Dear Secretary Summers:

    In response to high-profile money laundering scandals involving U.S. banks, I wrote to the Securities and Exchange Commission and to NASD Regulation, Inc. in November 1999 requesting information about the application of the anti-money laundering laws to securities firms and their efforts to combat money laundering. I am transmitting copies of their reports.

    The SEC report indicates that Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which administers the Bank Secrecy Act, imposed requirements to file suspicious activity reports (SARs) on depository institutions in 1996 but has yet to adopt SAR rules for the securities industry. This is an outrage.

    Now that legislation has been enacted allowing banks, securities firms, and insurers to affiliate under a single roof, the Treasury Department should work with the SEC to achieve the prompt promulgation and adoption of appropriate regulations to close this loophole. Please also advise me whether the insurance industry is covered under your regulations, and, if not, your intentions regarding this coverage.

    Thank you for your cooperation and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

JOHN D. DINGELL
RANKING MEMBER

cc: The Honorable Tom Bliley
The Honorable Michael G. Oxley
The Honorable Edolphus Towns
The Honorable Arthur Levitt, Jr.
Ms. Mary Shapiro