WASHINGTON - Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said Wednesday that he expects to unveil the administration's anti-laundering strategy "in the coming weeks" and indicated that he wants better results for the money spent to fight the problem.
"The three main pillars of the strategy will be: first, to focus our limited federal resources to investigate and prosecute money laundering on high-impact major cases; second, to protect the integrity of the U.S. financial system; and third, to significantly improve the government's capacity to measure the results of its efforts so that we can be fully accountable to the American taxpayers," Mr. O'Neill said in testimony before the Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations.
A Clinton administration estimate that the government spent about $1 billion a year to fight money laundering are "significantly" inflated, he said, and his staff is reviewing the costs and benefits of anti-laundering efforts. "I am comfortable that our internal review of money-laundering programs will put us in a position to ensure that the American people are getting the best possible return on their investment in this area," he testified.
