On June 28, 2024, the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network announced long-anticipated proposed rules on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism program effectiveness;...more
7/25/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Anti-Terrorism Financing ,
Compliance ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
FinCEN ,
NCUA ,
NPRM ,
OCC ,
Proposed Rules ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed into law H.R. 815, an emergency appropriations package billed as authorizing $95 billion in foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel (the Act). While the Ukraine and Israel aid provisions...more
4/30/2024
/ Appropriations Bill ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Federal Budget ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Israel ,
Russia ,
TikTok ,
UK ,
Ukraine
On February 15, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s (Treasury) Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a long-anticipated Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to impose comprehensive anti-money laundering...more
3/22/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
BSA/AML ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Popular ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Although the Corporate Transparency Act’s (“CTA”) new beneficial ownership rule goes into effect on January 1, 2024, recent polling suggests that many businesses remain either unaware of these upcoming reporting obligations...more
On November 1, 2021, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG) - along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) - published the Report on...more
11/16/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cross-Border ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Exchange Rates ,
FDIC ,
FinCEN ,
FSOC ,
Information Reports ,
Legislative Agendas ,
OCC ,
Payment Systems ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
On September 21, 2021, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) levied its first sanctions against a Russian-operated virtual currency exchange involved in ransomware payments and published an...more
9/24/2021
/ Advisory Opinions ,
AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Exchange ,
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
FinCEN ,
Know Your Customers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ransomware ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) has continued a spate of regulatory activity related to financial crimes compliance matters in the first year of the Biden Administration, recapped in its recent report...more
7/15/2021
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Human Trafficking ,
No-Action Letters ,
Nonbank Firms ,
Ransomware ,
Significant Transnational Criminal Organization ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Virtual Currency
Anti-money laundering (“AML”) issues have been a focus of regulators and law enforcement for the past decade and will likely continue to be a priority issue area for the Biden Administration. The AML landscape is shifting...more
2/12/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
BSA/AML ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
NDAA ,
Patriot Act ,
Risk Assessment ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Assets Control (OFAC) and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) each issued advisories addressing the risks associated with facilitating ransomware payments: the Advisory on Potential Sanctions Risks for Facilitating...more
Two recent actions by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) - one enforcement action and one interpretive note - focus attention on the kinds of anti–money laundering (AML) controls needed for banks to custody...more
8/7/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Consent Order ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Custody ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
OCC
Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) and sanctions matters continue to be a core focus of regulators, law enforcement agencies, policymakers and Congress, and the story of the Obama and Trump Administrations on...more
7/29/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
Cuba ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Human Trafficking ,
Iran ,
Magnitsky Act ,
Nicaragua ,
North Korea ,
Russia ,
Sudan ,
Trump Administration ,
Venezuela ,
Virtual Currency
The myriad—and conflicting—state, federal and international laws governing the burgeoning marijuana industry have created a complicated legal landscape for financial institutions. In the United States, most states have...more
2/8/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Canada ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cole Memorandum ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Farm Bill ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hemp ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Management ,
State and Local Government ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)