Western Union Says U.S. Money Laundering Probe Tied to Gaming

[Shizzmoney]

The government is investigating “concerns the company was aware there were gaming transactions,” according to the annual report to regulators Friday from the Englewood, Colorado-based money-transfer firm. The probe also is focused on whether the company “failed to take proper steps to stop the activity.”
The filing provides more detail on the scope of probes that were previously disclosed by the company. Western Union repeated Friday that it is a target of an investigation and could face significant fines if the government brings charges. The document adds that the probe is tied to “gaming,” while echoing language from the third-quarter document about anti-money-laundering rules.
Also added were references to transactions involving Haiti, Philippines, Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, Peru and the Bahamas. It also includes references to Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama, which were mentioned in the prior document.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...ated-to-gaming

I've never WU'd but I do remember having to help a friend get cash from them and we had to go to 3 different spots to get his cash on the site's request. Surprised it took this long.

$WU is down 4.2% (5.9% at one point) at $18.36 since getting to $22.56 last May. It's high at $28 came in 2008 when it crashed like everything else.

[Dan Druff]

The Philippines was related to Bovada.

I sent a lot of money there. My local WU office was pretty sure that I was a victim of a romance scam (not kidding).

They finally clamped down on it during the fall of 2014. I was one of the last people to make a WU deposit to Bovada.

I wonder if the 2014 clamp down had something to do with this investigation.

[Forum Wars]

The full text of the 10K filing:

On March 6, 2014, the Company was served with a federal grand jury subpoena issued by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (“USAO-SDFL”) seeking a variety of AML compliance materials, including documents relating to the Company’s AML, Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), Suspicious Activity Report (“SAR”) and Currency Transaction Report procedures, transaction monitoring protocols, BSA and AML training programs and publications, AML compliance investigation reports, compliance-related agent termination files, SARs, BSA audits, BSA and AML-related management reports and AML compliance staffing levels. The subpoena also calls for Board meeting minutes and organization charts. The period covered by the subpoena is January 1, 2007 to November 27, 2013. The Company has received additional subpoenas from the USAO-SDFL and the Broward County, Florida Sheriff’s Office relating to the investigation, including a federal grand jury subpoena issued by the USAO-SDFL on March 14, 2014, seeking information about 33 agent locations in Costa Rica such as ownership and operating agreements, SARs and AML compliance and BSA filings for the period January 1, 2008 to November 27, 2013. Subsequently, the USAO-SDFL served the Company with seizure warrants requiring the Company to seize all money transfers sent from the United States to two agent locations located in Costa Rica for a 10-day period beginning in late March 2014. On July 8, 2014, the government served a grand jury subpoena calling for records relating to transactions sent from the United States to Nicaragua and Panama between September 1, 2013 and October 31, 2013. Further, the government recently served Western Union with a subpoena calling for data relating to transactions sent and received by 43 Nicaraguan agents from October 1, 2008 to October 31, 2013 and transactions sent from the United States to the Bahamas, Peru, Dominican Republic, and Haiti from September 1, 2013 to January 2, 2014 and certain documents relating to those agents. The government also advised the Company that it is investigating concerns the Company was aware there were gaming transactions being sent to Panama, Nicaragua, Haiti, Philippines, Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, Peru, and the Bahamas (in addition to Costa Rica) and that the Company failed to take proper steps to stop the activity. The government has also notified the Company that it is a target of the investigation. The government has interviewed several current and former Western Union employees. The government's investigation is ongoing and the Company may receive additional requests for information or seizure warrants as part of the investigation. The Company has provided and continues to provide information and documents to the government. Due to the investigative stage of the matter and the fact that no criminal charges or civil claims have been brought, the Company is unable to predict the outcome of the government's investigation, or reasonably estimate the possible loss or range of loss, if any, which could be associated with the resolution of any possible charges or claims that may be brought against the Company. Should such charges or claims be brought, the Company could face significant fines, damage awards or regulatory consequences which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.


Since this was brought by the Southern District of Florida's USAO office, this may have been *MORE* about WU transactions to other gaming sites other than Bovada, since that office would likely be involved in trying to stop the flow of drug money between Central/South America (where many of these deposits seemed to have landed) and Florida.

Interesting to see if they talked openly about the gaming since the USAO office subpoenaed the Company minutes from meetings...

[gauchojake]

Western Union recently blacklisted a shit ton pf people suspected of sending money offshore. There were a lot of users on SBR who reported getting blacklisted and rumors going around that they would ban you if they smelled anything fishy. The books are now all scrambling to accept BTC transactions. I think the writing is on the wall that WU/MG will no longer be a viable work-around for offshore gaming. Funny enough you can reliably deposit via credit card to almost all of the major books now with MC/VISA/AMEX where a few years ago it was nearly impossible.

[Charham]

they are including WU agents in costa rica, interesting:
http://news.co.cr/western-union-face...mpanies/45039/

[Sidewinder]

WU has been black listing individuals for over 15 years they suspected of using their service for gaming.

This is a money grab. Nothing else. 50-100 million dollar fine on the horizon.

A shame they never "investigated" ESPN for their complicity in stealing all the FTP money.

What a joke; ESPN got away with some pretty sickening behavior promoting the FTP ponzi scheme.

They need to get their fucking check book out just like Western Union is going to,