Thread: Western Union pays fines in Arizona

http://www.rockymountainnews.com

Western Union pays fines in Arizona
By Paul Davenport, Associated Press
September 2, 2006

PHOENIX - Western Union has reached a $3 million settlement with Arizona regulators over allegations it failed to comply with state reporting laws intended to help combat money laundering and illegal immigration.

In an agreement with the state Department of Financial Institutions, Greenwood Village-based Western Union Financial Services Inc. agreed to end or suspend its relationship with 14 outlets that failed to comply with state laws on reporting and documenting money transfers.

Western Union agreed to pay a $1.6 million civil penalty, $1 million to a state task force on fraudulent identification and $400,000 to the state Department of Transportation.

Department Superintendent Felecia Rotellini said Western Union also agreed to implement an enhanced compliance program and meet with department officials regularly to discuss compliance and supervision of its agent outlets.

The agreement was signed last month and disclosed late Thursday.

Concerned about illegal immigration and other smuggling activities, Arizona officials in recent years have stepped up their scrutiny of financial institutions.

In 2004, a new state law made it easier for state prosecutors to seize money paid to migrant smugglers through money transfers.

Rotellini said the department, working with attorney general's investigators, found that Western Union and its agents collected hard-to-read or otherwise unusable information on the identity of senders or receivers of money transfers at some locations.

Also, Western Union's record- keeping was lax, and the company did not properly supervise its agents as required by the state.

"We will have a zero tolerance for those transmitters who are facilitating illegal immigration by failing to comply with the GTO and Arizona law," Rotellini said in a statement.

Christina A. Gold, Western Union's president and chief executive officer, said in the agreement that the company was not admitting any guilt or fault but waived the right to further contest the state's allegations.

Western Union was committed to complying with Arizona's laws against money laundering, she said.

that the company was not admitting any guilt or fault but

Why do they always say this?? We are not guilty, but we will pay the fine.....seems like a contradiction.

Any business that gets in trouble always claims they are not guilty and pays the fine. They pay lots of money to lawyers to tell them that. It is easier to pay the fine than admit guilt and risk getting into more trouble.

Thank goodness that Western Union was fined. If they keep getting hefty fines, they will change their policies. Now if others who wire money or hire illegals get fined things would change for the better.

SWATCHICK Wrote:
Thank goodness that Western Union was fined. If they keep getting hefty fines, they will change their policies. Now if others who wire money or hire illegals get fined things would change for the better. First they need to start getting hefty fines.
What they paid here was no more than an every day business transaction.
They need to be hit where it hurts.

Western Union has created quite a reputation for itself.

Not only do they launder money and provide a money transfer service for illegals, they're also the enablers of some of the biggest scams on eBay.

I guess this makes them company #4005 that I won't be doing any business with.