Feds fine American Express $65 million

Federal authorities said Monday that American Express was ordered to pay the government millions of dollars in penalties for alleged violations of anti-money laundering provisions.

The Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network _ known as FinCen _ said their orders are part of a coordinated action with the Justice Department.

"The payments to be made by the American Express entities under these actions total $65 million," according to a joint release issued by the Fed and FinCen.

Federal authorities accused American Express Bank International of Miami and American Express Travel Related Services Co. Inc. of Salt Lake City of violating the Bank Secrecy Act. Both entities _ without admitting any wrongdoing _ consented to the penalties assessed by the Fed and FinCen, the two agencies said in their joint release.

"We have cooperated fully with the government and understand the need for absolute vigilance in our efforts to protect against money laundering," said American Express spokeswoman Susan Atran. "We have already made substantial efforts to augment and strengthen our compliance programs and will continue to do so. We are firmly committed to the agreements we have reached and to conducting our business with the highest standards of integrity, compliance and control."

The Fed determined that American Express Bank International had significant breakdowns in carrying out compliance activities under the Bank Secrecy Act. It said the company failed to create an adequate anti-money laundering program as well as procedures designed to monitor compliance.

Banks and other financial institutions are required to have anti-money laundering programs in place. Those programs are important to government efforts to catch terrorist financiers, drug lords and other criminals. Financial companies also are responsible for reporting suspicious financial transactions to the government.

FinCen, among other things, determined that American Express Travel Related Services "failed to file a significant number of suspicious activity reports" in accordance with the Bank Secrecy Act.