The recent bank regulatory Joint Statement and request for information (RFI) on third-party deposit relationships and bank-fintech partnerships emphasize afresh regulators’ long-standing concern with financial institutions’...more
8/6/2024
/ Banking Regulators ,
Banking Sector ,
Depository Institutions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Joint Policy Statements ,
Request For Information ,
Risk Management ,
Supervision ,
Third-Party Relationships
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)
In conjunction with the Group of Seven (G7) leaders meeting in Italy earlier this month, key jurisdictions issued the latest in a series of coordinated economic restrictions on Russia in light of its invasion of Ukraine in...more
7/1/2024
/ Belarus Sanctions ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
G7 ,
General Licenses ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Technology ,
UK ,
Ukraine
On May 28, 2024, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced amendments to 31 C.F.R. Part 515, the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR), expanding access to certain financial and...more
On June 6, 2024, the US Department of the Treasury (Treasury) issued a request for information (RFI) on the “uses, opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial services sector.” The RFI seeks...more
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)
On March 6, 2024, the U.S. Departments of the Treasury, Commerce, and Justice jointly issued a Tri-Seal Compliance Note titled “Obligations of Foreign-Based Persons to Comply with U.S. Sanctions and Export Control Laws”...more
On January 8, 2024, the Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology Subcommittee (the Subcommittee) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC or the Commission) Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) presented a 79-page...more
On October 13, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a comprehensive licensing regime for digital asset companies operating in California. Until this point, California had refrained from taking a definitive position on...more
11/13/2023
/ Best Execution ,
Capital Requirements ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Digital Assets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Exemptions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Governor Newsom ,
Licensing Rules ,
Money Transmission Act ,
New Legislation ,
Stablecoins ,
Surety Bonds
On Sept. 18, the New York State Department of Financial Services issued proposed guidance for companies holding virtual currency business licenses and limited-purpose trust companies — collectively referred to as virtual...more
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
Companies faced with the decision of whether to voluntarily self-report sanctions breaches to law enforcement or sanctions enforcement agencies in the UK and the US can take some measure of comfort from recent comments made...more
10/16/2023
/ Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Good Faith ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Self-Reporting ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On September 18, the New York State Department of Financial Services (the DFS or the “Department”) issued proposed guidance for BitLicensees and limited-purpose trust companies (collectively, VCEs) seeking to list virtual...more
On May 5, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a landmark legislative proposal—titled the Crypto Regulation, Protection, Transparency and Oversight (CRPTO) Act (hereinafter, the Proposal)—to tighten regulations...more
On May 19, in response to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the United States, in coordination with allies and partners, announced new sanctions restrictions and export controls targeting Russia’s evasion networks,...more
6/5/2023
/ Asset Freeze ,
Avoidance ,
Banking Sector ,
Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
General Licenses ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
UK ,
Ukraine
The rise of ransomware attacks has prompted the international community to explore a range of approaches to deter these attacks, including the use of sanctions, the further development and instantiation of norms governing...more
6/2/2023
/ Blocked Person ,
Compliance ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Malware ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Risk-Based Approaches ,
Russia ,
SDN List
On May 5, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a landmark legislative proposal — titled the Crypto Regulation, Protection, Transparency and Oversight Act — to tighten regulations on the digital asset industry....more
On May 5, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a landmark legislative proposal—titled the Crypto Regulation, Protection, Transparency, and Oversight (CRPTO) Act (hereinafter, the Proposal)—to tighten regulations...more
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has updated its ‘enforcement and monetary penalties for breaches of financial sanctions’ guidance, which was last updated in June 2022. ...more
3/23/2023
/ Business Ownership ,
Change of Ownership ,
Compliance ,
Control Test ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Guidance Update ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Penalties ,
Strict Liability ,
UK
On January 23, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS or the Department) issued guidance clarifying its expectations for New York-based virtual currency businesses regarding the custody of customer assets...more
The emergence of digital assets has brought new risks and challenges, including the potential exploitation of the technology to facilitate financial crime.
The U.S. Department of Justice has committed to work with its law...more
1/10/2023
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Civil Liability ,
Criminal Liability ,
Cryptoassets ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Fraud ,
Securities Fraud ,
Wire Fraud
On January 3, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (FRB), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a Joint Statement on Crypto-Asset Risks to Banking...more
1/9/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
FDIC ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
FRB ,
Joint Policy Statements ,
NYDFS ,
OCC ,
Prudential Standards ,
Risk Alert ,
Risk Assessment
Cryptocurrency continues to dominate the headlines, from starting the year at a high with major TV ads to questions in recent weeks about the stability of the market. In this episode of In the Public Interest, co-host and...more
Western sanctions against Russia have continued to broaden substantially into new areas of trade, especially in the energy sector. Policymakers in Washington DC, Brussels, London and other allied capitals also continue to...more
3/18/2022
/ Asset Freeze ,
Belarus ,
Blocked Entities ,
Blocked Person ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
General Licenses ,
Imports ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
Russia ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Restrictions ,
UK ,
Ukraine