Western Union fined $8 million

FEXCO’s US sister company Western Union has paid an $8m fine in the US after being accused of violations of federal and state laws designed to stem the flow of terrorist money.

The Killorglin-based financial services company is 25% owned by First Data Corporation, which owns Western Union Financial Services Inc, the world’s largest money-transfer company. Fexco is the exclusive provider of Western Union money transfers in Ireland and Britain and enjoys super agent status in Spain.

Western Union paid the 8m fine after New York’s banking department said the company failed to file almost 600 currency-transaction reports for cash transfers in one day that exceeded $10,000. It also failed to file 63 suspicious-activity reports so far this year, often because one individual transferred more than $10,000 in one day.

A spokesperson for Fexco said all the transactions involved originated in the New York area and have absolutely no connection with the operations in Killorglin where 800 people are employed.

The spokesman stressed that their internal compliance measures went above and beyond the scope of domestic money laundering legislation.

This is the first time the Patriot Act has been used against a major financial firm, and people familiar with the matter said a similar enforcement action against Western Union by federal authorities or other states is likely.

None of the money transfers have been linked to supporting terrorism.

It is understood that Western Union has introduce stringent protocols to prevent its massive money transfer organisation being used for illegal purposes. Western Union transfers in excess of €30bn annually.

Since the September 11 attacks regulators said the money-transfer industry including Western Union has been sharing some of its data with regulators and law enforcement.