As we previously blogged, a Florida law (Fla. Stat. § 655.0323, entitled “Unsafe and unsound practices”) which became effective July 1, 2024 prohibits federal and state depository institutions conducting business in the state...more
7/30/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banks ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Florida ,
Money Laundering ,
Preemption ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On July 3, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) as part of a broader initiative to “strengthen, modernize, and improve” financial institutions’ anti-money...more
7/16/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banks ,
Broker-Dealer ,
BSA/AML ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
NPRM ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations
On May 3, 2024, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) jointly released the...more
5/8/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Due Diligence ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party ,
Third-Party Risk
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has been very active in the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) / Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) space, as reflected by a recent series of individual prosecutions and corporate non-prosecution agreements...more
2/1/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Casinos ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
In its Fall 2023 Semiannual Risk Perspective, published on December 7, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) reported on key issues facing the federal banking system. In evaluating the overall soundness of...more
12/15/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Machine Learning ,
OCC ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Third-Party Relationships
Legislation Targets Unhosted Wallets, Validators and Digital Asset ATMs -
On July 28th, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), reintroduced the...more
8/11/2023
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Wallets ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Services Business ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On December 6, FinCEN announced that it was issuing an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“AMPRM”) to solicit public comment on potential requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) for certain persons involved in...more
12/14/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Comment Period ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Popular ,
Real Estate Market ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
The Federal Reserve Board, FDIC, and OCC (collectively, the “Agencies”) issued on November 23 a short Joint Statement on Crypto-Asset Policy Sprint Initiative and Next Steps (“Joint Statement”), which announced – without...more
Agencies Issue “Crypto Asset Roadmap” for 2022 Guidance, and OCC Confirms Prior Interpretive Letters on Crypto – So Long as Supervisory Regulators Do Not Object -
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System...more
Today we are very pleased to welcome guest blogger Tess Davis, who is the Executive Director of the Antiquities Coalition. Tess, a lawyer and archaeologist by training, oversees the organization’s work to fight cultural...more
Revisions to BSA Will Inform Regulatory Examinations for Years to Come -
Third Post in an Extended Series on Legislative Changes to BSA/AML Regulatory Regime -
As we have blogged, the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020...more
The Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) recently rejected a retaliation claim brought by a former bank employee under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), granting summary judgment in favor of the employer bank because the former...more
We discuss two recent federal court opinions addressing two issues of increasing frequency and importance: (i) the potential civil liability of financial institutions to non-customers and other third-parties for alleged...more
11/20/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Financial Institutions ,
Forum Non Conveniens ,
Fraudulent Conveyance ,
Jurisdiction ,
Money Laundering ,
Popular ,
RICO ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Part Two of a Three-Part Series -
In the second part of this series, we explore the practical effects of the FinCEN and DOJ guidance documents on industries attempting to serve marijuana related business (“MRBs”). On June...more
7/12/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dispensaries ,
FinCEN ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Money Laundering ,
Retail Market
Employers increasingly face the difficult scenario of employees who misappropriate company data in the pursuit of whistleblower claims alleging misconduct by the employer. Such cases can present a complex mix of regulatory,...more
2/24/2017
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Labor Code ,
OCC ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
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
On August 30, 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and four U.S. federal banking regulators sought to correct a problem—at least in part one of their own creation—by issuing a “Joint Fact Sheet on Foreign Correspondent...more
2/7/2017
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Due Diligence ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
IMF ,
Money Laundering ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk Management
The federal courts continued in 2016 to produce a stream of cases pertaining to money laundering. We focus on three below because they involve analysis of basic issues that frequently arise in money laundering litigation....more
2/7/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Civil Forfeiture ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Money Laundering ,
Private Equity ,
Summary Judgment ,
Taylor v US ,
Wire Fraud
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
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