Financial Transparency Coalition

WASHINGTON, DC – In the wake of recent money laundering compliance failures at major U.S. and international banks, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is currently scheduled to hold a hearing Thursday, March 7, 2013 entitled, “Patterns of Abuse: Assessing Bank Secrecy Act Compliance and Enforcement.” Heather Lowe, Legal Counsel and Director of Government Affairs at Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization, issued the following statement in advance of the hearing.

Today is an important day for the tax justice movement in the United States. The U.S. Senate will consider an amendment (SA 1818, Levin-Conrad) that will allow the Department of Treasury to take action against foreign financial institutions that, "significantly impede U.S. tax enforcement." The Senate should pass this amendment.

WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) today applauded the introduction of a bill, which would close several major tax loopholes and curtail abusive tax haven secrecy.

Global Financial Integrity Managing Director Tom Cardamone has written a new blog post for the TrustLaw website highlighting U.S. Senator Rand Paul's (R-KY) efforts to gut the USA PATRIOT Act of key anti-money laundering/anti-terror financing provisions. The key provisions are set to expire Friday morning unless the U.S. Congress renews them before then. Referencing two of Senator Paul's eight proposed amendments to the act, Cardamone writes:

Two of the Paul amendments deal with Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) that money services businesses...