Premier Lin Chuan on Sunday ordered Taiwan’s top financial regulator -- the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) – to form a working group to investigate Mega International Commercial Bank. That’s after US authorities slapped the bank with a massive fine for violating anti-money laundering rules.
The Department of Financial Services (DFS) of New York State announced on Friday that it had imposed a US$180 million fine on Mega Bank's New York branch. That’s the first time a Taiwanese bank has faced such a penalty for this violation in the US.
The branch was found to have violated the US Bank Secrecy Act, which is also known as the anti-money laundering law. The bank has ten days to pay the fine.
Premier Lin has asked the FSC to bring together representatives from the Central Bank, as well as the finance and justice ministries. The group will attempt to find out who was responsible for the actions which led to the fine.
The FSC says it has asked local banks to tighten control on their overseas outlets’ efforts to prevent money-laundering risks.