Government Accountability Office Issues Report on Proposed AML Legislation

Anti-Money Laundering Bank Secrecy Act Remittance

Recently, the GAO published a report regarding the potential illicit use of remittance transfers and how, if at all, the proposed Remittance Status Verification Act (RSVA or Act) would assist federal agencies in their anti-money laundering (AML) requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act. If adopted, the RSVA would, among other things, require that remittance providers verify remittance senders’ legal status under the U.S. immigration laws; those unable to provide proof of immigration status would be subject to a fine. The proposed Act would also lower the $3,000 threshold level at which remittance providers are required to obtain and record data for a funds transfer. According to the GAO’s findings, almost all stakeholders expressed concern over the potential requirement to verify legal immigration status, with IRS officials concluding that “verifying identities and collecting information at a near zero dollar threshold would not be useful and could cause remitters to resort to off-the-book methods.” Most law enforcement officials, however, suggested that a lower threshold would benefit agencies’ AML efforts.