Fed Orders Riggs Bank Over Laundering
Fri May 14, 5:12 PM ET
By MARCY GORDON, AP Business Writer
WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve (news - web sites) ordered Riggs Bank's parent company Friday to take steps to prevent money laundering after the bank was fined $25 million in connection with a probe into possible links to terrorism financing.
The action came a day after Treasury Department (news - web sites) regulators levied the record-setting fine against Riggs for its handling of millions of dollars in foreign-held accounts.
In a cease-and-desist order issued by the central bank, Riggs will have to take actions such as hiring an independent consultant to conduct a review. Its operation in Miami — which Riggs plans to close — will be required to retain an outside consultant to review previous account transactions for suspicious activity.
The Federal Reserve has jurisdiction over bank holding companies. The Atlanta Fed had previously advised Riggs's Miami-based subsidiary of deficiencies in its compliance with laws to prevent money laundering, the order noted.
Riggs is a midsize Washington bank with a near-exclusive franchise on business with the capital's diplomatic community.
Credit-rating agency Standard & Poor's said that the fine, combined with anticipated restructuring charges of $15 million to $21 million in the April-June quarter, "should result in a large loss in the second quarter and prevent Riggs from being profitable for the year."
Standard & Poor's and other agencies have recently downgraded their ratings of Riggs, reflecting what S&P on Friday called "continued profitability pressures and regulatory uncertainty."
Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued the fine in an order made public late Thursday, after weeks of negotiations between Riggs officials and banking regulators.
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Dudley Elected Chairman of Riggs Investment Management Subsidiary; Bush to Serve as President & CEO
Washington, D.C., May 31, 2000 - Riggs Bank N.A. today announced that the Board of Directors of RIMCO, a wholly owned investment management subsidiary, has elected Jonathan J. Bush President & Chief Executive Officer and a Director, replacing Philip Tasho who resigned. In addition, Henry A. Dudley, Jr. was elected Chairman.
Mr. Bush will continue as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of J. Bush & Co., an investment management company he founded in 1970, which Riggs acquired in 1997. Mr. Dudley, a 24-year veteran of Riggs, will continue to be responsible for all of Riggs Bank's investment management, trust and private banking business.
Located in the nation's capital, Riggs Bank has 53 branches in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, as well as banking offices in Miami, London and Berlin.
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Jonathan J. Bush (Jonathan James Bush) (1931- ) is an uncle to President George Walker Bush.
A Wall Street financier, Jonathan Bush pulled together two dozen investors to raise $3 million to help launch Arbusto. Among the investors was Dorothy Bush, George W.’s grandmother. At the same time, Jonathan Bush was lining up investors for Arbusto, he also was raising money for George H.W. Bush’s presidential explorations. Many of the funders were the same.
Bush is a Trustee of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation.
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Posted by: bringdiscoback at May 27, 2004 02:15 AMGreat article! I wonder who was directly involved in the laundering process. Marc- do you know why Tasho resigned? Could you find out and tell us?
Posted by: Rob at May 27, 2004 03:06 PMHey Marc- why did the pres of Riggs anounce his retirement in June along with his chief executive? Do you think J.J. Bush was handed a bad company, or that he knew of backroom dealings before his nomination?
Posted by: Rob at May 27, 2004 08:12 PMI seem to recall reading somewhere that George's brother Marvin Bush is an officer of Riggs Bank.
It was in a piece on a check written on the Riggs Bank from the account of Princess________, the wife of the Suadi Ambassador ro the US to one of the 19 hijackers who had been living in ARiz. or NM prior to 9/11.
B.P.- I read the link in it's entirety. I am not easily convinced as you are that one man is capable of laundering such a vast amount of money alone.
P.S. My spelling is fine (except for announce), you used the wrong form of a contraction: "Why DON'T the media whores....."
An answer to that question is (a question): How can you trust the media to tell the absolute truth?
"He" is vauge, and I can't tell who you are referring to. Allbritton, Coughiln, Bush, or Tasho? Make up your mind.
Your sarcastic remarks questioning how well I pay attention are great! The cockiness of your post, and the time you posted, and the way you (don't) structure your sentences lead me to believe that you are still in highschool.
P.P.S.- Wait untill you graduate, get a job, and pay rent, etc. I guarantee your views of the world will change. I was once like you, But I soon saw that things aren't in black and white. Guess what? Everyone in the world is out to get what they can. Some sacrifice morality and ethics to get on top, while others live their lives justly, and focus on how to be happy. If you are so keen to the problems of humanity, why don't you get involved in government, and change things from within?
Posted by: Rob at May 28, 2004 04:23 PMB.P. -Thanks for the apology and let me offer you one as well. It appears that we are like-minded...more or less. I enjoy Marc's posts too, and in the other post you refer to I was rebuking someone who was nasy to me with no platform or reason to be nasty in the first place. Let's be civilized (you and I) from now on and stick to the topic of the posts. Be happy and don't sacrifice your knowledge in the process. It is possible to have your cake and eat it too.
Posted by: Rob at May 29, 2004 10:09 AM