First Post in a Two-Part Series -
How do financial institutions get in trouble with their regulators? Recent AML enforcement actions suggest that the following two failures are at the heart of most of these actions: (1)...more
11/2/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Institutions ,
Information Sharing ,
Internal Controls ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Tone At The Top ,
Transaction Monitoring
FinCEN Cites Low Risk of Money Laundering and High Regulatory Burden of Rule -
On September 7, 2018, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued permanent exceptive relief (“Relief”) to the Beneficial...more
9/17/2018
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Due Diligence ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinCEN ,
Know Your Customers ,
Money Laundering ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements
Congress enacted the safe harbor provision of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), codified at 31 U.S.C. §5318(g)(3)(A), to shield financial institutions, their officers and employees from civil liability for reporting known or...more
On June 12, 2018, FinCEN issued an “Advisory on Human Rights Abuses Enabled by Corrupt Senior Foreign Political Figures and their Financial Facilitators” to highlight the connection between corrupt senior foreign political...more
6/19/2018
/ Corruption ,
Exploitation ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Official ,
Human Rights ,
Money Laundering ,
Offshore Companies ,
PEP ,
Shell Corporations ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
White Collar Crimes
The CFPB has obtained a default judgment in the lawsuit it filed in October 2017 in Maryland federal district court against two commonly-owned debt relief companies, their affiliated payment processor, and three individual...more
Last year, we posted FinCEN’s Beneficial Ownership Rule: A Practical Guide to Being Prepared for Implementation regarding the Customer Due Diligence Requirements for Financial Institutions Rule (the “Beneficial Ownership...more
In a unanimous ruling on February 21, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the definition of a whistleblower under the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act)....more
3/1/2018
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Reporting ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On November 9, 2017, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) amended the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 515 (the “CACR”), with the stated intent of channeling economic...more
11/14/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cuba ,
Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Transactions ,
International Travel ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Trump Administration
On September 15th, FinCEN issued its latest “Advisory on FATF-Identified Jurisdictions with AML/CTF Deficiencies.” The FATF, or the Financial Action Task Force, is a 37-member intergovernmental body, including the United...more
9/20/2017
/ AML/CFT ,
Banking Sector ,
Beneficial Owner ,
BSA/AML ,
Due Diligence ,
FATF ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Risk Management ,
Terrorist Financing
In May 2016, Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued its final rule on Customer Due Diligence (CDD) Requirements for Financial Institutions. ...more
On March 24, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Kassim Tajideen, an alleged prominent financial supporter of the Hizballah terror organization, with evading U.S. sanctions and conspiring to...more
3/31/2017
/ AML/CFT ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Fraudulent Wire Transfers ,
Hizballah ,
Indictments ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations
In part two of our review of the 2016 developments in Anti-Money Laundering (AML), the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the criminal money laundering statutes, forfeiture, and related issues, we discuss four additional key...more
2/7/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
BSA/AML ,
Civil Forfeiture ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Institutions ,
Forfeiture ,
Money Laundering ,
Virtual Currency
2016 was a busy year for developments in Anti-Money Laundering (AML), the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the criminal money laundering statutes, forfeiture, and related issues. In part one of our year-in-review, we discuss six key...more
2/3/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Casinos ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
FATF ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Fines ,
Gambling ,
Gaming ,
Geographic Targeting Order ,
Money Laundering ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
NYDFS ,
Offshore Funds ,
Panama Papers ,
Popular ,
Real Estate Market ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Tax Evasion
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and four U.S. federal banking regulators have issued the "Joint Fact Sheet on Foreign Correspondent Banking" in an effort to clarify enforcement priorities regarding Anti-Money Laundering...more
9/2/2016
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Depository Institutions ,
Due Diligence ,
Foreign Correspondent Banking ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
International Monetary Fund ,
U.S. Treasury
FinCEN has announced a major expansion and extension of its geographic targeting orders (GTOs) aimed at high-end cash buyers of real estate. This action reflects FinCEN’s continued efforts to prevent money laundering through...more
8/5/2016
/ Banking Sector ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Cash Transactions ,
Covered Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
Geographic Targeting Order ,
Insurance Industry ,
Money Laundering ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Real Estate Market ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Title Insurance
The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has finalized a new regulation setting forth rigorous standards for monitoring and filtering programs to monitor transactions for potential anti-money laundering (AML) and...more
7/11/2016
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Foreign Banks ,
Lenders ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Transmitter ,
Mortgages ,
New Regulations ,
NYDFS ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Transaction Monitoring
The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has finalized a new regulation setting rigorous standards for monitoring and filtering programs to monitor transactions for potential anti-money laundering (AML) and Bank...more
7/6/2016
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Certificates of Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Banks ,
Money Transmitter ,
NYDFS ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Senior Managers ,
Transaction Monitoring
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's (FinCEN) continuing efforts to address the "real estate industry's vulnerability to money laundering” were outlined by FinCEN Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery in an April 12, 2016,...more
As part of the U.S. Treasury Department's ongoing efforts to prevent bad actors from using U.S. companies to conceal money laundering, tax evasion, and other illicit financial activities, the Financial Crimes Enforcement...more
5/11/2016
/ Bad Actors ,
Bank Holding Company Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Covered Financial Institutions ,
Due Diligence ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
IRS ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Panama Papers ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Evasion
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced its first enforcement action against a small “card club” gaming establishment imposing a civil penalty of $650,000. The enforcement action, announced December 17,...more
The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has proposed new regulations setting forth minimum standards for anti-money laundering (AML) transaction monitoring and filtering systems. The regulations, proposed December...more
Four pieces of legislation intended to improve online privacy and protections for Delaware residents were signed into law by Governor Jack Markell on August 7, 2015. Collectively, this legislation will impact a broad range of...more
8/26/2015
/ Department of Education ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Domestic Violence ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Policies ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Passwords ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Privacy Laws ,
Privacy Policy ,
School Districts ,
Sexual Assault ,
Social Media Policy ,
Social Networks ,
Stalking ,
Student Privacy
Last week, a federal judge ruled that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cannot prohibit a pharmaceutical company from marketing its drugs for off-label uses if its claims are truthful and not misleading. This ruling,...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced the largest coordinated international law enforcement effort ever directed at an online cyber-criminal forum. Financial institutions and other companies should consider...more
7/24/2015
/ Best Practices ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FBI ,
Financial Institutions ,
Hackers ,
Malware ,
New Guidance ,
NIST
In a recent advisory, the Research and Education Networking Information Sharing and Analysis Center (REN-ISAC) warned higher education institutions about sophisticated phishing attacks that target faculty and staff...more