- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Kyle Brasseur2023-07-11T17:32:00
Merrill Lynch was assessed penalties totaling $12 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for allegedly failing to file nearly 1,500 required suspicious activity reports (SARs) over the course of a decade.
On Tuesday, the SEC and FINRA each announced fines of $6 million against the broker-dealer. The SEC also cited BAC North America Holding Co. (BACNAH), Merrill Lynch’s parent company, for its role in the alleged failures.
Following the 2009 merger between Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, BACNAH assumed responsibility for creating and implementing Merrill Lynch’s SAR policies and procedures and filing its reports, according to the SEC. During this transition, BACNAH incorrectly applied a $25,000 threshold for reporting suspicious activity, when it should have been $5,000.
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The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority issued two separate fines against Merrill Lynch and BofA Securities totaling nearly $2.3 million for reporting violations and failing to timely file amendments on registration forms for their registered representatives.
A registered representative at an unnamed brokerage firm will pay $20,000 to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that he failed to notify the firm’s anti-money laundering department of apparent suspicious transactions.
Archipelago Trading Services agreed to pay a $1.5 million penalty as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly failing to file nearly 500 suspicious activity reports largely related to microcap or penny stock securities transactions.
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French defense and aviation contractor Thales Group is under investigation by authorities in the U.K. and France for allegedly participating in bribery and corruption.
Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, named by Donald Trump on Friday as his nominee for Treasury Secretary, has a clear mandate to deregulate the financial markets should he take the helm.
