Treasury Report Faults Comptroller
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A regulatory agency has been lax in monitoring banks for possible money laundering, according to a preliminary, and still confidential, report by the inspector general’s office of the Treasury Department. The report criticizes the office of the comptroller of the currency for, among other things, a lack of independence when examining how well banks comply with federal laws prohibiting money laundering. The report states that the comptroller’s ”examiners relied on bank management and/or the bank’s internal audit function instead of performing their own reviews.” The comptroller and the Federal Reserve are the most important bank regulators in the country. How effectively the agencies police banks for money laundering problems has drawn heightened scrutiny the last few days because of a Senate investigation of private banking practices at the financial services giant Citigroup. The Senate begins public hearings on the matter today. More : query.nytimes.com |