules covering the residential real estate and investment advisory sectors; and assess the vulnerability of other sectors.
A second priority is to promote a more effective and risk-focused AML/CFT regulatory and supervisory framework for financial institutions, the statement said. The Department will work toward this by providing clear guidance on compliance, sharing information, and providing resources for oversight and enforcement.
The Department also intends to increase the operational effectiveness of law enforcement, other U.S. government agencies and international partnerships to combat illicit finance, according to the statement.
The fourth priority announced in the press release is to realize “the benefits of responsible technological innovation” by developing new payments technologies, supporting the use of new compliance mechanisms and using automation and innovation to find new ways to combat illicit finance, the statement states. .
“At this critical moment for our national and economic security, we need to continue closing the paths that illicit actors seek to exploit for their schemes,” Brian E. Nelson, the Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence said in the statement. “We recognize the threat that illicit financial activity poses to our national security, economic prosperity and our democratic values, and we are focused on addressing both today’s challenges and emerging concerns.”
These recommendations are intended to address key risks that the Treasury Department identified in February in its “2024 National Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Proliferation Financing Risk Assessments.”
In another recent move, the Treasury Department said in April it wants more tools to contain terrorist financing.
In testimony released ahead of an April 9 hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo stated that terrorist groups and state actors “continuously look for new ways to move their resources in light of the actions we are taking to prevent their access to the traditional financial system.”
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