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After Hawaii and New Hampshire, the great states of Arkansas and Vermont joined the MTRA. This brings total MTRA membership to 41

U.S. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow today named Robert W. Werner as the new Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. Werner currently serves as the Director of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

“OFAC and FinCEN are two premier agencies at the heart of an unparalleled campaign to combat terrorist financing and financial crime across the globe. Fortunately, the Treasury will continue to benefit from Bob’s talents and vision, as he takes over FinCEN’s critical efforts to safeguard the financial sector from illicit activity,” said Snow.

“Bob’s expertise and steady leadership brought OFAC into the 21st Century by enhancing the Office’s administration of economic and trade-based sanctions and highlighting its potential to address a wide range of threats to our national and economic security,” Snow continued. “Under Bob’s leadership, OFAC has greatly strengthened its relationships with the financial sector and other U.S. Government agencies, as well as with foreign counterparts around the world.”

“I have full confidence that Bob will continue to protect our country against terrorist financiers, money launderers and other financial criminals in his new role as Director of FinCEN,” said Snow.

As Director of OFAC, Werner oversaw the administration and enforcement of the U.S. Government’s economic and trade sanctions, based on foreign policy and national security goals. Beforehand, Werner served as the Treasury’s Assistant General Counsel for Enforcement and Intelligence and as the Chief of Staff of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Werner began his career at the Treasury Department in the Office of the General Counsel, including serving as Counselor to the General Counsel.

Before coming to the Treasury, Werner served in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. He also served as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut, Associate Attorney General in the State of Connecticut, and he headed Connecticut’s gaming regulatory agency.

His private sector experience includes work as a partner at Bingham Dana LLP (now Bingham McCutchen) and as an officer at The Phoenix Home Life Mutual Insurance Company (now The Phoenix Companies). Werner is also a former law clerk to Associate Justices Lewis F. Powell, Jr. (retired) and Anthony M. Kennedy.

Werner earned his Juris Doctorate from New York University School of Law, his masters from Columbia University and his bachelors from Amherst College. He graduated with honors from each institution. Werner currently resides in Virginia with his wife and three children.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is a bureau within the Treasury Department charged with safeguarding the financial system from money laundering and other illicit financial activity through the administration of the Bank Secrecy Act. FinCEN supports the law enforcement and intelligence communities, as well as the regulatory agencies, through the sharing and analysis of financial intelligence.

Werner replaces William Fox, who departed FinCEN in January to pursue a career in the private sector. Barbara Hammerle will serve as Acting OFAC Director.

William J. Fox announced today that he has resigned his position as Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and accepted a position with Bank of America as a Senior Compliance Executive for financial crimes. His last day as Director will be February 3, 2006.

Mr. Fox was appointed by Treasury Secretary John Snow to be the fourth Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on December 1, 2003. Under his leadership, the agency has played an integral role in the government’s efforts to safeguard the financial system from the abuses of terrorist financing, money laundering and other financial crime.

“It has been an honor to serve over the last two years with the dedicated professionals of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network,” said Fox. “I believe we have made progress toward fulfilling the agency’s mission of achieving transparency in the financial system, which is vital to the government’s ability to deter, detect, investigate and prosecute money laundering, terrorist financing and other economic crime.”

As Director, Mr. Fox took decisive and innovative steps toward ensuring effective and uniform application of the Bank Secrecy Act, achieving an unprecedented level of cooperation with federal and state regulatory agencies. These strategic partnerships are promoting uniform examination procedures, faster and more consistent compliance activities, and joint action in cases of egregious violations of the law.

Mr. Fox initiated the development of BSA Direct, a system that will collect, process, store, and disseminate all Bank Secrecy Act data, providing authorized law enforcement and regulatory agencies with easier access and enhanced analytical capabilities. Simultaneously, Mr. Fox’s strategy to increase the number of authorized law enforcement agencies with controlled access to the Bank Secrecy Act data allowed the agency’s analysts to focus on producing more complex, actionable intelligence related to financial crimes.

Internationally, Mr. Fox strengthened partnerships with key allies and as host of the 13th Plenary of the Egmont Group of financial intelligence units, reinvigorated the agency’s on-going support and leadership for this group.

Mr. Fox will begin his position with Bank of America on February 21, 2006. Deputy Director William F. Baity will act as Director effective February 4, 2006.

Texas Banking Commissioner Randall S. James issued an Order Revoking License (Order) for Van Thanh Le d/b/a Unis Dich Vu (Unis), a money transmitter located in Houston, Texas and licensed under Texas Finance Code, Chapter 151. Unis was granted a money transmission license by the Department of Banking on March 5, 1998 and operated from an office in Southwest Houston offering money transmission services to the Vietnamese community.

The Order results from violations of state law by Unis for failure to file a written quarterly report, failure to pay its assessment fee, and for failure to notify the Department of Banking of the business closing sometime before November 1, 2005.

Governor Phil Bredesen today appointed Greg Gonzales acting commissioner of the Department of Financial Institutions. Gonzales will temporarily fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Commissioner Kevin Lavender. The department regulates state-chartered banks, credit unions and a number of non-depository institutions. Gonzales has been associated with MTRA for more than ten years and is currently serving on the MTRA Board of Directors.

“We’ve made real progress at Financial Institutions, in part due to the work of Greg Gonzales in support of Commissioner Lavender,” Bredesen said. “I am pleased that Greg has agreed to step into this position so we can take time to find the right person to continue the work we’ve started.”

Gonzales, a native of Baxter, Tenn., has been with the department for 19 years and currently serves as Assistant Commissioner and General Counsel. In this role, Gonzales is responsible for coordinating the provision of legal advice to the Commissioner and the Department. He also directs the budget, human resource and legislative functions for the Department. Lavender, 44, who was appointed Commissioner of Financial Institutions in January of 2003, announced last month he would leave his position to become a senior vice president at Fifth Third Bank, a national bank not regulated by the department.