Data leak reveals deficits: Big banks fail to fight money laundering

Confidential documents from the US Treasury Department reveal significant problems in the fight against international money laundering. According to a network of journalists, the documents show that many major banks do business with suspected criminals. Despite strict regulations.

According to research by a network of journalists, there are still considerable deficits in the fight against international money laundering. Accordingly, the information made public in the evening from a data leak by the US Treasury Department reveals that banks from all over the world have been doing business with high-risk customers for years and, despite strict regulations, have accepted suspected criminals as customers and made transfers worth billions for these. According to the information, they sometimes reported these processes only very hesitantly and sometimes with years of delay.

This is the result of a joint research carried out by several media partners, which was published under the name "FinCEN-Files". The US online medium Buzzfeed News shared the documents with the journalist network ICIJ (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists).

According to the information, 110 media outlets from 88 countries took part in the research, including NDR, WDR, "Süddeutsche Zeitung" and Buzzfeed News in Germany. According to the media involved, the "FinCEN files" contain more than 2100 suspicious transaction reports from 2000 to 2017. The total amount of transactions is around two trillion US dollars, currently 1.69 trillion euros.

"US financial system as machine room for global money laundering"

The tax justice network, which has been pointing out abuses in the fight against international money laundering for years, was not very surprised at the deficits disclosed. However, the data leak gives "a shocking insight into the central role of the US financial system as an engine room for global money laundering," said Markus Meinzer from the network of the German press agency. The United States took the inglorious second place after the Cayman Islands on the shadow financial index. "In order to improve, the US would finally have to switch to exchanging tax data with the rest of the world. Europe and Germany must insist on that."

But there is still a lot going on in Germany. "After the Cum-Ex and Wirecard scandals, it must have become clear to everyone: The German financial supervisory authority Bafin fails too often and has to be fundamentally rethought and rebuilt", demanded Meinzer. "When organized crime infiltrates the economy and kleptocrats plunder their states with the help of Western banks, freedom and democracy are threatened everywhere." The rule of law must finally take it seriously and punish money laundering seriously.

Germany is currently playing a key role in the international fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. Because in July Germany took over the presidency of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for two years through the Federal Ministry of Finance. According to the Ministry of Finance, this is an international institution in which the governments of 37 member states, the European Commission and the Gulf Cooperation Council work together.