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Money Launderer Indicted in Atlanta
A federal grand jury has indicted Daniel Barrs for willfully failing to follow anti-money laundering requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in operating a money transmitting business that processed hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of financial transactions for entities located around the world.
According to the indictment, Barrs ran a money transmitting business located in the Atlanta area named “Global Transaction Services” (GTS) along with several interrelated entities that transmitted hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of wires on behalf of customers located around the world, many of whom Barrs knew were not able to obtain access to U.S. banking on their own and were sending or receiving wires from countries that posed money laundering concerns.
“Our country requires financial institutions to guard against money laundering, terrorist financing, and financial fraud,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “Individuals in the financial services industry who willfully avoid complying with the Bank Secrecy Act are not only engaging in highly risky behavior that facilitates dangerous activities, they also risk criminal prosecution.”
The indictment alleges that Barrs took steps that ensured that GTS did not have an effective anti-money laundering program even though he knew it was critical that the company maintained one. Barrs hired individuals with no experience with the BSA – such as his teenage grandson – to be the compliance officers, failed to train GTS employees to comply with the BSA, and ignored warnings from independent examiners that GTS’s compliance program was inefficient.
He also took various steps to help GTS obtain bank accounts even though domestic financial institutions repeatedly closed GTS accounts. At one point, Barrs became a controlling owner over a community bank based in Braselton, Georgia, so that GTS could process millions of dollars’ worth of international wires, even though federal regulators opposed his efforts.
As a result of Barrs’ willful failure to develop, implement, and maintain an effective anti-money laundering program, GTS failed to have sufficient procedures in place to guard against money laundering. This indictment is a culmination of many months of intense investigative efforts and document review and the matter now moves into federal court.
The federal Bank Secrecy Act is in place for very good reason and the FBI will continue to provide investigative resources toward its enforcement,” said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office. “This joint effort continues to demonstrate our efforts to ensure that the financial services industry will not be used to launder money and will be operated in a fair and honest manner to promote the public interest,” stated Veronica Hyman-Pillot Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation.
Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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