WASHINGTON — The acting director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network pleaded with Congress to provide more robust funding as the agency implements ambitious reforms of the nation’s anti-money- laundering legal framework.
Testifying before the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday, acting Director Himamauli Das fielded a wide array of questions from lawmakers, many of which focused on Fincen’s ongoing effort to implement the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020.
While maintaining that the agency was doing the best it could with the resources it has, Das repeatedly emphasized the need for Fincen to receive millions more in funding from Congress to be able to hire full-time staff and effectively carry out its various mandates.
“Even with our limited resources, the Fincen team is working diligently with law enforcement and regulatory stakeholders to promulgate rules and take other steps under the [Anti-Money Laundering Act] to promote a transparent financial system,” said Das. “It's important that we get it done right and we get it done quickly.”
Das acknowledged prior concerns from Democratic lawmakers that Fincen was
“As you're aware, we’re missing deadlines” to implement the law, Das said, “and to be blunt, we will likely continue to do so, because our budget situation has required us to make significant trade-offs among competing priorities.”
Das noted that while Fincen’s budget for the 2022 fiscal year is an improvement from its previous allocation, “it does fall short, however, in terms of our ask, of I believe $64.5 million over previously enacted levels.” Such funds would have been used to hire full-time employees dedicated to implementing the Anti-Money Laundering Act and improve the agency’s cybersecurity practices, he said.
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., who chaired Thursday’s hearing, appeared to agree with Das’s assessment, pointing in part to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions regime being developed by the U.S. (Chair Maxine Waters, D-Calif., announced Wednesday she had
“At a time when the international community is united in imposing severe sanctions on Russia for its unprovoked attack on Ukrainian sovereignty and democracy, a strong, well-resourced Fincen is more important than ever,” Himes said.
Republicans remain skeptical of the approach taken by Fincen under the Biden administration to implement the Corporate Transparency Act, arguing that the agency’s
“The proposal was far too complex, overly broad and deviated significantly from Congress's intent,” said Ranking Member Patrick McHenry, R-N.C. McHenry’s concerns were echoed by Reps. Roger Williams, R-Texas, and French Hill, R-Ark.
McHenry also said that he continues to oppose legislative proposals that would
“We have a new statute; the rules have not been implemented on that new statute,” McHenry said, referring to the Corporate Transparency Act. “Let's get that done before we talk about new authorities.”
Several Republicans also expressed concerns about the vulnerability of personal information that will likely be contained in Fincen’s still-to-be-developed beneficial ownership database, questioning whether the government agency would have the ability to safeguard business owners’ sensitive data.
Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C., said he was “concerned about Fincen’s cybersecurity” and the possibility the agency could be targeted by foreign cyberattacks.
“The new beneficial ownership database will contain personal information from millions of small-business owners,” Timmons said. “Clearly, if someone were to breach that database, it would be a total disaster.”
Fincen has a “robust IT framework” and applies “the highest level of security” to its data and operations, Das said.
