The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Episode 50 - Hidden in Plain Sight: How Kleptocrats Exploit U.S. Financial Systems
Nonprofit Basics: International Grantmaking – Part 2 Income Tax Withholding Rules
Nonprofit Basics: International Grant Making - Part 1 Overview and Antiterrorism Rules
Is Edward Snowden a Whistleblower?
The shadowy finances that fueled the 9/11 terrorist attacks cut a somber scar into America. Despite the anti-money laundering initiatives woven in the Patriot Act, that wound continues to fester, according to Casey Michel,...more
Summary of What Has Happened and What Is Yet to Come - On 19 October 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), pursuant to...more
On October 19, 2023, The US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) taking aim at convertible virtual currency (CVC) mixing transactions,...more
In 1970, Congress passed the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, commonly known as the “Bank Secrecy Act” (BSA). The BSA is often referred to as an “anti-money laundering” (AML) law or jointly as “BSA/AML.” The...more
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
2020 was a most significant year in anti-corruption enforcement; from Airbus to Goldman Sachs and numerous matters in between. Further there were two significant pieces of information from the US government in the form of the...more
Section 314 of the USA PATRIOT Act (Sec 314) was drafted by Congress in 2001 to allow financial institutions to work with law enforcement agencies and with each other to support the common goal of deterring money laundering...more
On October 25, 2019, FinCEN issued a final rule imposing the Fifth Special Measure against the Islamic Republic of Iran as a “jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern” (“Final Rule”) under Section 311 of the USA...more
On August 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia kept in place $50,000-per-day fines on three Chinese banks—whose identities are redacted—for refusing to comply with subpoenas issued by the Department of...more
Financial firms play an integral role in preventing, identifying, investigating and reporting criminal activity, including terrorist financing, money laundering, and many other finance-related crimes. It is a critical role...more
Fulfilling today’s requirements for anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing/sanctions compliance is no easy task for financial institutions. ...more
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
As we blogged earlier this week, Congress is considering a new draft bill, the Counter Terrorism and Illicit Finance Act (“CTIFA”), in committee in the Senate. The CTIFA proposes the most substantial overhaul to the Bank...more
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
As we recently blogged, the Royal United Services Institute (“RUSI”) for Defence and Security Studies — a U.K. think tank – has released a study: The Role of Financial Information-Sharing Partnerships in the Disruption of...more
On May 23, the federal court of appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected an appeal by the majority shareholders in Banca Privada d’Andorra S.A. (“BPA”) regarding claims that FinCEN violated the Administrative...more
Late last week, Congressional intelligence committees reportedly received some information from the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) related to investigations into Russia’s attack on the 2016 U.S....more
Today we are very pleased to welcome guest blogger Greg Baer, who will address a series of significant issues posed by a detailed paper published by The Clearing House, a banking association and payments company that is owned...more
“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
Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 - Requires U.S. financial institutions to assist U.S. government agencies to detect and prevent money laundering by keeping records of cash purchases of negotiable instruments, and file reports...more
FinCEN has proposed extending its anti-money laundering (AML) program requirement for banks to banks that are not subject to regulation by a federal functional regulator, including state chartered limited purpose trust...more
The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, pursuant to authority contained in the USA PATRIOT ACT, found “reasonable grounds” to conclude that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is a jurisdiction of primary money...more
The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (the Proposed Rule) on September 1, 2015 that would impose anti-money laundering (AML) requirements for investment...more
On August 25, 2015, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed an anti-money laundering rule applicable to SEC-registered investment advisers (RIAs). The proposed rule would require RIAs to establish...more
After more than a decade of delay, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the Department of Treasury issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require registered investment advisers to establish...more