FinCEN is focused on customer due diligence, and both the 2024 Investment Adviser Risk Assessment and proposed rule indicate that investment advisers will be expected to assess customer identity, business model, and sources...more
3/15/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
CDD ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Customer Identification Program (CIP) ,
Due Diligence ,
Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Infrastructure ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investors ,
No-Action Letters ,
Popular ,
Private Funds ,
Proposed Rules ,
Risk Assessment ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SIFMA ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Technology Sector
On November 6, 2023, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $206,213 settlement with Swift Prepaid Solutions, Inc. d/b/a daVinci Payments (daVinci) for apparent violations of...more
Businesses connected to digital assets in any way have an opportunity to influence public policy if they submit comments by July 5, 2022.
On May 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade...more
5/25/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Blockchain ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
International Trade ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
The Biden Administration has launched a comprehensive effort to develop a cohesive policy approach for digital assets.
Key agencies are instructed to report on digital asset issues and legal framework in relation to...more
3/14/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Biden Administration ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
CFTC ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
U.S. Treasury
On February 27, 2022, the U.S., UK, and EU announced their agreement that certain Russian banks would be delisted from the Belgian-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). ...more
3/8/2022
/ Delisting ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Military Conflict ,
Russia ,
SWIFT ,
UK ,
Ukraine
On February 24, 2022, in response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, President Biden announced further sanctions on Russian individuals and entities. These measures are in addition to those already announced on February 22 and 23...more
On February 22 and 23, 2022, President Biden announced further sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These sanctions build upon the U.S. sanctions issued on February 21, 2022. Specifically, the additional...more
New federal requirements in the annual national defense budget reauthorization effectively will end anonymous U.S. shell companies by requiring businesses to disclose 25 percent owners and control persons to a newly created...more
1/6/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Guidance Update ,
Human Trafficking ,
Law Enforcement ,
Patriot Act ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Shell Corporations ,
Terrorist Acts ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency ,
Whistleblowers
On December 14, 2020, the U.S. Department of State initiated a series of sanctions pursuant to Section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) that target the Turkish Presidency of Defense...more
Continuing its “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, the United States has (a) ratcheted up sanctions under Executive Orders that provide for the imposition of secondary sanctions on non-U.S. companies that engage in...more
As it targets terrorist groups and their finances, the U.S. Government announces potent secondary sanctions that can impede correspondent banking relationships of non-U.S. banks.
A new U.S. Executive Order updates the...more
9/12/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Due Diligence ,
Entity List ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Banks ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
SDN List ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
U.S. Treasury
Long awaited rules for “Customer Due Diligence Requirements for Financial Institutions” (the CDD Rules) went into effect on May 11, 2018. FinCEN has taken steps to clarify and refine implementation of the CDD Rules, issuing...more
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation ramps up enforcement activities in London -
A new UK sanctions enforcement body with added civil enforcement tools is ramping up activities. ...more
11/1/2017
/ Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
HM Treasury ,
International Finance ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Policing and Crime Act 2017 ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On September 15, 2016, President Obama announced that U.S. economic sanctions on Myanmar (also known as Burma) would end, but the announcement left many questions as to what would change and what sanctions might remain. On...more
On May 11, 2016, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of Treasury, published its final rule addressing Customer Due Diligence Requirements for Financial Institutions (CDD Rule)....more
In advance of President Obama’s highly publicized trip to Cuba, the Administration took additional steps to ease restrictions on trade and travel with Cuba. These changes to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) and...more
There has been much discussion of U.S. and EU sanctions changes following Implementation Day under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”), but a number of countries had imposed sanctions for Iran and it is worth...more
2/29/2016
/ Australia ,
Canada ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Imports ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Nuclear Power ,
SDN List ,
United Nations
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on August 25, 2015 which, among other things, would add SEC-registered investment advisers to the “financial...more
9/2/2015
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
BSA/AML ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
U.S. Treasury