Investigating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Face Continuing Coordination Challenges

• NCJ Number: 206839
• Author(s): Richard M. Stana
• Date Published: May 2004
• Length: 17 pages
• Corporate Author: US Government Accountability Office
• Sale Source: US Government Accountability Office; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Testimony before the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources, Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives; downloaded September 9, 2004.

Annotation

This study investigated money laundering and terrorist financing.

Abstract

Money laundering provides the fuel for terrorists, drug dealers, arms traffickers, and other criminals to operate and expand their activities. The General Accounting Office’s (GAO) September 2003 report noted that the annual strategy generally has not served as a useful mechanism for guiding the coordination of Federal law enforcement agencies’ efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Also, while the Departments of the Treasury and Justice have made some progress on strategy initiatives designed to enhance interagency coordination of money laundering investigations, most initiatives have not met expectations. The GAO’s February 2004 report noted that the FBI and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) had implemented or taken concrete steps to implement most of the key provisions in the May 2003 Memorandum of Agreement on terrorist financing investigations. However, as of May 2004, the FBI and ICE had not yet issued a joint report on the implementation status of the agreement, which was required 4 months from its effective date. The GAO noted that the FBI and ICE have confronted and will continue to confront a number of operational and organizational challenges, such as ensuring that the financial crimes expertise and other investigative competencies of both agencies are appropriately and effectively utilized. The GAO’s September 2003 report recommended that if the requirement for a national strategy is reauthorized, the Secretaries of the Treasury and Homeland Security and the Attorney General should strengthen the leadership structure for strategy development and implementation, require processes to ensure key priorities are identified, and establish accountability mechanisms. The agencies need to continue to implement the key Memorandum Agreement Provisions, but even in with those in place, terrorist financing investigations still present operational and organizational challenges.