By United States America (USA) is one of the countries that effectively combat money laundering and other financial crimes with its anti-money laundering (AML) laws and regulations. Financial crimes are considered a dangerous crime in the USA as well as in the whole world. United States, which is one of the countries with the world’s largest economy, plays an important role for the whole world in the fight against financial crimes. In this article, we will give information about the AML history of the United Nations, AML regulations, AML obligations of organizations in the USA.
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AML Laws and Regulations in USA
The United States has aimed to streamline the processes of combating financial crime by enacting AML laws and regulations. Let’s examine the AML laws and regulations in the USA together:
Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)
The history of money laundering, terrorist financing, anti-bribery and anti-corruption efforts in the United Nations dates back to the 1970s. The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), which entered into force at the United Nations in 1970, is the first AML law in the USA. With this law, financial institutions in the US are required to report cash transactions in excess of $ 10,000 per day and suspicious activities that may indicate money laundering, tax evasion or other criminal activities.
USA Patriot Act
In 2001, the USA Patriot Act entered into force against the terrorist threat in the USA. Some of the other purposes of the USA Patriot Act, whose main purpose is to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and the world, are to detect, prevent and punish international money laundering.
Apart from these two laws, there are other laws in the USA to combat financial crimes. These; Money Laundering Control Act, Money Laundering Suppression Act, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Strategy Act, Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism Convention Implementation Act, Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act.
AML Regulators in USA
The duty of anti-money laundering regulators is to ensure effective fight against financial crimes. AML regulators play a regulatory and supervisory role in the fight against financial crime. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an international watchdog, with 39 member countries, fighting money laundering and terrorist financing. FATF guides countries in the fight against financial crimes. Countries that are members of FATF apply laws and regulations in line with FATF recommendations.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is the US main AML regulator. FinCEN operates under the jurisdiction of the United States Treasury Department. FinCEN’s aim is to protect the US financial systems from illegal activities such as money laundering. In this regard, FinCEN is authorized to enforce AML regulations, supervise financial institutions, support law enforcement and cooperate with “Financial Intelligence Units (FIU)” around the world.
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
Founded in 1950, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is responsible for managing and enforcing economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security objectives. OFAC sanctions are a very important factor for US citizens and organizations in the US. Cooperation with persons and institutions sanctioned by OFAC is prohibited. Therefore, one of the AML obligations of the organizations is OFAC screening. Most organizations, especially financial institutions, have to implement OFAC screening in the partnership and customer onboarding process.