On January 23, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the government’s motion to lift the nationwide injunction against enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) in Texas Top Cop Shop v. McHenry (formerly, Texas Top...more
1/29/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Compliance ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
FinCEN ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays
On December 26, 2024, a three-judge “merits panel” for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the December 23, 2024, order issued by a separate three-judge “motions panel,” which had granted the government’s...more
On December 23, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted the U.S. government’s motion for a stay of a preliminary (nationwide) injunction of the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) pending appeal....more
On December 3, 2024, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas entered a nationwide preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) and its implementing...more
12/9/2024
/ Corporate Transparency Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
First Amendment ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Texas ,
Unconstitutional Condition
On August 29, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a final rule under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) requiring certain persons involved in real estate closings and settlements to report and maintain...more
9/12/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Exemptions ,
Final Rules ,
FinCEN ,
Noncompliance ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Real Estate Transfers ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Settlement
On September 4, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), U.S. Department of Treasury, published a final rule (the “Final Rule”) expanding the definition of “financial institution” under the Bank Secrecy Act...more
9/10/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Anti-Terrorism Financing ,
Asset Management ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Compliance ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
Customer Identification Program (CIP) ,
Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) ,
Final Rules ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Since January 1, 2024, when the Corporate Transparency Act’s (“CTA”) beneficial ownership reporting requirements became effective, a key issue has been whether companies that meet the requirements of a “reporting company” are...more
The SEC and FinCEN Request Comments on their Proposed Rule on Customer Identification Programs for Registered Investment Advisers and Exempt Reporting Advisers -
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the...more
5/24/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Customer Identification Program (CIP) ,
Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Popular ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On March 1, 2024, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) is unconstitutional. The CTA and its implementing regulations require that...more
3/13/2024
/ Alabama ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Deadlines ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Noncompliance ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Transparency ,
Unconstitutional Condition
On February 7, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a proposed rule that would extend reporting and recordkeeping requirements to persons involved in real estate...more
The Proposed Rule Would Subject Certain Investment Advisers to a Broad Range of AML/CFT Obligations and Represents a Significant Development for the Sector -
Regulators have long considered the lack of anti-money...more
2/27/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Broker-Dealer ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) ,
FinCEN ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Law Enforcement ,
Patriot Act ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proposed Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Third-Party Service Provider
Federal and state regulators have taken an increased interest in regulating cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and the larger blockchain ecosystem. This landscape is opaque and rapidly evolving, and many industry participants...more
9/25/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bitcoin ,
Bitcoin Mining ,
Blockchain ,
CFIUS ,
CFTC ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethereum ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Insider Trading ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins ,
Unregistered Securities
Implementation of Beneficial Ownership Reporting Obligations; Expanded CDD Rule Forthcoming On September 29, 2022, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a final rule...more
10/13/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Final Rules ,
FinCEN ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Ownership Interest ,
Reporting Requirements
The United States Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) is taking further action to combat corruption, money laundering, terrorist financing, tax fraud, and other illicit activities.
Following its Advance Notice of...more
FinCEN announces eight areas of focus and advises preparation for issuance of new regulations -
On June 30, 2021, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued the first...more
7/8/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Corruption ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Human Trafficking ,
New Regulations ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Significant Transnational Criminal Organization ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Virtual Currency ,
Whistleblowers
After Widespread Market Opposition in an Expedited First Round of Comments, FinCEN Solicits More Feedback on Rule Seeking to “Close Gaps” in Virtual Currency Anti-Money Laundering Rules
On January 14, in a surprise move,...more
1/18/2021
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Travel Rule ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) ,
Virtual Currency
As we wrote over the summer, Congress has passed a bill that will require certain corporations and limited liability companies (“LLCs”) to report information on their beneficial owners to the U.S. Treasury Department’s...more
12/23/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FinCEN ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
NDAA ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shell Corporations ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Whistleblowers
Recent Enforcement Actions and Guidance from DOJ, FinCEN, and OFAC Demonstrate the Increased Commitment — and Cooperation — of Federal Regulators to Police Digital Currencies, Including Their Use in Ransomware Attacks -
Amid...more
11/16/2020
/ Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
FinCEN ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In October of last year, we wrote about the challenges faced by virtual currency businesses in complying with the Travel Rule following new guidance from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Financial Crimes...more
11/5/2020
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FATF ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Proposed Rules ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Travel Rule ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wire Transfers
Bank Secrecy Act Update: The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Details Its Bank Secrecy Act Enforcement Approach; Bank Regulators Provide Guidance on Their Approach to BSA Enforcement; FinCEN’s Final Rule Requiring BSA...more
9/22/2020
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
FDIA ,
Federal Credit Unions ,
Final Rules ,
FinCEN ,
New Guidance ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
U.S. Treasury
If the U.S. House of Representatives has its way, some corporations will soon be required to report information on their beneficial owners to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”). On...more
On March 4, 2020, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) announced its assessment of a civil monetary penalty totaling $450,000 against Michael LaFontaine, a former Chief Operational...more
The Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) held its 31st plenary meeting during February 19-21, 2020. Among other things, the FATF classified Iran as a “high-risk jurisdiction” and called for certain countermeasures to be...more
3/4/2020
/ AML/CFT ,
Blocking Statutes ,
EU ,
FATF ,
Financial Action Task Force ,
FinCEN ,
High-Risk Countries ,
Iran ,
Money Laundering ,
New Regulations ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations
The Travel Rule is an old friend for those familiar with banking regulations and anti-money laundering rules. The Rule, first issued by FinCEN in 1995 with fiat currency in mind, requires banks and nonbank financial...more
10/2/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Security ,
FATF ,
FinCEN ,
Money Services Business ,
New Guidance ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Travel Rule ,
Virtual Currency