A south Florida credit union has been fined $300,000 by the U.S. Treasury Department after admitting that it moved large sums of customer money to risky jurisdictions without proper controls to prevent money laundering.

The Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network(FinCEN) said in a statement on Tuesday it assessed the penalty against North Dade Community Development Federal Credit Union in Miami Gardens, an operation with just five employees and $4 million in assets.

"North Dade's anti-money laundering (AML) failures exposed the United States financial system to significant opportunities for money laundering and terrorist financing from known high- risk jurisdictions," FinCEN said in the statement.

Law enforcement and other authorities have expressed concerns about whether small banks have adequate compliance programs for transferring money to risky jurisdictions.

"When a small institution opens its doors to the world, takes on greater risks than it can manage, and puts profits before (anti-money laundering) controls, bad actors are bound to take advantage," said FinCEN Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery said in the statement

North Dade processed transactions for more than 50 so-called money services businesses(MSBs) such as check cashers and money changing businesses, wiring millions of dollars per month to high-risk foreign jurisdictions, including some in Mexico, Central America and the Middle East.

The credit union admitted that it failed between 2009 and 2014 to meet requirements imposed by the Bank Secrecy Act and that it had weak internal controls, independent testing, and training, and failed to designate a qualified compliance officer and respond to law enforcement queries, a penalty assessment issued by FinCEN stated.

Large banks have been under pressure to "de-risk," or sever ties to entire industries or customer types deemed high-risk, amid a crackdown by U.S. anti-money laundering authorities.

Executives at large banks have expressed concerns that though their institutions are equipped with the automated systems and personnel needed to manage risk posed by money services businesses, they are forced to shun such customers, which in turn are patronizing small banks and credit unions that are desperate for revenue but lack sophisticated compliance programs.

A representative of the credit union could not be reached for comment.