Riggs' Mistake - Why taping your minutes might not be the best idea

Federal regulators to listen to Riggs' tape recorded board meeting minutes

The Washington Post recently reported that federal regulators and prosecutors are listening to more than 150 Riggs Bank board meetings as they investigate what role top executives, including former chairman Joe L. Allbritton, played in more than a decade of violations of anti-money-laundering laws at the company.

According to the Post, Allbritton makes "derisive" remarks about federal bank regulators who were pushing the bank to correct years-long violations of money-laundering laws. The Post unsuccessfully sought comment from Allbritton's public relations firm as to why he didn't disclose the existence of the tapes to federal investigators, including the U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia, until a few weeks ago.

AABD has repeatedly advised AABD members that tape recordings of bank board and committee meetings are fraught with risk unless they are used solely for the purpose of preparing minutes, and then discarded.

For more information on issues relating to Board and committee minutes, check out volume 11, number 1 of AABD's newsletter "Bank Director News" dated January-March 2003, which is available to members of AABD without charge.

• Link to Bank Director News:
  www.aabd.org/publications/bank_director_news/back_issues.html
• Link to Washington Post article:
  www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27359-2004Sep16.html