The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued Circular 2024-05 (Circular). The CFPB considered whether financial institutions could violate the law by charging fees for providing overdraft services without...more
On January 1, 2024, the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) went into effect and imposed significant new reporting requirements on, among others, many businesses and subsidiary and single-purpose entities owned by trusts...more
• Highlights of recent joint agency guidance on Third-Party Risk Management (3PRM)
• How 3PRM considerations have increased in importance in BSA/AML compliance programs and enforcement actions
• Lessons learned from...more
1/12/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
BSA/AML ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Money Services Business ,
Payment Processors ,
Payment Systems ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Third-Party Risk ,
Webinars
The Department of Justice continues to have its task forces throughout the U.S. investigate and prosecute fraudulent use of funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs...more
12/4/2023
/ CARES Act ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Documentation ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
Fraud ,
Investigations ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Settlement ,
Small Business ,
Subpoenas ,
Whistleblowers
Harris Beach is warning business owners of a recent scam involving the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued an alert about fraudulent attempts to solicit information...more
11/1/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinCEN ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Shell Corporations
New York is considering groundbreaking legislation that the state’s attorney general calls the “strongest and most comprehensive set of regulations on cryptocurrency in the nation.” Attorney General Letitia James said the...more
The past week delivered three major shocks to the financial and tech worlds: first, the March 8 failure of Silvergate Bank; second, the sudden, March 10 failure of Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”); and third, the weekend collapse...more
New York’s Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) recently announced a $100 million settlement with Coinbase, Inc., one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, for Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (“BSA/AML”)...more
1/10/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Coinbase ,
Compliance ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Digital Assets ,
Due Diligence ,
Financial Institutions ,
New York ,
NYDFS ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Settlement ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Transaction Monitoring
The overlap of social media, celebrity endorsement, and cryptocurrency have long been viewed as a potential breeding ground for regulatory and litigation liability. The proliferation of cryptocurrency and the lack of...more
On November 15, 2022, the CEO of FTX and various alleged celebrity endorsers were sued in Florida federal court by Edwin Garrison, an FTX investor. In the complaint, Garrison alleges that FTX engaged in the unlawful sale of a...more
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) settled enforcement actions with Washington state-based Bittrex. In the two settlements, Bittrex...more
On September 29, 2022, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued the first of three final rules implementing the Corporate Transparency Act’s beneficial ownership information (BOI) requirements. The aim of the...more
This summer was a busy one for cryptocurrency regulators, with aggressive actions potentially signaling an increase in consumer protection compliance activity.
In August alone, the New York Department of Financial Services...more
10/4/2022
/ Coinbase ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fines ,
Fraud ,
Howey ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
NYDFS ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Penalties ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Popular ,
Pyramid Schemes ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement
The recent OpenSea insider trading case emphasizes the need for businesses in the digital assets industry to stay abreast of the fast-changing legal landscape surrounding their industry, and also emphasizes that new digital...more
California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the Digital Financial Assets Law requiring companies offering services that involve investing, lending, or trading cryptocurrencies to register with the state’s Department of Financial...more
California is one step closer to joining New York in requiring cryptocurrency licenses.
Governor Gavin Newsom has until September 30 to sign or veto the Digital Financial Assets Law, which would go into effect in 2025. The...more
Recent enforcement actions against banks indicate a new regulator emphasis on digital assets and Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance. Last year, Anchorage Digital Bank (Anchorage)—formerly Anchorage...more
6/20/2022
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Blockchain ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Compliance ,
Digital Assets ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDIC ,
FinCEN ,
OCC ,
USAA
With the imposition of sweeping new sanctions on Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine, federal financial regulators are issuing warnings about efforts to evade these actions. On Monday, March 7, 2022, the...more
3/15/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Belarus ,
Economic Sanctions ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
FinCEN ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Patriot Act ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Ukraine ,
Virtual Currency