THE Global
Financial Integrity (GFI) has welcomed the introduction late-Wednesday
night in the U.S. House of Representatives of two pieces of legislation
aimed at stemming the flow of trillions of dollars in dirty money through
the U.S. financial system. The Washington, DC-based research and advocacy
organization noted that the two bills would bring the United States in
line with certain international anti-money laundering (AML) standards,
target individuals responsible for laundering money, and bring an end to
the abuse of anonymous U.S. shell companies.
“Wall Street banks and anonymous U.S. shell companies are currently leaving
the door wide open for dirty money to flow through the U.S. economy,” said
GFI President Raymond Baker. “It’s about time Congress take action to protect
us from terrorists, traffickers, and tax cheats by cleaning up our financial
system.”
Introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters, the ranking member of the House Financial
Services Committee, the Holding Individuals Accountable and Deterring Money
Laundering Act would hold top executives at U.S. financial institutions responsible
for oversight of anti-money laundering compliance at their bank while increasing
the penalties faced by bankers for violating AML laws-bringing them in line
with the penalties faced by drug dealers on the streets.
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