Pubdate: Wed, 26 Apr 2006
Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Copyright: 2006 Sun-Sentinel Company
Contact:  http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159
Author: Curt Anderson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?203 (Terrorism)

BANKATLANTIC FORFEITS $10 MILLION TO AVOID MONEY-LAUNDERING CHARGE

MIAMI (AP) -- BankAtlantic Corp. agreed Wednesday to forfeit $10  
million to the U.S. government to avoid criminal charges that it  
permitted millions of dollars in suspected drug money to be laundered  
through its accounts over a nearly seven-year period.

Under an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department filed in federal  
court, prosecution against the Fort Lauderdale-based bank will be  
deferred for at least 12 months in return for the payment. The  
charges will be dismissed altogether if BankAtlantic continues taking  
action to remedy the situation.

The investigation, led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration  
and federal bank regulators, identified more than $50 million in  
suspicious transactions between July 1997 and April 2004, according  
to court documents.

DEA agents working undercover as operatives for supposed Colombian  
drug lords found that drug money was being wire transferred to a  
handful of BankAtlantic accounts overseen by a specific branch  
manager. That led to the discovery of other BankAtlantic accounts  
being used to launder illicit drug proceeds.

``While a weak link at BankAtlantic let this money in, DEA is  
committed to following it where we often see it lead: right to the  
pockets of drug kingpins,'' said DEA Administrator Karen P. Tandy.

BankAtlantic admitted in the agreement that it did not identify and  
report the suspicious transactions as required by the Bank Secrecy  
Act. Court papers say there were numerous ``red flags'' about the  
transactions, such as a high volume of both incoming and outgoing  
wire transfers to unrelated people and corporations.

Although the unidentified branch manager was to blame for many of the  
problems, the investigation also revealed ``serious and systemic''  
failures by BankAtlantic to comply with anti-money laundering laws  
over several years.

``BankAtlantic willfully and knowingly ignored its obligations under  
the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering requirements for  
years,'' said Alice Fisher, assistant U.S. attorney general of the  
Justice Department's criminal division.

Officials at BankAtlantic, which operates 79 branch offices in  
Florida, did not immediately respond to a telephone call seeking  
comment. BankAtlantic is a subsidiary of BankAtlantic Bancorp, a  
financial services holding company whose stock was down 2 cents  
Wednesday at $15.32 a share.

But the court agreement gives BankAtlantic credit for cooperating  
with the investigation, firing employees responsible for the problems  
and closing down accounts used for the suspicious transactions. The  
bank also created a new anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act  
department to beef up compliance and improved audits, training and  
software used to detect such transactions.

The investigation is ``a reminder that institutions must remain  
vigilant to ensure BSA programs and systems are effectively  
implemented to detect and report potential money laundering  
activities,'' said John Reich, director of the Office of Thrift  
Supervision.
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