Anti-Corruption


Ethereum_web

News Brief

Treasury reversal of OFAC sanctions against Tornado Cash signals eroding AML scrutiny

2025-03-24T20:16:00+00:00By

The U.S. Treasury Department lifted its sanctions against cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash on Friday after a federal appeals court ruled in November the penalty levied by the agency’s Office of Foreign Assets Control was an overreach.

FinCEN

News Brief

FinCEN drops BOI requirement for U.S. companies, persons

2025-03-24T15:47:00+00:00By

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a final interim rule that eliminates beneficial ownership information reporting obligations for U.S.-based companies and persons.

BIO_web

News Brief

Expert: Treasury’s move to ‘narrow’ BOI requirements would gut AML law

2025-03-18T16:56:00+00:00By

The U.S. Treasury’s effort to dramatically narrow the focus of the Corporate Transparency Act through “emergency” rulemaking would gut the law’s anti-money laundering efforts, a transparency expert said.

Robinhood

News Brief

Robinhood pays $30M in fines, restitution for faulty AML program, customer disclosures

2025-03-12T18:56:00+00:00By

Robinhood will pay nearly $30 million in penalties for violating Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules with shortcomings in its anti-money launderingprogram, as well as supervisory and disclosure violations.

BIO_web

News Brief

Two senators want to know: What’s the legal basis for suspending enforcement of the CTA?

2025-03-11T16:46:00+00:00By

Two senators behind the Corporate Transparency Act have demanded that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent justify his suspension of one of the law’s anti-money laundering requirements.

Markus Hornburg web

Opinion

Why are CFOs struggling to stay compliant?

2025-03-11T14:37:00+00:00By Markus Hornburg, CW guest columnist

CFOs are tasked with overseeing an organization’s entire financial processes, not least ensuring that financial operations remain compliant with the multitude of global regulations. It’s a heavy burden to carry that might be alleviated slightly with the help of artificial intelligence, writes Markus Hornburg, head of compliance at Basware.

TD Bank sign

News Brief

Regs name TD Bank’s compliance monitor; so far, bank has spent $138M improving AML program

2025-03-07T15:42:00+00:00By

TD Bank leadership called its response to anti-money laundering program lapses its “top priority” as federal regulators named their choice of a compliance monitor to oversee a top-to-bottom rebuild of its AML program.

Steptoe

Premium

As DOJ pivots away from white-collar enforcement, is FCPA still relevant?

2025-03-05T13:00:00+00:00By Iris Bennett and Claire Rajan, CW guest columnists

While executives and boards will never conclude that bribery is a legitimate way of doing business, understandably many have questions about how to direct their FCPA compliance program efforts and resources, write Iris Bennett and Claire Rajan, partners at law firm Steptoe.

FinCEN

News Brief

Treasury announces plan to narrow CTA's scope; FinCEN says no fines, penalties for failure to report BOI

2025-02-28T19:08:00+00:00By

The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network notified businesses that fail to report or update their beneficial ownership information  before the agency’s March 21 deadline will not face fines or penalties. The agency further said it would not enforce the Corporate Transparency Act against U.S. citizens and domestic businesses.

FATF_web

News Brief

FinCEN announces FATF watchlist update: Laos, Nepal added, Philippines removed

2025-02-27T19:22:00+00:00By

The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced two countries have been added to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) watchlist, while another has been removed.

OKX_web

News Brief

Crypto exchange OKX latest target of DOJ, hit with $505M penalty over AML, KYC failures

2025-02-25T18:03:00+00:00By

One of world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges agreed to pay more than $500 million in penalties and plead guilty to AML and KYC violations, along with failing to register as a money transmitting business with the U.S. Treasury Department, the DOJ said.

FinCEN

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FinCEN issues new BOI compliance date, but experts say unlikely to hold

2025-02-20T20:24:00+00:00By

Uncertainty continues to swirl around a requirement that small businesses and foreign entities file beneficial ownership information with the U.S. Treasury Department.

Financial Conduct Authority

News Brief

FCA fines Mako $2.1M for ineffective financial crime monitoring program

2025-02-19T16:40:00+00:00By

Mako Financial Markets Partnership will pay $2.1 million (1.7 million pounds) in penalties to the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority to settle allegations that its financial crime prevention program was ineffective.

Bribery

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Trump has called for a six-month ban on FCPA enforcement. How should compliance respond?

2025-02-13T15:50:00+00:00By

With a six-month ban on enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, compliance should retreat from fear-based messaging and instead focus on why ethical practices make good business sense, experts say.

SFO

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Experts question effectiveness of new enforcement tool SFO is finally wielding

2025-02-10T16:42:00+00:00By

The U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office has made its first use of an enforcement tool that was meant to bring oligarchs and kleptocrats to book. But lawyers are unsure whether the move signifies either a change in direction or fortune for the agency.

cybercrime_web

Premium

Financial crime in the shadows of the dark web

2025-02-10T15:27:00+00:00By ‌Rezaul Karim, CW guest columnist

The dark web has been depicted as a long-standing hub for crimes, where illegal activities such as drug dealing, financial fraud, weapon sales, murder for hire, stolen credit cards, and ransomware gags are easily accessible to the public.

Brinks_truck_web

News Brief

BSA failures lead to $42M fine for Brink's over unregistered cash shipments to Mexico

2025-02-07T17:09:00+00:00By

Armored car company Brink’s Global Services will pay $42 million in penalties to settle charges laid by federal regulators for violating anti-money laundering provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act.

AG_Bondi

News Brief

Bondi-led DOJ sharply pivots away from prosecution of corporate FCPA violations

2025-02-06T20:05:00+00:00By

The U.S. Department of Justice under new Attorney General Pam Bondi will de-emphasize white collar misconduct linked to bribes and foreign corruption, instead prioritizing corruption cases linked to human smuggling and the trafficking of narcotics and firearms.

Financial Conduct Authority

News Brief

FCA dings Infinox in first fine under U.K. capital market reforms of 2018

2025-01-29T18:43:00+00:00By

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority issued a landmark fine against trading platform Infinox Capital for failing to report “high-risk” transactions, the first-ever enforcement under a 2018 law.

Cryptocurrency wallet

News Brief

KuCoin latest crypto firm to pay hefty price for violating BSA with $297M penalty

2025-01-29T15:11:00+00:00By

The Seychelles-based owner of cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin has agreed to pay nearly $300 million in penalties–and cease doing business in the U.S. for two years–to settle charges that it failed to properly monitor potential criminal activity on its network.

UK_Blindfolded_Justice

Premium

Experts: Prepare now with U.K. failure to prevent fraud offense on horizon

2025-01-29T12:00:00+00:00By

Fraud prevention is about to get more complicated with penalties rising sharply for U.K. organizations. Starting Sept. 1, larger businesses will be liable to criminal prosecution if any of their employees–or an agent, subsidiary, or other “associated person”–commits fraud that is intended to benefit the company.

Maria Aristidou Demetriou lead photo

Premium

Q&A: Hellenic Bank CCO on progress made to fight corruption in Cyprus

2025-01-28T15:35:00+00:00By

Maria Aristidou Demetriou, chief compliance officer at Cyprus-based Hellenic Bank, spoke to Compliance Week about derisking in the Cypriot banking sector since Russian’s invasion of Ukraine and efforts to combat corruption, money laundering, and sanctions evasion.

Nicosia_web

Premium

Inside Cyprus’ efforts to stem money laundering and sanctions evasion

2025-01-28T15:35:00+00:00By

Are there success stories in the international fight against money laundering and sanctions evasion? The island nation of Cyprus is making its case.

LPL Financial

News Brief

SEC fines LPL Financial $18M for failed due diligence on new, high-risk accounts

2025-01-21T16:10:00+00:00By

Broker-dealer LPL Financial will pay $18 million to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that its anti-money laundering program did not properly vet customers and failed to close or restrict thousands of high-risk accounts.

pot_stocks_web

News Brief

SEC fines cannabis hedge fund $150K for bogus AML policies, ties to Russian oligarch Abramovich

2025-01-17T15:49:00+00:00By

Cannabis hedge fund Navy Capital Green Management agreed to pay $150,000 to settle charges levied by the Securirties and Exchange Commission that the firm misled investors about its AML/CFT policies and allowed a sanctioned Russian oligarch to invest.

unfair_competition_web

Premium

CJEU ruling adds to GDPR liability over unfair competition, AML/CFT

2025-01-16T15:53:00+00:00By

Legal cases and fines for noncompliance with EU’s GDPR could rise sharply after a court found that a breach was a source of unfair competition. The judgment also opens doors to civil cases over companies that ignoring expensive or challenging rules, such as those regarding AML/CFT.

columnist dale

Opinion

Five more compliance triumphs of 2024

2024-12-24T13:00:00+00:00By

Whether you’re a multinational telecommunications company looking to certify your anti-corruption program post-settlement, or a biochemical company victimized by a “rogue” employee, seeing the light at the end of the enforcement tunnel isn’t always easy.

Bank of America

News Brief

OCC orders Bank of America to shore up BSA/AML, sanctions compliance programs

2024-12-23T19:08:00+00:00By

Bank of America avoided a monetary penalty in agreeing to settle charges with the Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency but was ordered to shore up previously disclosed deficiencies in its Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) and sanctions compliance programs.

AAR_Corp_web

News Brief

AAR Corp. to pay $56M to settle FCPA violations in Nepal, South Africa

2024-12-23T12:00:00+00:00By

Aviation maintenance services provider AAR Corp. will pay nearly $56 million to settle charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when it paid bribes to government officials in Nepal and South Africa.

USAA

News Brief

OCC hits USAA with third order in five years; places limits on new services, products, membership

2024-12-20T17:39:00+00:00By

USAA Federal Savings Bank has been hit with its third cease and desist order from the Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in the past five years for failing to correct unsafe and unsound banking practices.

London cityscape

Premium

U.K. can’t shake reputation of being a conduit to individual, institutional money laundering

2024-12-13T14:55:00+00:00By

London has long had the dubious reputation of being the world’s money laundering capital and it looks like it’s a title it is likely to retain for some time yet.

British pounds

Premium

Overabundance of U.K. AML regulators stretching enforcement resources thin, experts say

2024-12-12T19:59:00+00:00By

The U.K. will struggle to shed its reputation as one of the world’s biggest conduits for dirty money due to a combination of patchy intelligence-sharing and poorly resourced enforcement agencies, experts told Compliance Week.

Treasury Department

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Texas court halts FinCEN beneficial ownership reporting requirements

2024-12-09T14:08:00+00:00By

Business owners can stop preparing their 2025 anti-money laundering reports for the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, according to a Texas court, which ruled the Corporate Transparency Act requirement unconstitutional.

McKinsey

News Brief

DOJ hits McKinsey & Co. subsidiary with $123M criminal penalty over bribes in South Africa

2024-12-06T17:31:00+00:00By

A subsidiary of McKinsey & Co. will pay nearly $123 million to the Department of Justice to settle allegations that it bribed officials in South Africa to win consulting contracts.

usaa_web

Premium

Whistleblower’s defamation case reveals scope of USAA ‘coverup’

2024-12-06T12:45:00+00:00By

A defamation lawsuit filed by a whistleblower against USAA, which a Florida judge recently dismissed on a technicality, revealed in public court records an estimated 400,000 violations of the Military Lending Act by USAA Federal Savings Bank (USAA Bank), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of USAA.

sanctions_screening_web

Premium

Evolving sanctions rules make continuous screening, due diligence essential in 2025

2024-12-05T13:00:00+00:00By

The EU and U.K. have rushed to commit themselves to intensifying action on sanctions evasion after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, but any compliance managers who believe Trump will make global sanctions compliance easier in 2025 are likely to be disappointed.

Crypto coins

News Brief

U.S. Appeals Court ruling in Tornado Cash case opens door for AML regulatory unwind

2024-12-02T22:55:00+00:00By

In striking down penalties against cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash for violating U.S. sanctions, a federal appeals court may have started to chip away at anti-money laundering regulations established by Democrats even before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

thumbnail_Boeing_Safety

Premium

Top ethics and compliance failures of 2024

2024-11-27T15:09:00+00:00By

The biggest Compliance Fails of 2024 show the real-world consequences of noncompliance for the companies that faltered, but also for their customers and their employees.

Thales_web

News Brief

French defense contractor Thales Group under investigation for bribery in Asia

2024-11-26T17:29:00+00:00By

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.

bessent_Treasury_web

News Brief

Trump names Scott Bessent to be Treasury secretary, with a clear deregulation agenda

2024-11-26T14:53:00+00:00By

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.

adani_web

News Brief

Adani Group CEO, seven business executives charged in huge $250M bribery scheme

2024-11-22T14:39:00+00:00By

Eight business executives, including the billionaire owner of Indian energy company Adani Group, were charged with fraud for their alleged roles in a multi-million bribery scheme to win a solar energy contract in India.

gambling

News Brief

BIT Mining changes business model, pays $10M fine to resolve FCPA violations

2024-11-19T19:26:00+00:00By

A publicly traded cryptocurrency mining company will pay $10 million and completely change its business model to one with “lower corruption risk” as part of a settlement over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), two regulators announced.

red_flags_web

Premium

Experts explain why red flags can often be ignored due to ‘underlying systematic issues’

2024-11-19T17:28:00+00:00By

Companies spend huge sums on audit, risk management, and compliance to alert them about potential legal issues before they escalate into serious corporate governance failings. There’s only one problem, however–they often misread their own early warning signs or ignore them altogether.

metro_bank_web

News Brief

FCA slaps Metro Bank with $21M fine for inadequate AML monitoring

2024-11-12T20:55:00+00:00By

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has fined Metro Bank 16.6 million pounds (U.S. $21 million) for an alleged failure by its automated system to adequately monitor money laundering risks.

telefonica_web

News Brief

Spanish telecomm Telefónica S.A. fined $85M over bribes to government officials in Venezuela

2024-11-11T17:09:00+00:00By

A subsidiary of Spanish telecommunications provider Telefónica S.A. will pay $85.2 million to settle a charge that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when it paid bribes to Venezuelan officials to gain preferential access to a currency auction.

TD Bank

Premium

Underfunding of BSA/AML compliance made TD Bank an unwitting partner to cross-border crime

2024-11-05T16:52:00+00:00By

Law enforcement officials stumbled on TD Bank’s role in money laundering while investigating a Mexican drug cartel. They found that the bank’s corporate culture considered compliance, particularly BSA/AML compliance, a low priority. As they dug deeper, authorities discovered that multiple money laundering schemes had infiltrated the bank’s network.

Canada

News Brief

Real estate firm JLL fined by Canada’s FINTRAC for AML, KYC failures

2024-11-04T20:22:00+00:00By

Canada’s anti-money laundering regulator fined Toronto-based real estate firm Jones Lang Lasalle $107,827 Canadian dollars (U.S. $77,632) for six violations of its anti-money laundering rules, after discovering gaps in recordkeeping and reporting requirements for know your customer rules.

Raytheon

Premium

Raytheon parent RTX settles false claims, defective pricing, Qatar FCPA violations for $950M

2024-10-17T17:01:00+01:00By

The other shoe finally dropped for Raytheon and parent company RTX, as two U.S. regulators announced nearly $1 billion in penalties to settle defective pricing in defense contracts, false claims related to inflated prices on government contracts, and bribes paid to government officials in Qatar that violated the FCPA.

Bribery

News Brief

Poor internal controls led to FCPA violations in Moog’s $1.7M settlement with SEC

2024-10-15T17:05:00+01:00By

A company culture geared to “win business at any cost” encouraged employees of New York-based aerospace manufacturer Moog to pay bribes in India to win contracts, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged.

TD Bank

Premium

TD Bank fined nearly $3.1B by U.S. regulators for AML compliance failures

2024-10-11T13:44:00+01:00By

TD Bank will pay nearly $3.1 billion in penalties to four U.S. regulators to settle charges that it “chose profits over compliance” when it allowed three money laundering networks to filter more than $670 million in dirty money through the company.