Guest Post by Mark Nestmann
Talk about a comeuppance. Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Dennis Hastert, who helped force through Congress stricter laws against anonymous cash transactions, now faces financial ruin – and an extended jail sentence – thanks to the very same laws.
Hastert withdrew at least $1.7 million in cash from bank accounts he controlled while trying to avoid having the transactions reported to the US Treasury. That apparently set off alarm bells with the anti-laundering software banks use to identify “suspicious transactions” in customer accounts.
Now, Hastert has been indicted for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and lying to federal investigators about the purpose of the withdrawals. Each charge carries a penalty of as much as five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The government can also seize every dime in the bank accounts Hastert used illegally.
The first crime Hastert stands accused of committing is “structuring.” This is the act of making an effort to avoid reporting cash transactions by breaking up one transaction into a series of smaller amounts. Hastert was evidently trying to avoid having the banks he dealt with complete a “currency transaction report,” which they must file with the US Treasury for cash deposits or withdrawals larger than $10,000.
Continue reading “Famous politician gets caught in his own web”
