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
10/23/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Information Sharing ,
Money Laundering ,
Patriot Act ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations
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 Crime (the “Study”). ...more
Second of a Two-Part Blog: Anti-Money Laundering Programs Coming to the Legal Profession?
Earlier this week, we began our discussion of the proposed Corporate Transparency Act of 2017 (the “Act”), and observed that, if...more
9/22/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Beneficial Owner ,
BSA/AML ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
In its Summer 2017 issue of Supervisory Insights, published last week, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) provides some insight into its examination process and outcomes for Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”)/Anti-Money...more
Part Two of a Three-Part Series -
In the second part of this series, we explore the practical effects of the FinCEN and DOJ guidance documents on industries attempting to serve marijuana related business (“MRBs”). On June...more
7/12/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dispensaries ,
FinCEN ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Money Laundering ,
Retail Market
Financial institutions face an increasing risk that alleged violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) requirements will lead to follow-on allegations of securities law violations. We have...more
The District Court for the Eastern District of New York has denied motions for acquittal and new trial by a Florida attorney convicted at trial of assisting in an undercover money laundering “sting” operation....more
Part II of the Analysis of the Combatting Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Counterfeiting Act of 2017 As we recently blogged, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Diane Feinstein (D-California) introduced on May 25,...more
Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Diane Feinstein (D-California) introduced on May 25, 2017 a bill, S. 1241, entitled the “Combatting Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Counterfeiting Act of 2017.” Although it is...more
This post discusses individual liability in AML/BSA enforcement, which is an area of increasing attention. Indeed, according to public statements by the government, individual liability is the focus of enhanced scrutiny...more
5/19/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Broker-Dealer ,
BSA/AML ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivative Suit ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Individual Accountability ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Transmitter ,
Moneygram ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Western Union ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yates Memorandum
On the eve of trial this past Friday, the government announced an agreement to settle, subject to court approval, a major civil forfeiture action in the Southern District of New York. In the case, United States v. Prevezon...more
5/16/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Civil Forfeiture ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Investment Fund ,
Money Laundering ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Russia ,
Shell Corporations ,
Tax Fraud ,
Tax Refunds ,
Transfer of Assets
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
5/9/2017
/ ACH Payments ,
AML/CFT ,
AUSA ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Patriot Act ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Risk Management ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Terrorism Funding
It is a potential crime to conduct a business that exchanges virtual currency and fail to register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN“), even if the State in which one operates does not impose a similar...more
4/25/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Corruption ,
Currency Exchange ,
Darknet ,
FinCEN ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Licensing Rules ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Services Business ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Virtual Currency
Earlier this week, we blogged about how the United States recently declared the Philippines to be a “major money laundering country.” On the same day of our post, March 7, the European Parliament (EP) issued a Report which...more
3/10/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Beneficial Owner ,
BSA/AML ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Offshore Funds ,
Panama Papers ,
Tax Evasion
The U.S. money laundering statutes have a broad global reach and may be used to prosecute cases involving alleged schemes perpetrated almost entirely outside of the United States. These types of allegations seem to be an...more
Employers increasingly face the difficult scenario of employees who misappropriate company data in the pursuit of whistleblower claims alleging misconduct by the employer. Such cases can present a complex mix of regulatory,...more
2/24/2017
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Labor Code ,
OCC ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The Western Union Company (“Western Union”) entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) on January 19th with the Department of Justice, based on alleged willful failures to maintain an effective AML program and the...more
2/10/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Transfer ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Western Union ,
Wire Fraud
In part two of our review of the 2016 developments in Anti-Money Laundering (AML), the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the criminal money laundering statutes, forfeiture, and related issues, we discuss four additional key...more
2/7/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
BSA/AML ,
Civil Forfeiture ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Institutions ,
Forfeiture ,
Money Laundering ,
Virtual Currency
On August 30, 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and four U.S. federal banking regulators sought to correct a problem—at least in part one of their own creation—by issuing a “Joint Fact Sheet on Foreign Correspondent...more
2/7/2017
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Due Diligence ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
IMF ,
Money Laundering ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk Management
The federal courts continued in 2016 to produce a stream of cases pertaining to money laundering. We focus on three below because they involve analysis of basic issues that frequently arise in money laundering litigation....more
2/7/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Civil Forfeiture ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Money Laundering ,
Private Equity ,
Summary Judgment ,
Taylor v US ,
Wire Fraud
2016 was a busy year for developments in Anti-Money Laundering (AML), the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the criminal money laundering statutes, forfeiture, and related issues. In part one of our year-in-review, we discuss six key...more
2/3/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Casinos ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
FATF ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Fines ,
Gambling ,
Gaming ,
Geographic Targeting Order ,
Money Laundering ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
NYDFS ,
Offshore Funds ,
Panama Papers ,
Popular ,
Real Estate Market ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Tax Evasion
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and four U.S. federal banking regulators have issued the "Joint Fact Sheet on Foreign Correspondent Banking" in an effort to clarify enforcement priorities regarding Anti-Money Laundering...more
9/2/2016
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Depository Institutions ,
Due Diligence ,
Foreign Correspondent Banking ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
International Monetary Fund ,
U.S. Treasury
The CFPB has issued a new elder financial abuse report, “Report and Recommendations: Fighting Elder Financial Exploitation through Community Networks,” and a related resource guide, “A Resource Guide for Elder Financial...more
FinCEN has announced a major expansion and extension of its geographic targeting orders (GTOs) aimed at high-end cash buyers of real estate. This action reflects FinCEN’s continued efforts to prevent money laundering through...more
8/5/2016
/ Banking Sector ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Cash Transactions ,
Covered Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
Geographic Targeting Order ,
Insurance Industry ,
Money Laundering ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Real Estate Market ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Title Insurance
The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has finalized a new regulation setting forth rigorous standards for monitoring and filtering programs to monitor transactions for potential anti-money laundering (AML) and...more
7/11/2016
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Foreign Banks ,
Lenders ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Transmitter ,
Mortgages ,
New Regulations ,
NYDFS ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Transaction Monitoring