A law firm has produced an assessment of the role of the US government’s anti-money laundering (AML) initiatives and the operations of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) under the presidency of Donald Trump.

The lawyers at Covington & Burling conclude in an article published in the National Law Review that, at least until the president-elect names a treasury secretary, FinCEN’s post-election agenda will remain unclear.

Appointments awaited

President-elect Trump has said little about his plans for money laundering and terrorist financing enforcement, or his plans for FinCEN, the agency responsible for many of the government’s AML initiatives.

FinCEN is a bureau within the treasury department and not a fully independent agency while three yet-to-be-announced presidential appointees will shape its leadership and policy agenda.

The treasury secretary selects FinCEN’s director; the treasury department’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence approves regulations issued by FinCEN; and the general counsel of the treasury department oversees FinCEN’s chief counsel.

Additional uncertainty

Adding potential uncertainty to the future of FinCEN is that it has recently targeted two industries commonly associated with Trump.

In 2015, FinCEN issued record fines against two casinos – one of which was the Trump Taj Mahal. Also this year, FinCEN issued Geographic Targeting Orders subjecting certain all-cash luxury real estate transactions in six major metropolitan areas, including New York, to specialised reporting requirements.

The full assessment by Covington & Burling can be found here.

Categories: Trade Based Financial crimes News