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Thank you all for coming.
I am delighted to be here today with representatives from federal law enforcement and the federal financial regulatory community to unveil the Administration's 2002 National Money Laundering Strategy.
It is imperative that the federal government continue to vigorously pursue the financial underpinnings of crime, including the financing of terrorist groups.
The 2002 Strategy is precedent setting. It lays out, for the first time, a comprehensive national strategy to attack the financing of terrorist groups.
It sets another important precedent too, a precedent about accountability, and we have the leadership of Secretary O'Neill to thank for this.
For the very first time, the Money Laundering Strategy presents some hard facts and figures to help assess how the federal government is doing in its ongoing battle to combat money laundering. You will hear more about what these figures say shortly.
Secretary O'Neill understands that we need more than anecdotal evidence to drive policy making, and that the effective and efficient measurement of results is critical to make informed decisions and to direct resources appropriately.
The Strategy also continues our multi-year effort to safeguard the integrity of the world's financial system and to reduce the vulnerability of the U.S. financial institutions to criminal activities. I am especially proud of our efforts to implement the anti-money laundering provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, which you will also hear more about shortly.
It is only by working cooperatively that we will be able to cut off the lifeblood that criminals and terrorists rely on to finance their illegal acts. The 2002 Strategy is an important step in this direction, and, on behalf of the President and his Administration, I am proud to endorse its ambitious goals and objectives.
I would now like Treasury Under Secretary for Enforcement Jimmy Gurulé to talk about the specifics of the new 2002 Money Laundering Strategy.