Today's hearing is the first of two currently planned hearings to explore the difficult issues underlying modernizing a decades-old system [of laws] designed to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, weapons proliferation, sanctions evasion, and a host of other threats. Some of the world's largest banks and their foreign partners have run afoul of these laws. In some cases they had inadequate anti-money laundering oversight and compliance regimes. Other banks willfully and persistently violated U.S. bank secrecy, sanctions, and anti-corruption laws. In fact, the GAO concluded last year that from 2009 to 2015 about $12 billion was collected in fines and penalties and forfeitures from financial institutions for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and U.S. sanctions requirements. These laws are all tools that aid the Federal Government in detecting and disrupting and inhibiting financial crimes, terrorist financing, bribery, and corruption. During that same period, Federal agencies assessed more than $5 billion specifically for Bank Secrecy Act violations. When one widens the lens and reaches back to 2005, that number grows larger, much larger. Many of these banks violated U.S. anti-money laundering and sanctions laws by knowingly facilitating financial transactions for rogue jurisdictions like Burma and Iran and Sudan and Libya and Syria. These are not victimless crimes. For example, money laundering on behalf of drug cartels has a direct line to the opioid epidemic. These types of violations should concern those who argue we should loosen laws or regulations or oversight in this area.

Outside of crimes of passion, criminals, criminal organizations, kleptocrats, and some businesses and corporations are motivated by greed. In today's increasingly interconnected world, the criminal manifestations of unchecked avarice impact all of us - politically, socially, economically, and culturally. Transnational crime effects our individual and collective security. The magnitude of crime is measured in the multi-trillions of dollars annually. Laundering or hiding and disguising the proceeds of crime is essential for criminal organizations. Unfortunately, the last thirty years have demonstrated that our anti-money laundering (AML) countermeasures are not effective. Examining the "metrics that matter," we are a "decimal point away from total failure." The outlook going forward is not promising. Money Laundering and Illicit Financial Flows - Following the Money and Value Trails is the first book to take a hard look at our AML track record. Written primarily from a law enforcement perspective, the book examines old and new money laundering methodologies. It exposes threats, enablers, and facilitators. Making the case for an AML paradigm shift, the book offers alternative steps forward. Combining facts, straight-forward explanations, case studies, as well as the author's personal experiences, views and commentary, this book is valuable to the public and private sectors, policy makers, as well as students and concerned citizens. As a former Treasury Special Agent, John Cassara has investigated and studied money laundering for over 30 years. Equally at home in back streets or government bureaucracies, he has a unique perspective and offers an insider's knowledge. He delights in telling it as it is. The author of five books and countless articles on money laundering and threat finance, Cassara continues to surface important issues that deserve our attention.