Trade-based money laundering (TBML) is one of the most profitable and safe mechanisms to launder money, and Congress must prioritize it as a national security concern, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) concludes in a newly released white paper, “Trade-based Money Laundering: An Asymmetric Threat With Ties To Terror And Drugs.”
“Trade-based money laundering is one of America’s biggest national security threats that almost no one is paying attention to,” said Sen. Cassidy. ”To solve, we must employ an all-of-government approach.”
TBML is accomplished by misrepresenting price, quantity or quality of imports or exports, according to the senator’s white paper, resulting in the ability of drug cartels and terrorists to move “billions of dollars unchecked to fund their violent organizations,” he said.
Strategic cooperation between America’s intelligence agencies, law enforcement, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Treasury Department, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Justice, and the private sector is needed to confront such activity, Sen. Cassidy writes.
“There also needs to be a legislative agenda to strengthen national security by countering trade-based money laundering and disrupting drug trafficking, terrorism, adulteration of critical supply chains, and the sale of counterfeit goods,” he continued.
Sen. Cassidy’s white paper addresses what TBML is and how it affects each American’s security; how trade data and intelligence data could be utilized to combat TBML; the need for private and public sector cooperation; and methods to bolster cooperation between the United States and its trading partners to identify TBML via trade agreements.
In February, Sen. Cassidy introduced related bipartisan, bicameral legislation with U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) to combat money laundering and terrorism by expanding the capacity of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to work with tribal law enforcement agencies, protect against domestic terrorism, and focus on virtual currencies.
The FinCEN Improvement Act of 2019, S. 582/H.R. 1414, is currently under committee review in both houses of Congress.