To the surprise of no one, FinCEN announced today that it is extending the Geographic Targeting Order, or GTO, regarding real estate transactions....more
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) just issued another Advisory pertaining to two consumer fraud schemes exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. ...more
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
As expected, on May 8, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) reissued its Geographic Targeting Orders (“GTOs”) requiring U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind legal entities...more
5/13/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
BSA/AML ,
FinCEN ,
Geographic Targeting Order ,
Money Laundering ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Real Estate Market ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Title Insurance ,
Virtual Currency
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)
Some Commentary on the Unfortunate Relationship Between Crisis and Fraud -
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) released an update (“Update”) on its March 16, 2020 COVID-19 Notice, on which we previously...more
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) just issued a release, entitled “The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Encourages Financial Institutions to Communicate Concerns Related to the Coronavirus...more
3/17/2020
/ China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Insider Trading ,
Money Laundering ,
Public Health ,
Scams
In its 2020 National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing (“2020 Strategy”), the U.S. Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) has laid out its AML and money laundering enforcement priorities. Last week, we...more
3/5/2020
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
BSA/AML ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
FATF ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Investment ,
Geographic Targeting Order ,
Innovative Technology ,
Legal Representatives ,
Money Laundering ,
Natural Person Requirement ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Real Estate Market ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Service Professionals ,
Title Insurance ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency
First in a Two-Post Series -
The U.S. Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) has issued its 2020 National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing (“2020 Strategy”)....more
2/28/2020
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Broker-Dealer ,
BSA/AML ,
Casinos ,
Corruption ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Digital Assets ,
FATF ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Correspondent Banking ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Services Business ,
Proposed Rules ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities Transactions ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
Transparency ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Vulnerable Victims ,
White Collar Crimes
AMA Details Components of a Strong AML/BSA Program -
Earlier this month, the American Gaming Association (“AGA”) released an updated Best Practices for Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) Compliance (“Best Practices Guidance”)...more
12/31/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Best Practices ,
BSA/AML ,
Casinos ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Employee Training ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
Gambling ,
Gaming ,
Information Sharing ,
Know Your Customers ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Risk-Based Approaches ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
As we blogged yesterday, the issue of the beneficial ownership of entities and the potentially pernicious role of shell companies in perpetuating money laundering is the primary anti-money laundering (“AML”) concern across...more
11/5/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Best Practices ,
BSA/AML ,
FATF ,
Financial Institutions ,
Money Laundering ,
New Guidance ,
Risk Assessment ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
Transparency
U.S. House Passes Corporate Transparency Act; FATF Issues Guidance on Identifying Entities’ Beneficial Owners -
First Post in a Two-Post Series on Beneficial Ownership -
As we often blog, the issue of the beneficial...more
11/4/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Best Practices ,
BSA/AML ,
FATF ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinCEN ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Money Laundering ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Shell Corporations ,
Transparency
On September 25, 2019, the Southern District of New York dismissed a complaint brought by victims of rocket attacks in Israel perpetrated in 2006 by Hizbollah, operating in Lebanon. Kaplan v. Lebanese Canadian Bank, SAL, Civ....more
10/7/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Antiterrorism Act ,
BSA/AML ,
Due Diligence ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hizballah ,
Israel ,
Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) ,
Money Laundering ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Terrorist Acts ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations
On July 22, 2019, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the U.S....more
Testimony Supports Bill Requiring States to Collect Beneficial Ownership Information at Entity Formation -
As we have blogged, the proposed Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 (the “Act”) seeks to ensure that persons who...more
5/24/2019
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
BSA/AML ,
Corporate Structures ,
FATF ,
FBI ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinCEN ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Money Laundering ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Senate Committees ,
Tax Evasion ,
Transparency
Proposed Legislation Creates Rewards Program for Whistleblowers of Foreign Government Corruption -
Third Post in a Three-Post Series -
Newly proposed legislation, if passed, will authorize a whistleblower program for...more
4/8/2019
/ Asset Seizure ,
Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Financial Crimes ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Forfeiture ,
Money Laundering ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Tax Evasion ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
For the first time, a broker-dealer, Central States Capital Markets, LLC (Central States), has been prosecuted for violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). ...more
1/4/2019
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Broker-Dealer ,
BSA/AML ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Customer Identification Program (CIP) ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Money Laundering ,
Native American Issues ,
Payday Loans ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Usury
Earlier this week, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed, in an unpublished opinion, that Coinbase Inc., an online platform used for buying, selling, transferring, and storing digital currency, could not compel arbitration on a...more
4/26/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
BSA/AML ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Services Business ,
Virtual Currency
Alleged Illicit Activity Included Transactions Promoting North Korea’s Missile Program and an Institutional Commitment to Laundering Money -
On February 13, 2018, FinCEN announced that it had proposed a special measure...more
Wednesday, the SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) announced its 2018 examination priorities, released in order to “improve compliance, prevent fraud, monitor risk, and inform policy.” ...more
2/9/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Money Laundering ,
NEP ,
OCIE ,
Retail Investors ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
FinCEN recently announced the launching of the “FinCEN Exchange” to enhance information sharing with financial institutions. We previously have blogged about the potential benefits of a public-private partnership between law...more
Describing him as a “longtime Mexican Drug Kingpin,” the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of Treasury has designated Raul Flores Hernandez and the “Flores Drug Trafficking Organization,” or ...more
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
On the eve of trial this past Friday, the government announced an agreement to settle, subject to court approval, a major civil forfeiture action in the Southern District of New York. In the case, United States v. Prevezon...more
5/16/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Civil Forfeiture ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Investment Fund ,
Money Laundering ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Russia ,
Shell Corporations ,
Tax Fraud ,
Tax Refunds ,
Transfer of Assets
“Sometimes, the third time really is the charm” wrote the District Court for the District of Columbia on April 14, 2017. In its opinion, the court upheld FinCEN’s imposition of the Patriot Act’s fifth special measure against...more