Western Union Settles Arizona Case

by Mike Bevel, CollectionIndustry.com

Western Union, once proud bastion of that timeless information vehicle the telegram, is out about $3 million to the state of Arizona over a case involving some not-quite-legit money transfers. I will repeat that lead in Morse code, for those still mourning the loss of the telegram: .— / . / … / – / . / .-. / -. -..-. ..- / -. / .. / —- / -. -..-. —- / -. / -.-. / . -..-. .—. / .-. / —- / ..- / -.. -..-. -… / .- / … / – / .. / —- / -. -..-. —- / ..- — never mind. I can see how the appeal of the telegram might soon wear out its welcome.

Arizona financial regulators allege that the money transfer company failed to comply with state reporting laws intended to combat money laundering and illegal immigration. To make amends, the company will pay a $1.6 million civil penalty, $1 million to a state task force on fraudulent identification and $400,000 to the state Department of Transportation.

Arizona has long been concerned with illegal immigration, and has stepped up its reporting requirements for financial institutions. Investigators found that Western Union and its agents collected hard-to-read or otherwise unusable information on the identity of senders or receivers of money transfers at some locations.

Christina A. Gold, Western Union’s president and chief executive, said in the agreement that the company was not admitting any guilt or fault but waived the right to further contest the state’s allegations.