Daniel Glaser, head of jurisdictional services and K2 Integrity’s Washington, D.C. office, testified on domestic terrorist financing before the House Committee on Financial Services’ Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy on 25 February 2021. In his prepared remarks, Danny notes several steps the U.S. government and Treasury Department specifically can take to make the U.S. financial system less vulnerable to abuse by domestic extremists, including those that rioted at the Capitol on 6 January.
According to Danny, “The United States has a robust anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, and the enactment of legislation last month imposing new beneficial ownership reporting requirements will make it even more difficult for illicit actors to hide within the financial system and engage in anonymous transactions. The U.S. AML/CFT regime, however, can always be fine-tuned and adjusted to address a variety of vulnerabilities, including those presented by racially and ethnically motivated violent extremists (REMVE) groups.
The potential measures in Treasury’s AML/CFT toolbox include:
- The issuance of guidance to financial institutions on REMVE financial typologies, methodologies, and red flags
- The establishment of public-private partnerships to ensure effective cooperation and communication between government—federal law enforcement and supervisory authorities—and the private sector, including financial institutions, and social media and technology companies that are involved in the movement of money or value
- The use of the information-sharing authorities created by Section 314 of the USA PATRIOT Act to share with financial institutions the names of individuals or entities suspected of criminal activity associated with REMVE groups
- The use of Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) to collect information on the financial activities of REMVEs engaged in criminal activity
- Adjustments to the Suspicious Activity Report form to highlight the importance of identifying suspicious activity relating to REMVE groups
Taken together, these measures will strengthen the ability of financial institutions to identify, report, and impede the financial activity of REMVE groups, and will ensure that the U.S. financial system is a hostile environment for these groups.”
Read Danny’s full remarks or further coverage in Nasdaq.
