The National Money Laundering Strategy, authored in 1998 by Grassley, requires the Department of Treasury and the Department of Justice to work together and create an effective strategy to halt money laundering.
"This report raises a lot of questions concerning how much of our effort against money laundering is just rhetoric, and how much is actually reality," Grassley said. "Despite clear direction from Congress to cooperate and coordinate, it looks to me like bureaucratic infighting and interagency rivalries are still going on."
The report shows that agencies involved in the National Money Laundering Strategy had difficulty in reaching an agreement over which agency should lead investigations. Law enforcement officials told the GAO that the lack of clearly defined roles and coordination procedures contributed to duplication of efforts and disagreements over which agency should lead investigations.
"I understand that identifying and halting terrorist financing operation is a difficult task. It's anything but simple. But the complexity of money laundering makes it even more important that the FBI, Homeland Security, and the other agencies involved develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to address the problem," Grassley said.
The report also indicates a lack of leadership. It says "...critical components needed for a strategy's development and implementation, including effective leadership, clear priorities, and accountability mechanisms...these critical components generally have not been fully reflected in the development and implementation of the annual National Money Laundering Strategy."
Grassley said he will be introducing legislation to address concerns raised over some inconsistencies in the existing authorities to go after money launderers and terrorist financiers. This legislation will also include an extension for the National Money Laundering Strategy.
For a copy of the report, visit Sen. Grassley's website and click on the link for "press releases," then click on the link named "Grassley releases GAO report on Combating Money Laundering."