Second Post in a Two-Part Series -
Opinion Stresses Importance of Narrative Sections and Supporting Documentation for SARs -
In our first post in this series, we discussed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s...more
12/26/2018
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure-to-File ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Market Manipulation ,
Money Laundering ,
Penny Stocks ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
First Post in a Two-Part Series -
On December 11, Judge Denise Cote of the Southern District of New York granted, in part, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) motion for summary judgement in its action against...more
12/21/2018
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Books & Records ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Clearing Agents ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Financial Services Industry ,
First Impression ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Stock Trades ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Charges Represent First Criminal Case Based Solely on Alleged Unauthorized SAR Disclosure -
On October 17, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) announced the arrest of a senior employee at the...more
On August 29, the Wall Street Journal reported (paywall) a story that other news outlets later have picked up: the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) is investigating whether Jho Low, a Malaysian businessman at the center of the...more
Critics Bemoan Removal of Potential Weapon Against Shell Companies -
Last week, and on the eve of a scheduled markup of the original bill in the House Financial Services Committee, a new draft of the Counter Terrorism and...more
6/21/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Deregulation ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinCEN ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Transparency
Australia announced on April 11 that all digital currency exchanges operating in the country will be regulated by the Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (“AUSTRAC”), the country’s financial intelligence agency. ...more
4/12/2018
/ AML/CFT ,
AUSTRAC ,
Australia ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Exchange ,
Digital Currency ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Virtual Currency
On February 23, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) signaled that the inter-governmental body “will step up its efforts in monitoring the use of cryptocurrencies in money laundering.” ...more
3/2/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
FATF ,
G20 ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Money Laundering ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk Management ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
This week, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs held hearings focused in part on Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) and the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”)....more
2/8/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Bitcoin ,
BSA/AML ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Know Your Customers ,
Money Services Business ,
Popular ,
Securities Violations ,
Senate Banking Committee ,
Testimony ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency
As the value of bitcoin continues to soar (USD:BTC this past weekend exceeded $19,000.00:1), we thought that now would be a good time to emphasize the need to ensure regulatory compliance with the many federal and state AML...more
12/22/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bitcoin ,
BitLicense ,
BSA/AML ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Know Your Customers ,
Money Services Business ,
Virtual Currency
We previously have observed that financial institutions face an increasing risk that alleged Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (“CTF”) violations will lead to follow-on allegations of securities...more
On June 29, dual trial verdicts in the Southern District of New York paved the way for the government to seize 650 Fifth Avenue, a 36-story building in Manhattan valued at up to $1 billion (“the Property”). The defendants,...more
On June 5, the SEC filed suit against Salt Lake City-based Alpine Securities, Corp. (“Alpine”). The complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York, alleges that the broker-dealer ran afoul of AML rules by “routinely...more
On Monday, the state of Florida moved a step closer towards amending its money laundering statute to include the nefarious use of bitcoin and other virtual currencies. The bill, H.B. 1379, has sailed through a committee vote...more
The Supreme Court granted certiorari on April 3 to decide whether Jordan-based Arab Bank may be liable for claims including allegations that its New York branch processed transactions for known terrorists. While the central...more
Banks stand to advance the fight against human trafficking and modern slavery by reporting suspicious transactions and other financial activity that raise red flags, according to a report on March 15, 2017. Published by the...more
The Philippines has been identified by the U.S. as a “major money-laundering country” in the 2017 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (“Report”), published this month. The country now joins 87 others as one “whose...more
Despite the staggering $8 billion figure estimated to be spent on global compliance in 2017, U.S.-based rules regarding Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (“CFT”) remain anchored in their...more
2/22/2017
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Money Laundering ,
Technology ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Terrorist Financing ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
Virtual Currency
The Executive Vice President of Venezuela, Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah (El Aissami), was designated on Monday by the U.S. Department of Treasury as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker under the Foreign Narcotics...more
2/15/2017
/ Criminal Investigations ,
Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act ,
Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Sanctions ,
Foreign Official ,
Government Officials ,
Money Laundering ,
Narcotics ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Venezuela ,
White Collar Crimes
The founders of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca were arrested on Saturday, following their indictment on money-laundering charges allegedly tied to the ever-widening Petrobas corruption scandal in Brazil.
Kenia...more
2/14/2017
/ Brazil ,
Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Indictments ,
Kickbacks ,
Money Laundering ,
Mossack Fonseca ,
Offshore Banks ,
Offshore Funds ,
Oil & Gas ,
Panama ,
Panama Papers ,
Petrobras ,
Tax Evasion ,
Tax Shelters
The New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) has issued its fifth BitLicense to date, continuing a marked effort to bring legitimacy and controls to the virtual currency (“VC”) industry, whose advantages in...more
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
Under Internal Revenue Code section 7609(f), the IRS may issue a “John Doe” administrative summons to discover the identities of unknown taxpayers. A “John Doe” summons can be a powerful enforcement tool because it allows the...more
2/7/2017
/ Bitcoin ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
John Doe Investigation ,
Money Laundering ,
Summons ,
Swiss Banks ,
Tax Evasion ,
Technology ,
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