Recent Developments in Anti-Money Laundering - The Consumer Finance Podcast
Investment Management Update – Exit Strategies
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has been very active in the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) / Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) space, as reflected by a recent series of individual prosecutions and corporate non-prosecution agreements...more
The new Director of FinCEN, Andrea Gacki, addressed several key topics on October 3, 2023 at the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (“ACAMS”) conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Specifically, Director...more
In 2022, anti-money laundering ("AML") and sanctions controls were at the center of regulatory and enforcement activities in the United States and abroad. Globally, governments have continued to recognize the impact of AML...more
Enforcement Trends, Crypto, Regulatory Developments — and More - I am very pleased to co-chair again the Practicing Law Institute’s 2023 Anti-Money Laundering Conference on May 16, 2023, starting at 9 a.m. in New York City...more
In parallel with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) settled with Bittrex, Inc. (“Bittrex”), a cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to trader virtual assets,...more
It would be the height of folly to claim that a single theme dominates the AML Act of 2020 (Act). The new law, enacted on January 1 of this year, is an extraordinarily wide-ranging and long overdue reform of the Bank Secrecy...more
On 23 October, the Treasury Committee launched a further inquiry to review what progress has been made in combatting economic crime. While the inquiry is focused on the effectiveness of the existing anti-money laundering...more
Financial institutions with anti-money laundering responsibilities under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) take note: there’s a new sheriff in town. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently finished its fiscal year with...more
FinCEN Director Ken Blanco addressed this year’s Consensus Blockchain Conference on May 13, 2020. In a set of prepared remarks, Blanco recognized the unprecedented challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has created for...more
Last Thursday, FinCEN Deputy Director Jamal El-Hindi appeared at the 20th annual Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Financial Crimes Conference hosted by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) in New...more
Note to Government Personnel: Don’t Disclose SARs - This week, major developments unfolded in the cases against two former federal government employees for their respective roles in disclosing Suspicious Activity Reports...more
AMA Details Components of a Strong AML/BSA Program - Earlier this month, the American Gaming Association (“AGA”) released an updated Best Practices for Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) Compliance (“Best Practices Guidance”)...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is not known for its aggressive enforcement record. But that may be changing. FINRA recently fined BNP Paribas for $15 million for anti-money laundering deficiencies in the...more
Earlier this month, the leaders of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released a joint statement reminding individuals...more
On August 21, 2019, FinCEN issued an advisory (the “Advisory”) alerting financial institutions to various financial schemes and mechanisms employed by fentanyl and synthetic opioid traffickers to facilitate the illegal...more
FinCEN defines a Money Service Business (MSB) as any person DOING BUSINESS, whether or not on a regular basis or as an organized business concern, in one or more of the following capacities...more
On June 12, 2019, Kenneth A. Blanco, Director of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), provided remarks at the NYU Law Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement that underscored the agency’s...more
The Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) was created by five federal financial agencies and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)....more
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is the U.S. Treasury Department bureau charged with monitoring financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing and...more
Marijuana is estimated to be a $10 billion industry and rapidly growing. Almost all of it is conducted in cash. Although legal in thirty three states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam, marijuana remains illegal at...more
UBS Group agreed to pay a combined $15 million penalty to the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”)and the SEC for regulatory deficiencies in its anti-money laundering compliance program. ...more
This week Danske Bank released a report detailing the results of its much anticipated internal investigation into allegations of money laundering perpetrated in its Estonian branch. ...more
According to the Financial Flow from Human Trafficking report recently published by the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) and the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, human trafficking is estimated to generate $150.2...more
On June 12, 2018, FinCEN issued an “Advisory on Human Rights Abuses Enabled by Corrupt Senior Foreign Political Figures and their Financial Facilitators” to highlight the connection between corrupt senior foreign political...more
The Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) was originally created by five federal financial supervisory agencies (Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of...more