March 9, 2006
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Statement of Treasury Secretary John W. Snow on Renewal of the U.S. Patriot Act

"The President's signature today on the renewal of the U.S.A. Patriot Act enables us to continue to fight the war on terror with the tools necessary to do the job.

"At the Treasury Department, the Patriot Act has significantly advanced the financial war on terror. While hatred fuels the terrorist agenda, it is money that makes it possible for them to carry out their ruthless acts.

"The Patriot Act has greatly advanced the ability of the Treasury, working with businesses and the people of this great nation, to restrict the flow of terrorist blood money.  Its renewal is good news for Americans, bad news for those who seek to harm us."

BACKGROUND

The Patriot Act enables the Treasury to better track and identify terrorist funds through effective sharing of information with the financial sector both vertically – between the government and the industry – and horizontally – by providing a safe harbor that allow s industry members to also share information with each other. This sheds more light on the financial system as terrorists seek to conceal their funding.

The Patriot Act has also made America safer by helping the Treasury prevent money laundering and terrorist financing through greater transparency of correspondent accounts maintained by U.S. banks on behalf of foreign banks. Notably the Act expressly prohibits shell banks from participating in the U.S. financial system and insists upon strict record keeping regarding the ownership of each non-U.S. bank that maintains a correspondent account with a U.S. institution.

The Act protects our financial system from illicit funds emanating from jurisdictions or institutions that do not have adequate rules guaranteeing a certain level of financial transparency. It has authorized the Treasury to designate foreign jurisdictions or institutions as a `primary money laundering concerns.' Once designated as such, the Treasury Department may take a range of regulatory actions to protect the U.S. financial system, including requiring U.S. financial institutions to terminate correspondent relationships with the designated entity or jurisdiction. Such a measure essentially excludes the designated entity or jurisdiction from the U.S. financial system.

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