Following up on its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPR”), which we discussed back in March, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released on August 28th a final rule extending Anti-Money Laundering/Countering...more
9/13/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
BSA/AML ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Money Laundering ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Years in the making, on February 13, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) to include “investment adviser” (“IA”) within the definition of “financial institution”...more
3/6/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
BSA/AML ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Customer Identification Program (CIP) ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
NPRM ,
Proposed Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
On July 31, 2023, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published an alert outlining deficiencies the Department of Examinations has observed in broker-dealers’ (“BD”) compliance with anti-money...more
The Small Business Administration (“SBA”) recently issued a procedural notice (the “Notice”) to “All SBA Employees and Paycheck Protection Program Lenders” setting forth “Revised SBA Paycheck Protection Platform Procedures...more
First Blog Post in an Extended Series on Legislative Changes to BSA/AML Regulatory Regime -
Change is upon us. The U.S. House and Senate have passed – over a Presidential veto – the National Defense Authorization Act...more
Second Post in a Three-Post Series Regarding Recent Regulatory Action by FinCEN -
On September 16, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”)...more
Can BSA/AML Requirements Lead to Deemed Knowledge of Borrower Fraud?
The first two weeks of August brought a milestone of sorts in the ongoing recovery from the economic downturn brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The...more
9/3/2020
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Borrowers ,
BSA/AML ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Government Investigations ,
HUD ,
Lenders ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
SBA ,
U.S. Treasury
On May 18, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued an Advisory “to alert financial institutions to rising medical scams related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This [A]dvisory contains red flags, descriptions of...more
On May 4, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) issued a paper entitled “Covid-19-Related Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing – Risk and Policy Responses (“Paper”). ...more
5/11/2020
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corruption ,
FATF ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
Second Post in a Two-Post Series on Recent FATF Activity -
As we just blogged, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) issued a statement from its President on COVID-19 and measures to combat illicit financing during the...more
4/13/2020
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corruption ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
FATF ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Money Laundering ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations
First Post in a Two-Post Series on Recent FATF Activity -
Members presumably working from home, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) was active last week, first issuing its 3rd Enhanced Follow-up Report & Technical...more
4/13/2020
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
FATF ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Know Your Customers ,
Money Laundering ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations
On December 3, 2019, four federal agencies – the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), and the Office of the...more
12/5/2019
/ Agribusiness ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Cannabis Products ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Controlled Substances ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Debit and Credit Card Transactions ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Deregulation ,
Farm Bill ,
FDIC ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Cultivation ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New Guidance ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Small Business Loans ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
USDA
On August 21, 2019, FinCEN issued an advisory (the “Advisory”) alerting financial institutions to various financial schemes and mechanisms employed by fentanyl and synthetic opioid traffickers to facilitate the illegal...more
8/30/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
BSA/AML ,
Convertible Virtual Currencies (CVCs) ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Depository Institutions ,
Digital Wallets ,
Drug & Alcohol Abuse ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Services Business ,
Opioid ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Risk Management ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Some Answers — Producing Even More Questions -
On May 9, 2019, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) published a comprehensive “interpretive guidance” (the “Guidance”) to “remind” businesses and individuals...more
5/31/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
BSA/AML ,
Convertible Virtual Currencies (CVCs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Digital Wallets ,
FinCEN ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Interpretive Rule ,
Money Services Business ,
Money Transmitter ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Risk Assessment ,
Token Sales
First Post in a Two-Part Series -
Recent actions in the crypto realm demonstrate that authorities and regulators have not slackened their commitment to applying and enforcing Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) laws and...more
5/10/2019
/ BitLicense ,
BSA/AML ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
Darknet ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Services Business ,
NYDFS ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Risk Assessment ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Virtual Currency
More Allegations of Nordic Malfeasance Surface as Private Party Lawsuits Beset Danske Bank and SwedBank Gets Sucked into Unfolding Scandal....more
4/5/2019
/ American Depository Receipts (ADRs) ,
BSA/AML ,
Class Action ,
Danske Bank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Estonia ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Money Laundering ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities Fraud
As we just blogged, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) Director Kenneth Blanco recently touted the value of Suspicious Activity Reports (“SARs”) in the context of discussing anti-money laundering (“AML”)...more
As we blogged yesterday, British Columbia’s (“B.C.”) Attorney General David Eby recently released an independent and very detailed report examining money laundering in B.C.’s gaming industry and providing 48 recommendations...more
7/17/2018
/ BSA/AML ,
Canada ,
Casinos ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
Gambling ,
Gaming ,
Money Laundering ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
On May 16, 2018, the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced it had settled charges against a registered broker-dealer, its clearing firm, and its chief compliance and anti-money laundering (“AML”) officer brought...more
FinCEN announced on May 3, 2018 that Artichoke Joe’s, a card club and casino located in San Bruno, California and founded in 1916, has entered into a revised civil money penalty assessment regarding alleged deficiencies under...more
The Tale of an AML BSA Exam Gone Wrong -
As we have blogged, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld the decision of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) to issue a cease...more
3/21/2018
/ Appeals ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Cease and Desist ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
FDIC ,
FFIEC ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Institutions ,
Internal Controls ,
Money Laundering ,
Risk Management ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld the decision of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) to issue a cease and desist order against California Pacific Bank (the “Bank”)...more
3/20/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Cease and Desist ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
FDIC ,
FFIEC ,
Money Laundering ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Attorney General Sessions Announces Rescission of Obama Administration Policies on Marijuana Enforcement; Financial Institutions Lose Grounds to Permit Financial Transactions with Marijuana Businesses....more
1/5/2018
/ Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Cole Memorandum ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dispensaries ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Money Laundering ,
Policy Memorandums ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Trump Administration
Part Three of a Three-Part Series -
In the third and final part of this series on marijuana-related businesses (“MRBs”), we explore how the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”)...more
7/13/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dispensaries ,
Financial Institutions ,
Investment ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
NYSE ,
Retail Market ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unregistered Securities