Combating Money Laundering: Opportunities Exist to Improve the National Strategy
Highlights
Money laundering is a serious crime, with hundreds of billions of dollars laundered annually. Congress passed the Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Strategy Act of 1998 to better coordinate the efforts of law enforcement agencies and financial regulators in combating money laundering. This act required the issuance of an annual National Money Laundering Strategy for 5 years, ending with the issuance of the 2003 strategy. To help with deliberations on reauthorization, GAO determined (1) agency perspectives on the benefit of the strategy and factors that affected its development and implementation, (2) whether the strategy has served as a useful mechanism for guiding the coordination of federal law enforcement agencies' efforts, (3) the role of the strategy in influencing the activities of federal financial regulators, and (4) whether the strategy has reflected key critical components.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Treasury | If Congress reauthorizes the requirement for an annual National Money Laundering Strategy (NMLS), the Secretary of the Treasury, working with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, should take appropriate steps to strengthen the leadership structure responsible for strategy development and implementation by establishing a mechanism that would have the ability to marshal resources to ensure that the strategy's vision is achieved, resolve disputes between agencies, and ensure accountability for strategy implementation. |
No action taken by Congress or agency.
|
| Department of the Treasury | If Congress reauthorizes the requirement for an annual NMLS, the Secretary of the Treasury, working with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, should take appropriate steps to link the strategy to periodic assessments of threats and risks, which would provide a basis for ensuring that clear priorities are established and focused on the areas of greatest need. |
In November 2003, Senator Charles Grassley introduced a bill (S. 1837, the "Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act of 2003") that, among other purposes would extend the requirement for an annual strategy to 2006. The bill was referred to committee; but, as of August 2004, there had been no further action. Thus, as of August 2004, the requirement for the national money laundering and related financial crimes strategy (contained in 31 U.S.C. 5341) had not been reauthorized.
|
| Department of the Treasury | If Congress reauthorizes the requirement for an annual NMLS, the Secretary of the Treasury, working with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, should take appropriate steps to establish accountability mechanisms, such as (1) requiring the principal agencies to develop outcome-oriented performance measures that must be linked to the NMLS's goals and objectives and that also must be reflected in the agencies' annual performance plans and (2) providing Congress with periodic reports on the strategy's results. |
In September 2003, we reported that none of the four National Money Laundering Strategies issued to date was preceded or guided by an assessment of threats or risks to assist in establishing priorities. We recommended that the strategy be linked to periodic assessments of threats and risks, which would provide a basis for ensuring that clear priorities are established and focused on the areas of greatest needs. On January 11, 2006, the Treasury Department and its partner agencies released the U.S. Money Laundering Threat Assessment. According to the Department of Treasury, the assessment was the first government-wide analysis of money laundering trends and vulnerabilities in the United States. Its purpose is to inform the law enforcement community, policy makers, and regulators in their efforts to combat money laundering strategically.
|