NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz issued a supervisory letter to credit unions warning them of the risks of serving money services businesses and expressed concerns about the vulnerabilities of cooperatives that may not have the capabilities to manage high cash flow volumes and to meet regulatory requirements.

This letter comes more than a month after the $3.6 million North Dade Community Development Federal Credit Union of Miami Gardens, Fla., admitted on Nov. 25 that it violated Bank Secrecy Act requirements. The cooperative also failed to comply with the USA Patriot Act regulations for five years by improperly handling transactions from known high-risk areas such as Mexico, Central America and the Middle East.

According to a civil assessment order issued Nov. 25 by the U.S. Dept. of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, as a result, the credit union received a $300,000 fine. The anti-money laundering failures occurred from 2009 to 2014 and involved 56 money services businesses, FinCEN said.

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