On April 21 Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing, Daniel Glaser, visited the Atlantic Council to talk about how federal financial regulation is instrumental in the fight against corruption, money laundering, and terrorism, as part of the ‘Power of Transparency’ series the Atlantic Council’s Global Business & Economics program is co-sponsoring with Thomson Reuters. The event began with a public speech about the Department of Treasury’s position on the fight against corruption and terrorism, and was followed with an off-the-record conversation moderated by Reuters Reynolds Holding.
*Note: None of what was said during the off-the-record portion of this event is included in this article.*
Assistant Secretary Glaser enters the room with the Director of Global Government Affairs at Thomson Reuters, Dawn Scalici.
- “It should go without saying that corruption harms the global community for a wide range of reasons: it stifles economic development, impairs democratic institutions, erodes public trust, and impairs international cooperation.” – Daniel Glaser
- “The United States prosecutes well over 1,000 cases each year for money laundering and related violations. Each year we seize and forfeit billions of dollars of assets that represent the proceeds of, or were used to facilitate, crimes.” – Daniel Glaser
Director of the Global Business & Economics Program at the Atlantic Council Andrea Montanino, and Reuters columnist, Reynolds Holding, listen to the opening remarks with the keynote speaker, Daniel Glaser.
- “And we diligently and carefully enforce for compliance in financial institutions, matching penalties with the severity of infractions. Last year alone we assessed total regulatory and criminal penalties of more than $1 billion, imposing criminal fines for particularly egregious, willful behavior and imposing lower regulatory penalties or informal remedial actions for less egregious or unknowing behavior…
- … This is a record that no one in the world can match. It creates a hostile environment for those who want to hide their assets in our financial system, and sends the message that when we put a law or regulation on our books, it is a serious matter, and we hold people to account for violations.” – Daniel Glaser
Assistant Secretary Daniel Glaser has an off-the-record conversation with moderator Reynolds Holding, as well as a Q & A session at the end.
- “Countries must do more to effectively implement their laws. When we pass a law in the United States, we implement it. We have a longstanding record demonstrating the effective implementation of our laws. Now we need to see our partner countries around the world take this approach and implement strong laws.” – Daniel Glaser
- “Financial transparency is a key element in the fight against corruption, money laundering, and terrorist financing. The core elements of financial transparency, provided by international AML/CFT standards, help identify, trace, and ultimately return corrupt proceeds to their rightful owners.” – Daniel Glaser