That’s what the conclusion of new research reported in the Washington Post today showing that the same kind of bank “derisking” that affects the deposits, wire transfers, and access to banking of digital currency firms is also affecting charities trying to save the lives of civilians injured in the Syrian civil war.
Although the hospital was run by the Syrian American Medical Society — a District-based charity that relies on donations — lack of funding wasn’t the issue. And in this case, the brutality of the Syrian regime wasn’t responsible for the supply shortage.
The problem was a U.S. bank.
During the bloody siege, the medical society had tried to wire $80,000 to a vendor in Turkey so its hospitals could stock up on medical supplies. But the U.S.-based bank, in its diligence to ensure the funds weren’t being funneled to overseas terrorists, was holding up the transfer. By the time the money went through six months later, the deadly siege was over.
The problem? AML regulations and enforcement actions have instilled such fear in banks that they won’t take a risk on anything mildly suspicious looking. A representative of the American Bankers Association explained:
“Unfortunately, banks just can’t send funds,” he said. “They look at it and say, ‘We can’t make the distinction between a charity that’s trying to get money to a starving family versus one that is ready to go out and buy a stockpile of Uzis to fire on civilians. We don’t have enough information, we can’t make that call, and if we make the wrong guess, we’re the ones that are in trouble.”
And from what we understand, there’s no simple policy fix. To address the unintended consequences of the federal government’s zealous pursuit of bad actors will require not only a change in law, but a change in culture as well. Financial institutions need to believe that they won’t be fined into oblivion for making one small mistake. This is why banks and policymakers in Congress and the Treasury should take seriously proposals like those by The Clearing House to overhaul the federal government’s AML/CFT regime.