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A cache of thousands of reports that major banks filed with federal regulators shows that they helped suspected terrorists, drug dealers and corrupt foreign officials move trillions of dollars around the world, despite the banks’ concerns about the suspicious nature of the transactions.
The documents, known as suspicious activity reports, were obtained by BuzzFeed News and shared with a worldwide consortium of journalists. The more than 2,100 suspicious activity reports, filed by major U.S. and international banks, relate to more than $2 trillion of transactions between 1999 and 2017.
Banks are required to file the reports with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, about transactions that they believe could be part of a money laundering scheme, fraud or other illegal activity.
BuzzFeed obtained suspicious activity reports filed by the largest U.S. lenders — including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America — and major international institutions like Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered. Many of those banks have been repeatedly penalized by U.S. and other authorities for their roles in money laundering.
Among BuzzFeed’s main findings were that Standard Chartered, which operates primarily in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, appears to have helped move funds on behalf of a Dubai-based company that reportedly had ties to the Taliban. JPMorgan, Bank of New York Mellon and other banks appear to have helped move more than $150 million for companies tied to the North Korean regime, according to a companion report by NBC News. As of late 2013, officials at JPMorgan Chase had also submitted at least eight suspicious activity reports on banking activity connected to Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign chair.
Patricia Wexler, a JPMorgan spokesperson, said, “We have played a leadership role in anti-money-laundering reform that will modernize how the government and law enforcement combat money laundering, terrorism financing and other financial crimes.”
A spokesperson for Standard Chartered, Chris Teo, said, “We take our responsibility to fight financial crime extremely seriously and have invested substantially in our compliance programs.”
A representative for Bank of New York Mellon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
FinCEN, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday, announced last week that it was pursuing changes that would improve the effectiveness of anti-money-laundering programs.
The documents, known as suspicious activity reports, were obtained by BuzzFeed News and shared with a worldwide consortium of journalists. The more than 2,100 suspicious activity reports, filed by major U.S. and international banks, relate to more than $2 trillion of transactions between 1999 and 2017.
Banks are required to file the reports with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, about transactions that they believe could be part of a money laundering scheme, fraud or other illegal activity.
BuzzFeed obtained suspicious activity reports filed by the largest U.S. lenders — including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America — and major international institutions like Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered. Many of those banks have been repeatedly penalized by U.S. and other authorities for their roles in money laundering.
Among BuzzFeed’s main findings were that Standard Chartered, which operates primarily in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, appears to have helped move funds on behalf of a Dubai-based company that reportedly had ties to the Taliban. JPMorgan, Bank of New York Mellon and other banks appear to have helped move more than $150 million for companies tied to the North Korean regime, according to a companion report by NBC News. As of late 2013, officials at JPMorgan Chase had also submitted at least eight suspicious activity reports on banking activity connected to Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign chair.
Patricia Wexler, a JPMorgan spokesperson, said, “We have played a leadership role in anti-money-laundering reform that will modernize how the government and law enforcement combat money laundering, terrorism financing and other financial crimes.”
A spokesperson for Standard Chartered, Chris Teo, said, “We take our responsibility to fight financial crime extremely seriously and have invested substantially in our compliance programs.”
A representative for Bank of New York Mellon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
FinCEN, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday, announced last week that it was pursuing changes that would improve the effectiveness of anti-money-laundering programs.