Silvergate Bank to pay $63M to Fed, California over BSA/AML deficiencies
Crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank will pay a total of $63 million penalties to California and the Federal Reserve Board to settle charges that its anti-money laundering program failed to properly monitor over $1 trillion worth of customer transactions.
FATF removes Jamaica, Türkiye from watchlist; adds Monaco, Venezuela
Jamaica and Türkiye made “significant progress” addressing deficiencies in their anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) programs, warranting their removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list.
FinCEN proposes additional risk assessments for AML/CFT programs
Financial institutions would be required to conduct more thorough risk assessments on their anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism programs under a new rule proposed by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
OCC emphasizes compliance’s role in FI’s operational resiliency
Compliance departments at financial institutions must become more involved in ensuring their firm’s operational resiliency to address emerging risks, the Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said in its semi-annual risk perspective.
Credit Suisse unit inks deal with OCC over BSA/AML obligations
The New York branch of Swiss bank Credit Suisse reached a deal with the Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) over compliance with its Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering obligations.
Evolve Bank ordered by Fed to address AML, sanctions lapses
The Federal Reserve Board ordered an Arkansas bank that partnered with numerous financial technology companies to correct deficiencies in its anti-money laundering, sanctions, risk management, and consumer compliance programs.
Photo gallery: Compliance Week Financial Crimes and Regulatory Compliance Summit
The Compliance Week Financial Crimes and Regulatory Compliance Summit took place June 10-11 at Fordham Law School in Manhattan, New York. Check out some of the sights from the summit in our photo gallery.
FinCEN BSA data: Fraud, money laundering top suspicious activities
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network published its latest collection of Bank Secrecy Act data, including number and type of suspicious activity reports.
Reignited calls to tighten up AML in London, crown dependencies
Despite repeated interventions, fines, and negative publicity, money laundering is rife in U.K. financial services firms, according to Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell.
Epoch Times CFO charged in $67M money laundering scheme
The chief financial officer of the Epoch Times was charged with laundering at least $67 million in illegally obtained funds to bolster the fortunes of the newspaper and himself.
BaFin relaxes growth restrictions on N26 following AML improvements
German financial regulatory authority BaFin lifted growth restrictions on N26, after the digital bank made improvements to its anti-money laundering program.
TD Bank risk chief laments ‘procedural weaknesses’ in U.S. AML program
TD Bank Chief Risk Officer Ajai Bambawale said “procedural weaknesses” in the institution’s U.S. anti-money laundering program allowed bad actors to exploit its network.
N26 fined $9.6M for not timely filing AML reports to BaFin
Germany’s financial supervisory authority issued a fine of €9.2 million euros against mobile bank N26 for “systematically” submitting late anti-money laundering reports.
SkyCity Entertainment bracing for nearly $50M in AML penalties
Australian gaming company SkyCity Entertainment Group faces nearly $50 million in penalties for admitted breaches of anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism obligations in Australia and New Zealand.
Fed governor: Regs should engage with industry on safe DLT use in banking
Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman argued banking regulators should move from their current reactive posture on banking innovation to a position that actively encourages new technologies, business models, and ideas to solve age-old problems.
Treasury says closing AML regulation loopholes top priority
The Treasury Department’s efforts to eliminate regulation loopholes that help enable money laundering in the U.S. financial system will remain a top priority as part of the agency’s 2024 national illicit finance strategy.
Binance CEO got 4 months in prison. FTX’s got 25 years. Was compliance the difference?
Why the wild disparity in the sentences of Binance’s Changpeng Zhao and FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried? Aaron Nicodemus argues the performance of the compliance teams at the two cryptocurrency exchanges was as big a contrast as the penalties earned by their respective founders.
Canadian parliament adds to TD Bank AML scrutiny
Canadian lawmakers will come together to discuss TD Bank’s reported failure to prevent drug traffickers from laundering proceeds of fentanyl sales on its platform.
SEC, FinCEN propose customer ID program for investment advisers
The Securities and Exchange Commission and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed a rule requiring registered investment advisers to implement customer identification programs, another facet of a coordinated attempt to close an apparent loophole in federal AML regulations.
FINTRAC fines Binance $4.4M over AML/CFT violations
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada imposed a penalty of approximately CAD$6 million (U.S. $4.4 million) against crypto platform Binance over alleged noncompliance with the country’s anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism law.
Five reasons I’m excited for CW’s Financial Crimes Summit
Compliance Week’s Financial Crimes and Regulatory Compliance Summit will feature more than 50 prominent speakers representing government agencies, regulators, banks, investment advisers, and more tackling the top-of-mind risk areas facing the financial services industry.
FinCEN warns financial institutions on Iran-backed terrorist organizations
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network advised financial institutions in detecting illicit transactions related to Iran-backed terrorist organizations.
SoFi unit fined $1.1M by FINRA for fraud prevention failures
SoFi’s brokerage unit will pay a $1.1 million fine to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for fraud detection weaknesses that allowed thieves to create SoFi Money accounts using fake or stolen identities.
FINTRAC fines TD Bank record $6.7M over AML program failings
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada fined TD Bank nearly CAD$9.2 million (U.S. $6.7 million) for failing to comply with its anti-money laundering regulations.
TD Bank reserves $450M for BSA/AML enforcements
TD Bank said it set aside $450 million to settle regulatory and law enforcement investigations, including by the Department of Justice, into its anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act programs.
BaFin fines Commerzbank $1.6M over supervision, AML lapses
Germany’s financial supervisory authority issued total fines of €1.45 million (U.S. $1.6 million) against Commerzbank AG to settle allegations of inadequate monitoring and anti-money laundering controls.
OCC cites three banks for risk management, BSA-related failures
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency cited three banks for unsafe and unsound business practices that mirror issues similar to what spurred last year’s banking crisis.
FinCEN warns of fake U.S. passport cards used to commit fraud
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is warning financial institutions of counterfeit U.S. passport cards used to commit fraud and identity theft.
Ex-OneCoin compliance head jailed 4 years for fraud role
The former head of legal and compliance at OneCoin was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud charges regarding her role in a cryptocurrency marketing scheme.
U.S. BOI efforts earn it upgraded rating from FATF
The United States’s progress on implementing the beneficial ownership information reporting requirements contained within the Corporate Transparency Act earned it praise from the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force.
FDIC proposes strengthening, modernizing bank merger reviews
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation proposed to strengthen its approach to evaluating bank mergers under the Bank Merger Act, particularly how it would address factors like competition, financial resources, the convenience and needs of communities, financial stability, and money laundering.
Chapter 4: Investigations into misconduct: What banks can do
Both JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank retained their respective Jeffrey Epstein relationships for too long. Yet, there is a case to be made for why exiting a high-risk relationship too soon can become an inverse form of recklessness.
Chapter 3: Egregious failures: Customer due diligence and transaction monitoring
Why did JPMorgan Chase retain Jeffrey Epstein for more than a dozen years? How did the relationship persist despite glaring red flags? The “why” is straightforward; the “how” is more complicated.
Chapter 2: KYC shortfalls: JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank’s onboarding of Epstein
Jeffrey Epstein’s designation as a high-risk client should have subjected him to enhanced due diligence that never appeared to occur, most notably at Deutsche Bank. Instead, Epstein was allowed to continue his misconduct despite numerous red flags.
Chapter 1: Compliance v. complicity: The ‘underbelly’ of bank culture
Why were decisions made the way they were at the banks that serviced Jeffrey Epstein? Evidence points to a cultural tension: a tug-of-war between the allure of profit and the drag of compliance, with the former having all the pulling power.
Case study: ‘The Banks Behind the Epstein Enterprise’
This Compliance Week case study offers a deep dive into the anti-money laundering compliance failures—and alleged complicity—of JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, the two banks that enabled the Jeffrey Epstein enterprise to flourish for decades.
FCA warns CEOs over firm AML failings
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority warned the chief executive officers of approximately 1,000 financial institutions it supervises regarding common failures in anti-money laundering procedures it observed during recent assessments.
Judge’s ruling calls FinCEN beneficial ownership registry into question
A federal court judge in Alabama ruled the Corporate Transparency Act was beyond Congress’s power, potentially throwing the effectiveness of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network beneficial ownership information registry into doubt.
Metropolitan Commercial Bank adds risk chief, AML officer
Metropolitan Commercial Bank announced the appointments of a chief risk officer and Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering officer to bolster its reporting lines following a $30 million enforcement action from federal and state authorities last year.
Swedbank says Estonia money laundering probe closed
The Estonian branch of Swedbank is no longer under investigation regarding suspected money laundering and other criminal activities.
Green Dot estimates up to $50M in liabilities over proposed Fed order
Financial technology firm Green Dot Corp. estimated a pending consent order with the Federal Reserve Board will require a payment of between $20 million to $50 million.
NYDFS fines Gemini $37M over compliance failures
The New York State Department of Financial Services fined cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Trust Company $37 million over alleged compliance failures related to lapses in safety and soundness.
FCA vows transparency, faster case outcomes in new enforcement strategy
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority will rein in its enforcement focus and commit to providing more updates on its ongoing investigations as part of a revamped strategy designed to quicken the pace and increase the deterrent impact of its cases.
FinCEN head touts compliance through enforcement approach
Andrea Gacki, head of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, said recent enforcement actions by the agency have addressed significant gaps in the U.S. anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism regime and exposed specific risk factors, trends, and typologies.
New European AML agency to be based in Germany
The European Union’s recently approved Anti-Money Laundering Authority will be based in Frankfurt, Germany, and begin operations in 2025.
FATF adds Kenya, Namibia to AML/CFT watchlist; UAE, Uganda removed
Kenya was one of two African countries included in the Financial Action Task Force’s latest update to its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring for money laundering and terrorist financing, while the United Arab Emirates was among four countries removed.
Lloyds discloses FCA probe into AML controls
Lloyds is the latest U.K. financial institution being probed by the Financial Conduct Authority regarding its anti-money laundering control framework.
Barclays says FCA probe into AML controls closed
Barclays Bank disclosed an investigation by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority into the bank’s anti-money laundering controls has closed without a penalty.
FinCEN head: Agency seeking to educate, not punish, BOI reporters
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network will focus its attention regarding compliance with its new beneficial ownership reporting requirements on education and outreach during the first year of implementation, although “willful violations” will still merit punishment.
Ex-Sterling Bank GC cited by OCC over BSA-related failures
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a cease-and-desist order against the former general counsel at Sterling Bank and Trust for not ensuring the institution’s Bank Secrecy Act compliance and failing to timely file suspicious activity reports.