-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- from: http://www.aci.net/kalliste/ Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.aci.net/kalliste/">The Home Page of J. Orlin Grabbe</A> ----- Money Laundering Summers Wants to Ban Offshore Transactions We control the data and the capital, slave. WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Clinton administration, seeking to stem the flow of billions of illegally obtained dollars through U.S. banks, wants broad new powers from Congress to fight money laundering. A new legislative proposal, outlined Thursday by Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, would give the government the authority to ban financial transactions between offshore financial havens and U.S. banks and brokerage firms. The leaders of the House Banking Committee liked the administration's proposal so much they said they would co-sponsor it in Congress. Money laundering came under the public spotlight last summer, when federal authorities said the Bank of New York, one of the country's largest banks, had served as a conduit for about $7 billion in Russian money, some of it believed to be from criminal activities. In a speech, Summers identified Russia, Colombia and Nigeria as among the biggest sources of illicit money, and the Caribbean islands of Dominica and Antigua, Nauru in the South Pacific and Liechtenstein in Europe as some of the leading money-laundering centers. ''When dirty money finds its way into American banks, the reputations of all involved suffer,'' Summers told an audience of bankers and securities industry executives. Money laundering is estimated to absorb nearly $600 billion annually, or up to 5 percent of the world's gross domestic product. Profits from drug trafficking, prostitution and other criminal activities are moved through a series of bank or brokerage accounts to make them appear to be proceeds of legitimate business activity. In the proposal, the Treasury Department is seeking the power to ask U.S. financial institutions to collect data on all kinds of transactions with an offshore bank or financial company. In cases where foreign governments shield banks from investigation, Treasury wants the authority to cut them off from the U.S. financial system without seeking congressional approval. Last fall, Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, and the panel's senior Democrat, Rep. John LaFalce of New York, proposed a stricter measure that would have required U.S. banks to collect detailed information on their customers from countries considered to be money-laundering havens. The administration's proposal would leave it up to Treasury to decide whether to impose data-collecting requirements on banks. The lawmakers' proposal had been opposed by the banking industry. Groups representing the banking and securities industries applauded the administration's plan Thursday. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said the Clinton proposal ''doesn't go far enough'' because it gives Treasury discretion to decide whether to take action, rather than requiring it. ''Diplomacy usually prevails over the domestic need to curb money laundering,'' Schumer said in a telephone interview. He and Sen. Paul Coverdell, R-Ga., have proposed their own legislation. Summers noted in his speech that Treasury officials already have begun informing U.S. banks about foreign banks or nations that repeatedly refuse to abide by generally accepted standards to protect against money laundering. In September, Treasury unveiled its first national money-laundering strategy, a package of proposed new laws and rules that include requirements that storefront check cashers, brokerage firms and casinos notify authorities of suspicious activities the way banks are required to do. That package, and the new proposals outlined by Summers, will be submitted to Congress in the coming weeks. The Associated Press, March 3, 2000 ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, All My Relations. Omnia Bona Bonis, Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing! 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