The Senate is expected next week to confirm former New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly as Treasury under secretary for enforcement.
The Senate Finance Committee approved Mr. Kelly last week for the post, which oversees the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Secret Service. These are the agencies that investigate money laundering and credit card fraud. He also would manage the Customs Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
The full Senate has not scheduled a vote on the nomination, but political observers said they expect action by month's end, noting that Mr. Kelly has bipartisan support.
Mr. Kelly would succeed Ronald K. Noble, who left the post in February to return to teaching at New York University School of Law.
In his June 13 testimony to the Senate Finance Committee, Mr. Kelly praised the Treasury Department's crime-fighting abilities.
"It is precisely this kind of expertise - be it expertise in combating drug smuggling or money laundering or arson or counterfeiting - that the enforcement arms of the Treasury Department use more effectively then anyone else," he told the Senate committee.
In his testimony, Mr. Kelly made no mention of the scandal surrounding Raul Salinas, the brother of the former Mexican president. Mr. Salinas is accused of sending $80 million to banks in Switzerland through Citicorp's Mexican offices. Bankers are interested in how the government will apply the money laundering laws in this case.
Paul Browne, a former New York deputy police commissioner, said he expects that Mr. Kelly will devote considerable energy to the enforcement network during his tenure.
"Money laundering and organized crime were certainly issues that arose in New York, and he is quite knowledgeable about them," said Mr. Browne, now a vice president at Investigative Group International, a New York-based security firm.
Mr. Kelly served in the New York Police Department for 30 years before retiring in 1994. He joined Investigative Group soon after and stayed until early this year.
Mr. Noble said he expects Mr. Kelly will continue the enforcement network's efforts to streamline reporting rules with the banking industry's help.
