On June 28, 2024, The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) released a notice of proposed rulemaking (the “Proposed Rule”) that would amend FinCEN’s anti-money laundering (“AML”) program rules for...more
During the week of the G7 Summit, both the U.S. and UK issued a new round of Russia-related sanctions as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its 28th month. On June 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of...more
6/19/2024
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
G7 ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
UK ,
Ukraine
On March 1, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) is unconstitutional. The CTA requires many U.S. entities to disclose their individual beneficial...more
3/25/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Commerce Clause ,
Congressional Authority ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
FinCEN ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Evasion ,
U.S. Treasury
The U.S., EU and UK have imposed significant new sanctions and are stepping up enforcement against sanctions evaders on the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On February 23, 2024, the U.S....more
2/28/2024
/ Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Military Conflict ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
UK ,
Ukraine ,
Vladimir Putin ,
White Collar Crimes
On February 15, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), published a proposed rule that would define specified investment advisers as “financial institutions” required to implement anti-money...more
2/26/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Customer Identification Program (CIP) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
On December 21, 2023, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) published its final rule setting forth the circumstances under which beneficial ownership information reported to FinCEN pursuant to the Corporate...more
2/9/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
BSA/AML ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Ownership Interest ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements
On March 2, the Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, and Department of the Treasury issued a Tri-Seal Compliance Note warning companies to be vigilant for Russia-related sanctions evasion. The Note sets forth a...more
3/14/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Ukraine
U.S. regulators are signaling heightened expectations for anti-money laundering compliance within the crypto industry. Although FinCEN issued guidance in 2013 interpreting virtual currency “administrators” and “exchanges” as...more
1/20/2023
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Money Services Business ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda
Two recent OFAC enforcement actions highlight real-world challenges that financial institutions and other companies may face in their efforts to implement an effective sanctions compliance program....more
On July 6, five federal agencies − the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“FRB”), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), National Credit Union...more
We have been closely monitoring the sanctions landscape over the last few months. Back in March, we covered the sanctions levied by the United States and other jurisdictions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The...more
Alongside the slew of new sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration also has been laying the groundwork to maximize the impact of those sanctions. Just days after Russian military...more
5/10/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Asset Seizure ,
Biden Administration ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Forfeiture ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Russia ,
Ukraine ,
White Collar Crimes
President Biden issued an executive order (“EO”) recently on “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets.” The EO calls for an aligned, all-of-government approach to digital assets, which the EO defines to include,...more
3/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investment Contract ,
Investor Protection ,
Regulatory Agenda
Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine has – as promised by US President Joseph R. Biden and other world leaders – provoked “unprecedented” economic sanctions against Russia. The United States, the United Kingdom, and the European...more
3/10/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Blocked Person ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
General Licenses ,
Infrastructure ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Pipelines ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
SWIFT ,
Ukraine ,
Vladimir Putin
The First Circuit’s recent decision in New Hampshire Lottery Commission v. Rosen holds that the Wire Act’s prohibitions on interstate activity apply only to sports betting, and not to all types of bets and wagers, such as...more
On January 1, 2021, Congress enacted the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (the “Act”). As part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, the Act creates a broad range of new anti-money laundering...more