WASHINGTON—Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee have sent a letter to NCUA, the OCC, the Federal Reserve and the CFPB requesting that each publicly disavow their “past, present and future” involvement in Operation Choke Point, or any similar operations.
Operation Choke Point in an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in 2013 that sought to investigate financial institutions thought to be at higher risk of fraud and money laundering that also involved payment processors, payment processors and others. Critics, however, led by Republicans, have said the program isn’t about money laundering and is instead about attacking industries opposed by the Obama Administration, such as gun sellers and coal producers.
The committee Republicans said they were also requesting that the agencies take internal actions to ensure “deposit account terminations are based on sound reasoning and potential risk, not political motive.”
“The Financial Services Committee will continue to investigate this matter,” the letter states. “Your proactive efforts to require your staff to follow similar guidelines as those issued by the FDIC would help demonstrate to Congress, the public, and the financial institutions that you regulate” that agencies take seriously “the need for transparency and fairness in examinations.”