The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has recently taken steps to expand the reach of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and related customer identification regulations. These steps build on...more
5/30/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Beneficial Owner ,
CFIUS ,
Customer Identification Program (CIP) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Proposed Rule Aims To Increase Transparency in CVC Mixing -
On October 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released a notice of proposed rulemaking (Proposal)...more
On July 26, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) National Security Division (NSD), the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign...more
8/1/2023
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
International Trade ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers
Through a series of coordinated actions in May 2023, the United States launched a whole-of-government effort to expand and strengthen enforcement of its sanctions campaign against Russia as the conflict in Ukraine continues...more
6/6/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
International Trade ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia
DOJ Increases Resources To Investigate and Prosecute Sanctions Evasion and Export Control Violations -
On March 2, 2023, during a keynote speech at the American Bar Association’s annual White Collar Crime National...more
3/17/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Entities ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
International Trade ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On January 17, 2023, U.S. law enforcement authorities in Miami arrested Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national and the founder and majority owner of Hong Kong-based virtual currency exchange Bitzlato Ltd., on charges of money...more
2/7/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
Law Enforcement ,
Money Laundering ,
NDAA ,
Patriot Act ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency ,
White Collar Crimes
In the past year, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board) Biden administration officials, and other U.S. banking regulators have repeatedly voiced growing concerns about certain cryptoasset...more
2/7/2023
/ Banking Regulators ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Biden Administration ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
OCC ,
Risk Assessment
On January 3, 2023, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a Joint Statement on...more
1/6/2023
/ Banks ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Joint Statements ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Factors
The pandemic’s impact may be subsiding, but businesses are encountering new challenges across the globe, including the potential for an economic retrenchment, rising interest rates, shifting regulatory and litigation...more
12/14/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Antitrust Division ,
Banking Sector ,
Big Tech ,
Board of Directors ,
Bonds ,
Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
Capital Raising ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Convertible Notes ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forum Selection ,
Investigations ,
IRS ,
Lenders ,
Mergers ,
Money Laundering ,
Partnerships ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Recessions ,
Repurchases ,
Russia ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Taxation ,
Technology ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
Recent developments, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, ongoing tensions between the U.S. and China, and turmoil in the digital assets sector, have made it essential for companies — including their directors and senior...more
On December 5, 2022, the price cap on Russian crude oil that was announced by the G-7 finance ministers in September 2022 went into effect at a level of $60 per barrel. The price cap is implemented by prohibiting the...more
The proliferation of U.S. sanctions and other regulations affecting cross-border transactions has implications for directors, who may be personally liable for violations in some cases. Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange...more
12/9/2022
/ Anti-Monopoly ,
Board Meetings ,
Board of Directors ,
China ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Entities ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Minutes ,
Corporate Officers ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure ,
Documentation ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Exports ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Reporting ,
Foreign Policy ,
Joint Venture ,
Market Abuse ,
Merger Controls ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
Revenue ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) ,
US Trade Policies
On October 11, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced settlements for approximately $24 million and $29 million,...more
In a recently published memorandum, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco announced important updates to the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) approach to investigating and prosecuting corporate crimes. In the...more
Legislation introduced on September 15, 2022 by Maxine Waters (D-Cal.), chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, would significantly revise the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), adding a number of new substantive...more
On September 16, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Department of Justice released four much-anticipated reports on different aspects of cryptoasset regulation. They confirm the Biden administration’s broad but...more
9/29/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Blockchain ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
U.S. Treasury
A flurry of legal and enforcement activity has arisen over the last two weeks across a wide range of areas in the Web3 space, including actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of Foreign Assets Control,...more
8/25/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
FDIC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smart Contracts ,
Virtual Currency
Recent guidance from the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) and a proposed bill in the U.S. Senate portend more regulatory and legislative activity to clarify the status of and requirements for stablecoin...more
On May 5, 2022, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (together the Agencies) released a joint notice of proposed...more
On April 6, 2022, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, and an advocate for clarity in cryptocurrency regulations, released a discussion draft of legislation that would provide a...more
On March 11, 2022, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14068 (E.O. 14068) imposing new restrictions on imports and exports with respect to Russia as well as on the supply of U.S. dollar-denominated banknotes to the...more
3/22/2022
/ Bank Notes ,
Banks ,
Biden Administration ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Luxury Goods ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
On February 8, 2022, a federal district court in California issued two opinions, granting summary judgment to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and...more
This is the fourth in a series of articles in which we discuss recent efforts by regulators and other governmental bodies to set expectations and standards, or pursue governmental initiatives, with respect to cryptocurrencies...more
The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG), together with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), released a much-anticipated Report on...more
11/17/2021
/ AML/CFT ,
Bank Holding Company Act ,
Banking Regulators ,
Biden Administration ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
Stablecoins ,
Virtual Currency ,
Working Groups
On October 28, 2021, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the international body that sets standards for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), released updated guidance addressing the...more
11/12/2021
/ AML/CFT ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
FATF ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Guidance Update ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Stablecoins ,
Virtual Currency