“By making its services convenient for criminals, TD Bank became one,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. TD Bank joins the list of dysfunctional companies — add them to Wells Fargo, Wirecard, Volkswagen, General Motors, Goldman Sachs, and the hall of fame of financial scandals. TD Bank became a criminal organization, its employees even stated so in email communications, and its leadership operated with a criminal...
This blog post was co-authored by Daniela Melendez, an Associate with The Volkov Law Group. On May 30, 2024, following passage by the European Parliament in late April, the European Council officially adopted a set of rules that modernizes and harmonizes money laundering and terrorist financing (“AML/CFT”) regulations across the various EU Member States. The new AML/CFT regulations consists of three (3) primary components: the EU Single Rulebook...
The Justice Department continues to pile up victories out of the world soccer FIFA federation bribery scandal. Julius Baer Group, the Swiss banker, agreed to a three-year, deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and to pay nearly $80 million to resolve money laundering charges. Julius Baer laundered approximately $36 million in bribes between February 2013 and May 2015 in which sports marketing companies bribed soccer officials for...
The Department of Justice is starting to launch its FCPA enforcement profile after a brief lull in DOJ’s transition to a new administration. This enforcement lull occurred in the transition to the prior administration in 2016, and there is nothing to glean from it since it is a natural occurrence when a new Justice Department administration takes the reins of power. Last week, we had...
Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Manager and Compliance Consultant at the Volkov Law Group, re-joins us for a posting on whistleblower protections. Alex can be reached at [email protected]. When Congress overrode former President Donald J. Trump’s veto of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) in January of this year, it simultaneously enacted the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (“AMLA”) into law. AMLA significantly expands upon the...
The Justice Department continues to pursue criminal cases against Venezuelan officials at Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) in an attempt to strangle President Nicolas Maduro. DOJ has been pursuing a three-pronged strategy by bringing cases in the New York, Miami and Houston federal courts. DOJ has been pursuing officials who have left Venezuela and now reside in Spain and other European locations. DOJ has charged...
Noah Smith, Associate at The Volkov Law Group, rejoins us for an interesting blog posting on the compliance challenges for financial institutions and other businesses involved in legal marijuana transactions. Noah can be reached at [email protected]. The quasi-legal status of marijuana in today’s United States is raising serious questions about federalism and enforcement for U.S. financial institutions. It is well known that marijuana is still...
In a recently released letter (here), the Justice Department issued a declination to the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL) for violations of the FCPA under the FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy. DOJ required ICBL to pay approximately $93,000 in disgorgement. ICBL paid approximately $36,000 in bribes to Donville Innis, a Barbadian government official, in exchange for government contracts worth approximately $686,000 and $93,000 in profits....
Earlier this year, in January 2017, Western Union entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the Justice Department and the FTC, and agreed to pay $586 in forfeiture to settle anti-money laundering and consumer fraud violations. At the same time, Western Union agreed to pay $184 million in civil monetary penalties for AML violations. The Western Union prosecution sends an important reminder to financial institutions,...
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...
