Andrea Gacki | |
---|---|
Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) | |
Assumed office September 2023 | |
Preceded by | Himamauli “Him”Das (acting) |
Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) | |
In office September 2018 –September 2023 | |
Personal details | |
Education | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor University of Michigan Law School |
Andrea Gacki is an American government official who serves as Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN),a bureau within the Department of the Treasury tasked with combating financial crimes including money laundering and terrorist financing. Before this,she served as the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC),a financial intelligence and enforcement agency within the same department.
Gacki received her education from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and her Juris Doctor degree from University of Michigan Law School. [1]
Gacki began her career as trial attorney in the Federal Programs Branch of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Division. [2] She served in the administrations of George W. Bush,Barack Obama,Donald Trump,and Joe Biden. [3]
Gacki became the Director of OFAC in September 2018. [4] From January 2021 to December 2021,Gacki served as acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI),which oversees both FinCEN and OFAC. [5] During her tenure at OFAC,Gacki helped craft sanctions against Russia in the aftermath of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. [6]
In July 2023,it was announced she would lead the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) beginning in September 2023. [3] She succeeded acting director Himamauli “Him”Das,who had led the bureau temporarily since 2021. [7] The American Banker declared Gacki as one of the "24 people who will change banking in 2024". [6]
Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money,obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking,corruption,embezzlement or gambling,by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions with varying definitions. It is usually a key operation of organized crime.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering,terrorist financing,and other financial crimes.
The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA),also known as the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act,is a U.S. law requiring financial institutions in the United States to assist U.S. government agencies in detecting and preventing money laundering. Specifically,the act requires financial institutions to keep records of cash purchases of negotiable instruments,file reports if the daily aggregate exceeds $10,000,and report suspicious activity that may signify money laundering,tax evasion,or other criminal activities.
Delta Asia Financial Group is a Macau-based bank owned by the Delta Asia Financial Group and founded in 1935 by Au Wing Ngok,father of Stanley Au,the current chairman and majority shareholder. It is the 10th largest bank in Macau with eight branches and 150 employees.
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The Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA) is a component of the United States Department of the Treasury responsible for the receipt,analysis,collation,and dissemination of foreign intelligence and counterintelligence information related to the operation and responsibilities of the Treasury Department.
The USA PATRIOT Act was passed by the United States Congress in 2001 as a response to the September 11 attacks in 2001. It has ten titles,with the third title written to prevent,detect,and prosecute international money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence is a position within the United States Department of the Treasury responsible for directing the Treasury's efforts to cut the lines of financial support for terrorists,fight financial crime,enforce economic sanctions against rogue nations,and combat the financial support of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The Under Secretary is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
The Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units is an international organization that facilitates cooperation and intelligence sharing between national financial intelligence units (FIUs) to investigate and prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. National FIUs collect information on suspicious or unusual financial activity and are responsible for processing and analyzing the information received. FIUs are normally not law enforcement agencies themselves,findings are shared with appropriate law enforcement or prosecution bodies if sufficient evidence of unlawful activity is found. The Egmont Group is headquartered in Ottawa,Ontario,Canada.
James F. Sloan was an American intelligence official who served as the Assistant Commandant for Intelligence and Criminal Investigations for the United States Coast Guard and head of Coast Guard Intelligence from November 17,2003 to February 27,2009. He was responsible for directing,coordinating,and overseeing intelligence and investigative operations and activities that support all U.S. Coast Guard mission objectives,the national strategy for Homeland Security,and National Security objectives.
Operation Green Quest was a U.S. interagency investigative unit formed in October 2001 after the September 11 attacks. Sponsored by the United States Customs Service,it was concerned with the surveillance and interdiction of terrorist financing sources. It was disbanded in June 2003 pursuant to an agreement between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice.
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In the legal code of the United States,a money transmitter or money transfer service is a business entity that provides money transfer services or payment instruments. Money transmitters in the US are part of a larger group of entities called money service businesses,or MSBs. Under federal law,18 USC §1960,businesses are required to register for a money transmitter license where their activity falls within the state definition of a money transmitter.
First Merchant Bank OSH Ltd (FMB) was an offshore bank of Northern Cyprus established in 1993. As an offshore bank it was not regulated by the Central Bank of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,and not allowed to trade with Northern Cyprus residents. In August 2004 the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) designated it "a financial institution of primary money laundering concern" under Section 311 of the Patriot Act. The Northern Cyprus Ministry of Finance withdrew FMB's banking license in February 2007,and by April 2008 the bank's Ireland-registered major shareholder and its subsidiaries appeared defunct.
The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List,also known as the SDN List,is a United States government sanctions/embargo measure targeting U.S.-designated terrorists,officials and beneficiaries of certain authoritarian regimes,and international criminals. The list is managed by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). When individuals are added to the list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN),their U.S. assets are blocked. Moreover,their names are added to automated screening systems used by banks in the United States and many foreign countries,making it difficult for them to open or hold accounts,transfer money,or transact properties internationally. Any individual or entity that provides support related to terrorism,drug trafficking or unauthorized military use to any person or entity appearing on the SDN list risks being penalized under the USA PATRIOT Act.
David Aufhauser,American lawyer,served as the General Counsel of the United States Treasury Department from 2001 to 2004. After 9/11,Aufhauser was a key player in disrupting and freezing further terrorist activity against the United States. He is best known for running the federal government's programs to go after terrorist financing,a major strategy in the war on terror. He ran the National Security Council Committee on Terrorist Financing;oversaw the legal departments of important agencies and divisions within the U.S. Treasury Department including International Banking,Domestic Banking,the U.S. Customs Service,IRS criminal and civil divisions,ATF,Financial Crimes and Money Laundering,and United States Secret Service;and supervised the federal government's multi-agency antiterrorism task force. In his numerous briefings before the House and Senate,he emphasized the importance of teaching tolerance and respect,often making clear distinctions between the vast majority of peaceful people in the Middle East and the practitioners of “counterfeit religion”who preyed on hopelessness to recruit terrorists.
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