Sarah Beth Felix asks the same question I have ... On July 16, 2024 FinCEN, OFAC, and the FBI issued a joint notice titled “Timeshare Fraud Associated with Mexican-based Transnational Criminal Organizations” - https://lnkd.in/ePaZK3Ga The Notice included this: “Given the transnational nature of illicit activity related to timeshare fraud in Mexico, FinCEN also encourages U.S. financial institutions to continue to use, and potentially expand, their existing processes to collect and share information with foreign financial institutions in furtherance of investigations that involve cross-border activity.” That excerpt included a citation, Footnote 40: See, e.g., FinCEN, “Prepared Remarks of FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki During the SIFMA AML Conference” (May 6, 2024) at https://lnkd.in/gYAk7EYk I am not aware of any authority – law or regulation – that allows US-based and regulated financial institutions to share information with foreign financial institutions in furtherance of investigations that involve cross-border activity. And I’ve read Director Gacki’s May 6, 2024 speech: there is nothing in it that refers to US-based and regulated financial institutions being allowed to share information with foreign financial institutions in furtherance of investigations that involve cross-border activity.
CEO at Palmera Consulting; Co-Founder & Chief AML Officer at Acceleron Bank; Co-Founder at Hyper-S Research
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, US Treasury published a notice for FIs to operationalize threats related to timeshare #fraud and Mexico-based TCOs like CJNG. This was issued jointly with #OFAC and the #FBI. I certainly didn't have a 14 page document re: timeshare fraud and Mexican drug cartels on my 2024 BINGO card, but here we are. See the third point for 6 things you can do right now to act on this Notice. Here are the highlights, more comments in the attached pdf - 1) This notice will primarily be impactful if all #banks, credit unions, #trust companies, investors, brokers, and fiduciaries provide customer education. Pgs. 3-5 offer great keywords to use in your outreach. 2) After customer education, the typologies are pretty limited in operationalability (not a word, I know). This is where I will say again - if your #AML system does not allow you to operationalize advisories and notices from FinCEN, get a new one! 3) It is time to take a temp check of your transactional threat landscape as it relates to this notice - look at the following: a) age of the customer (elderly) and repetitive wires to Mexico; b) wires to Mexico with the terms "fees" and "taxes" in description; c) wires to Mexico going to the same/similar beneficiary but from different 60+ aged customers; d) search beneficiaries of wires to Mexico with the terms "travel", "real estate", "closing", "title", "realty", and "broker" (English & Spanish); e) wires from trust or #retirement accounts to Mexico; and f) internal transfers from trust/retirement accounts to checking then wires to Mexico. 4) Once that exercise is done, you will know how much exposure you have. 5) If there are any positive matches to # 3 above, do additional research on the businesses to see if they are newly formed. 6) Remember to use 314b info sharing with other US FIs! 7) If your #communitybank or CU is based in a large retirement community, you have a duty to at least brief your customers on this risk. Some things I'm confused by - pg. 9 states "U.S. financial institutions to continue to use, and potentially expand, their existing processes to collect and share information with foreign financial institutions in furtherance of investigations that involve cross-border activity"... what?? The reference is a footnote from Gacki's speech in May. But I am not aware of any legal mechanism by which US FIs (not the Tier1s) can share with info with a non-US FI? Please someone tell me I'm wrong. #ifollowdirtymoney
Ok phew! I didn’t know if I had totally missed some magical open door to communicate to foreign financial institutions over the last 19 years 😂
This mysterious authority was first cited in a readout on April 16 and was attributed to Under Secretary Nelson. https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2260 Puzzled, I asked the appropriate Treasury spokesperson to explain on April 16 and thus far have received no response. I'm making another inquiry, but it's certainly a mystery.
Good to know I’m not going crazy either! I was totally confused by the foreign fi info sharing statement!
Professor (Middlebury Institute)
4moWould HSBC US be able to share information with HSBC Mexico?