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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 26, 1998

Anti-Money Laundering Proposal for Casinos to be discussed at Regional Meetings

The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) will hold four regional meetings this summer to provide an opportunity for casino industry representatives and other members of the public to comment on a proposed rule announced in May which would require casinos and card clubs to report suspicious activity. The meetings will be held on July 14 in New Orleans, July 23 in Chicago, August 6 in Scottsdale, AZ and September 9 in New York City.

Under the proposal, state-licensed and tribal casinos and card clubs with more than $1 million in gross annual gaming revenue are required to report to FinCEN suspicious activity involving transactions of $3,000 or more. Suspicious activity involves financial transactions which a casino or card club knows, suspects, or has reason to suspect are linked to illegal activity or have no legitimate purpose.  The proposal was issued under the authority of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) -- Treasury’s key tool in the fight against money laundering, financial fraud and tax evasion.

FinCEN has also been working with representatives from federal law enforcement, state and tribal gaming regulators and the gaming industry on a document for casinos to use in identifying suspicious activity. The document lists examples of how a casino’s financial services might be used for illicit purposes and will be released at the meetings.

The meetings are not intended as a substitute for submitting written comments on the proposal. The comment period closes on September 15.

Meetings are scheduled in the following locations:

July 14 - New Orleans, LA	July 23 - Chicago, IL
The Westin Canal Place	Holiday Inn, Chicago City Centre
100 Rue Iberville	300 E. Ohio Street

 

 

August 6 - Scottsdale, AZ	September 9 - New York City
Scottsdale Hilton	New York Hilton and Towers
6333 N. Scottsdale Road	1335 Avenue of the Americas

 

 

To register to attend one of the meetings, or for additional information, please contact Anna Fotias at FinCEN at (703) 905-3695. For each meeting, sign-in and informational packets will be available from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. All meetings will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.