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
Part One of a Three-Part Series -
We begin this week with a three-part series on banking and the marijuana industry. States continue to pass medical and recreational use marijuana legislation despite that the fact that the...more
7/11/2017
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Cole Memorandum ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dispensaries ,
FinCEN ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
SAR
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
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
The field of forfeiture saw significant action in 2016. The IRS offered to return forfeited funds used in structuring, but Congress still may clip its ability to forfeit such funds. Meanwhile, DOJ renewed a controversial...more
2/7/2017
/ Asset Seizure ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
BSA/AML ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Forfeiture ,
IRS ,
Luis v United States ,
Money Laundering ,
SCOTUS ,
Sixth Amendment
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 Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) has issued a 12-step checklist of actions companies can take now to better prepare for compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the new EU privacy regulation...more
12/8/2016
/ Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
EU ,
EU Data Protection Laws ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Ireland ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Personal Data ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Right to Privacy ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party Risk
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