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News Releases
7/6/2004 USA PATRIOT Act Monitor News Release: FinCEN Reinstates
Information Sharing with Mexico
On July 6, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network announced that it had reinstated
information sharing with Mexico's financial intelligence unit, the Unidad de
Inteligencia Financiera (UIF), following a suspension of sharing that was imposed
on April 21, 2004. The suspension resulted from disclosure by Mexican governmental
officials of financial information that had been provided to the UIF by FinCEN.
FinCEN described the earlier disclosure as "in breach of well-established
and clearly defined protocols recognized by all members of the Egmont Group,"
to which both the U.S. and Mexico belong. Although the news release posted on
FinCEN's website (www.fincen.gov/infosharingwithmexico070604.pdf)
hardly gives Mexico a clean bill of health, William J. Fox, Director of FinCEN,
is quoted as saying that Mexico had made "substantial progress in implementing
the measures necessary to resume information sharing." Among other changes
in procedures the Mexican government has made is a memorandum of understanding
between the UIF and the country's attorney general, which sets forth procedures
for disseminating information received from foreign financial intelligence units,
such as FinCEN. The UIF has also committed to placing a warning statement on
all information shared with other Mexican government agencies.
The USA PATRIOT Act Monitor and the news releases prepared by the Monitor staff are services of the Civic Research Institute, publisher of Money Laundering, Terrorism, and Financial Institutions, by Raymond Banoun and John Ensminger. Contact and subscription information may be obtained at http://www.civicresearchinstitute.com/moneylaundering or by calling the Civic Research Institute at 609-683-4450 (fax: 609-683-7291).