All Things Investigations: Episode 30 - The Convergence of ABC, AML and Export Controls with Mike Huneke and Jan Dunin-Wasowicz
BSA, OFAC, KYC, and CIP – What do they mean to me? [More with McGlinchey, Ep. 29]
The Department of Justice's Criminal Division is "using more tools than ever before to identify corporate misconduct and to encourage companies to be good corporate citizens," according to Nicole Argentieri, Principal Deputy...more
In June 2024, multiple state regulators took joint action against Plutus Financial, Inc (Abra) ordering Abra to cease and desist certain operations in the U.S. and reimburse customers of virtual assets valued at $81.1 million...more
The concept of the shadow financial system rose to international prominence in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In an interview with a Pakistani newspaper a month later, Osama bin Laden stated that Al Qaeda were...more
Melissa Duffy and Trevor Coval contributed their thought leadership to the American Conference Institute’s 14th Annual Global Encryption, Cloud & Cyber Export Controls Conference, held in San Francisco on May 14-16. Melissa...more
New Tri-Seal Compliance Note highlights sanctions and export control compliance expectations for non-U.S. persons. Three agencies overseeing U.S. trade law compliance provided an overview of where U.S. sanctions and export...more
On February 28, 2024, the Biden Administration issued Executive Order (EO) 13873, focused on restricting certain transactions involving Americans' personal data, as well as sensitive government data, to specific countries....more
Binance’s settlement with the DOJ represents one of the largest criminal corporate enforcement actions ever. A review of the facts reveals that the penalty is likely warranted, as the misconduct was driven from the very...more
Binance to Pay Historic $4 Billion Fine - Binance Holdings Limited, the operator of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, agreed to pay $4.3 billion to resolve allegations that it violated the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)...more
Our downloadable report, Legal Insights for Manufacturing, explores how the business, legal, and regulatory framework is evolving—and will evolve—to address the large generational shifts taking place. This year, our report...more
OFAC continues its enforcement push. At the same time, OFAC is managing a complex, global set of sanctions against Russia. DOJ has promised to increase prosecution of global banks for sanctions violations....more
Crypto Asset Company Settles Sanctions Violations for $7.5 million- On May 1, the U.S. Department of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $7.5 million settlement with crypto asset company Poloniex LLC for 65,942 apparent...more
In order to provide an overview for busy in-house counsel and compliance professionals, we summarize below some of the most important and interesting SEC enforcement developments from the past month, with links to primary...more
“Know your customer” is a bed rock principle of anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance programs, but it’s not always easy, particularly as more sophisticated and aggressive players have taken the field in recent...more
Two recent guilty pleas involving a cryptocurrency exchange serve as a reminder to all money services businesses (“MSBs”)—including those ostensibly located outside the United States but that conduct business there—of the...more
For years, the cryptocurrency wallets of U.S. taxpayers have existed in a reporting gray zone. However, as it becomes clear that crypto asset transactions are not slowing down, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has signaled...more
On Oct. 15, 2021, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published sanctions compliance guidance for the virtual currency industry. OFAC acknowledged that virtual currencies are playing an...more
As cryptocurrency’s market cap surpasses the $2.5 trillion mark and continues to climb, global regulators have turned their attention to understanding and addressing the risks surrounding digital assets. In recent years,...more
Cryptocurrency, and its most-noted asset Bitcoin, has been breaking into the mainstream press. While most lawyers have heard terms like “blockchain” and probably even know a few people who have been deeply interested in the...more
DOJ’s Cyber Digital Task Force’s report, “Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework,” provides a comprehensive on the growing partnerships between DOJ and other offices within the executive branch....more
Recent action by the U.S. government reminds us that engaging in the cryptocurrency markets continues to present counterparty risk in the context of with whom you are doing business. Whether a company is buying cryptocurrency...more
Incorporating in the Seychelles but Allegedly Operating in the U.S. Spells Trouble for Company and its Founders - The Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange, or BitMEX, is a large and well-known online trading platform dealing in...more
On October 8, 2020, Attorney General William Barr announced the release of a Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework produced by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Cyber-Digital Task Force. The 83-page framework is intended to help...more
“Fraudsters often seek to use national crises and periods of uncertainty to lure investors into scams. They may play off investors’ hopes and fears, as well as their charity and kindness, and may try to exploit confusion or...more
Standard Chartered Bank certainly has its troubles. You know a company is in trouble, however, when it breathes a sigh of relief after paying nearly $1.1 billion in fines and penalties and compares itself to BNP Paribas, the...more
This may be private equity’s golden age, a time when firms are raising record sums and are poised to pour that capital—more than a trillion dollars, by some accounts—into investments across a host of industries. Originally...more