Puerto Rico financial institutions no longer on Treasury Department’s money laundering list

The U.S. Treasury Department this month removed international financial entities operating in Puerto Rico from its list of “vulnerabilities and risks” to federal efforts aimed at stopping money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism, El Nuevo Día reports.  The development should be of particular benefit to the Island’s credit unions.  In recent years, several financial entities operating in Puerto Rico have been investigated for having allegedly engaged in money laundering or fraudulent acts.  However, in its recent National Money Laundering Risk Assessment Report, the Treasury Department found that international banking entities (IBEs), international financial institutions (IFEs), and credit unions no longer pose a risk.  The move was welcomed by the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF), which for the past three years has worked to ensure that Puerto Rico’s financial entities comply with applicable rules and regulations.  “It is impossible to overstate the importance of this positive change in the U.S. Treasury’s assessment of these Puerto Rican financial entities and, by extension, the island’s entire financial and banking system,” said Natalia Zequeira Díaz, the commissioner of the OCIF.

Judge of Puerto Rican ancestry nominated for appeals court 

Federal Judge Nancy Maldonado has been nominated by President Biden to serve on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.  She currently sits on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.  If confirmed, she would become the first Hispanic to serve on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which reviews decisions by district courts in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.  Maldonado’s father was born in Puerto Rico and emigrated to Utah before starting a business in Chicago.  She is a graduate of Columbia Law School and Harvard University.

Puerto Rico looks to New York for immigrants with work permits 

To address worker shortages and help in ongoing reconstruction efforts, the government of Puerto Rico is currently working with officials from the State of New York to identify immigrants with work permits who would be interested in moving to the Island.  According to local press, discussions on the issue have been led by Puerto Rico Secretary of State Omar J. Marrero and New York Secretary of State Robert Rodríguez. “We are designing a pilot project to present to the two governors so we can implement it… The idea would be to use the private sector as an ally, with professional organizations in Puerto Rico and New York,” said Marrero. Additionally, the Puerto Rican governor’s office has requested that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant special visas to bring workers from Latin America to Puerto Rico for a period of 18 months. Officials concede that DHS has yet to be receptive to that proposal.