President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders aimed at limiting the access of non-citizens to the U.S. financial system and putting checks on money laundering.
The executive order, named “Restoring Integrity to America’s Financial System,” signed on Tuesday, requires banks to take into account a customer’s immigration status and employment authorization while evaluating potential financial risk.
The White House has pointed to Chinese money-laundering networks and Mexican cartels as the reasoning behind the overhaul of the know-your-customer rules.
The directive also tasks the Treasury Secretary and federal regulators with guiding banks to identify customers whose activity may indicate risks like money laundering, terrorism financing, and labor trafficking.
The order instructs regulators to propose rule changes within 90 days. At present, banks are not obligated to collect citizenship status specifically and do not regularly share such information with the government. There is no restriction preventing banks from opening accounts for noncitizens.
data-variant=”card”
data-news-mode=”manual”
…