Tagged: FinCEN

22 Oct, 2024

BIS Issues Guidance for Financial Institutions Concerning EAR Compliance

On October 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued critical guidance aimed at enhancing financial institutions’ compliance with the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). This development comes at a time when financial institutions are increasingly becoming focal points in the enforcement of U.S. export controls, particularly given the geopolitical tensions following Russia’s further incursion into Ukraine and the ongoing...

General

16 Oct, 2024

TD Bank’s $3 Billion Settlement: A Review of Regulatory Settlements (Part III of IV)

TD Bank’s $3 billion settlement included coordinated regulatory settlements with the Federal Reserve Board (“Federal Reserve”), The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”). Each regulator imposed civil penalties and remedial measures. The Federal Reserve fined TD Bank $123.5 million for AML compliance violations. The Federal Reserve also required TD Bank to...

Uncategorized

6 Aug, 2024

FinCEN Issues Proposed Rule to Strengthen and Modernize Financial Institutions’ AML/CFT Programs

By: Sam Finkelstein and Daniela Melendez, associates at the Volkov Law Group . Sam can be reached at [email protected] and Daniela can be reached at [email protected]. On June 28, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network released a notice of proposed rulemaking. The purpose of the proposed rule is to strengthen and modernize Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (“AML/CFT”) processes for financial institutions (including, but not...

General

22 Nov, 2023

BIS and FinCEN Release Joint Notice Concerning Global Export Control Evasion

Alexander J. Cotoia currently serves as the Regulatory Compliance Manager at The Volkov Law Group, where he regularly advises the firm and its clients on the latest developments implicating trade compliance concerns. He may be reached at [email protected]. On November 6, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) released...

General

20 Oct, 2022

Bittrex’s Sanctions and AML Violations: The Importance of Compliance Controls for the Cryptocurrency Industry (Part II of II)

Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, continues his discussion of recent enforcement actions by OFAC and FinCEN. He can be reached at [email protected]. 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, for willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”)’s...

General

12 May, 2021

The Transformative Role of “National AML Priorities” for Compliance in the AML Act of 2020

Alexander Dill, an expert in financial markets and regulation, joins us today for an interesting posting on the recent AML Act of 2020. Alex can be reached at [email protected]. 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...

Podcasts

10 Feb, 2019

Episode 76 — Review of 2018 AML Enforcement and Compliance Trends

Global prosecutors and regulators continued to increase anti-money laundering enforcement and regulatory actions. Global and US regulators have increasingly focused on beneficial ownership and transparency requirements. In 2018, FinCEN’s Customer Due Diligence rule went into effect. US prosecutors also brought several significant AML criminal prosecutions against large banks; the SEC has increased AML enforcement as part of reviews of internal controls. Regulators brought enforcement actions...

Uncategorized

14 May, 2017

MoneyGram CCO Pays Civil Penalty

Like any other profession, the compliance profession is not immune to bad apples. Lawyers know the law but have been criminally prosecuted for breaking the law. The same goes for compliance professionals. If the compliance profession wants to build credibility, it has to adopt professional standards and it has to accept when a bad apple is appropriately punished. Instead of claiming that prosecuting CCOs will cause...

Uncategorized

2 Apr, 2017

AML Enforcement and Compliance Trends

Law enforcement focus on anti-money laundering appears to be increasing. While the last ten years has seen a marked increase in AML regulatory obligations, the new administration is likely to return to some of the more “traditional” AML enforcement programs, such as terrorist financing, organized and transnational money laundering, tax evasion and other areas. The regulatory focus of enforcement will continue on beneficial ownership, shell...

General

23 Aug, 2016

FinCEN Expands Crackdown on Real Estate Buyers

Building on early successes, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) announced new rules targeting buyers of high-end real estate properties. (Here). Earlier this year, FinCEN adopted rules focusing on high-end buyers of real estate in Miami and New York City. The new rules required title companies to report the beneficial owners of limited liability companies and shell companies which use cash to purchase high-end real...