Baton Rouge, LA – Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon and James H. Freis, Jr., Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) within the U.S. Treasury, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last week aimed at boosting anti-fraud efforts. The MOU, signed April 27, will allow Freis, as the nation’s federal Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulator and Commissioner Donelon, as the insurance regulator for the state of Louisiana, to share important information enabling both parties to better protect the industry and consumers from criminal activity and fraud.
The new MOU will allow both parties to improve and enhance the level of AML cooperation and seeks to efficiently maximize their combined resources in discharging their statutory obligations to defend against money laundering, fraud and other financial crime. The collective goal is to enhance communication and coordination between FinCEN and the Louisiana Department of Insurance to help Louisiana insurance companies better identify, deter and interdict financial crime and efficiently convey that information to FinCEN.
With the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, Louisiana becomes the first state to partner with FinCEN. “This is a significant tool that will enhance our efforts to better protect our consumers from fraud and other criminal activity,” said Commissioner Donelon.
“FinCEN looks forward to forming new partnerships with state insurance regulators to share information to detect and deter illicit financial activity including insurance fraud,” said Director Freis. “FinCEN has a solid record of working with state financial regulators. Commissioner Donelon’s influential role as president-elect of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners will help set the standard for other states to follow.”
Source: LA DOI