Podcast - Too Dirty for Dirty Crime
On August 4, 2025, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a notice warning financial institutions about escalating illicit activity involving convertible virtual currency (CVC) kiosks. The notice cites...more
Join Lowenstein Sandler and Santamarina + Steta for a timely webinar exploring the legal and compliance implications of recent U.S. Treasury actions under the FEND Off Fentanyl Act. The session, featuring Lowenstein's Robert...more
In a historic first, the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network recently published orders prohibiting transactions with covered Mexico-based financial institutions. On June 30, 2025, the US...more
On June 25, 2025, the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued three orders (the “Orders”) pursuant to the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, designating three...more
In a historic move that signals a new era in the fight against illicit opioid trafficking and money laundering, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued its first-ever...more
On June 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued three orders designating CIBanco S.A., Intercam Banco S.A., and Vector Casa de Bolsa, S.A. de C.V. (collectively,...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) took a historic step in combating the fentanyl crisis on June 25, 2025, by exercising, for the first time, the expansive authorities granted...more
On June 25, 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued orders identifying three Mexican financial institutions as being of primary money laundering concern in connection with...more
On June 25, 2025, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued unprecedented orders under the newly enacted 21 U.S.C. § 2313a authority, targeting three Mexico-based financial institutions:...more
What You Need to Know - In October 2023, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) enacted multiple sanctions targeting the supply chain of fentanyl and other illicit drugs. In addition to...more
Trade-based money laundering (TBML) describes a set of techniques through which drug traffickers, terrorists and other criminals use the veneer of trade to move illicit funds across borders while disguising the origin and...more
Both individuals and companies risk severe penalties if they contribute to money laundering, even if the contribution is the result of negligence. By appointing an anti-money laundering officer organisations will reduce their...more
Cryptocurrencies have been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Their values have plummeted leaving investors out of pocket. Exchanges, lenders, and other entities in the crypto ecosystem have gone bust. Numerous...more
On February 8, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions, pursuant to Executive Order 13581, against an individual based in Honduras and another individual based in Nicaragua...more
We previously blogged on an advisory issued by FinCEN alerting financial institutions to the various financial mechanisms used by traffickers of fentanyl and synthetic opioids to launder the burgeoning proceeds of their...more
Terrorist financing comes at a price – and in the case of a global building supplies manufacturer that has pleaded guilty in a US court to making payments to terrorist organisations, that price is USD 778 million in fines and...more
Since its last enforcement action against Banco Popular in late May, OFAC has been quiet on the enforcement front. Notwithstanding its silence, OFAC has been managing a robust and complex coordinated economic sanctions...more
Prosecutors Target Fake COVID-19 Immunization and Vaccination Cards - In the first federal prosecution related to fraudulent vaccination cards and immunizations for the COVID-19 virus, a California neuropathic doctor, Juli...more
On October 26, Marcus Frazier of New York pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution for his alleged role in a scheme to obtain $6.9 million in Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) funds designed...more
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on June 30, 2021, issued national priorities for anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) policy (the Priorities), as required by the...more
Donald Rumsfeld died yesterday. When the definitive history of the 21st century is written, no one man may play a more central role than Rumsfeld. The reason? He led America into its disastrous war in Iraq. Not only was the...more
As 2020 drew to a close, enforcement authorities throughout the United States and the Americas continued to investigate fraud, corruption, and other misconduct across the region. In this newsletter, we highlight some...more
As 2020 drew to a close, enforcement authorities throughout the United States and the Americas continued to investigate fraud, corruption, and other misconduct across the region. Below, we highlight some developments from...more
“Front” Seafood Businesses Allegedly Hid the Proceeds From Smuggled Shark Fins and Marijuana Distribution - Last week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia unsealed an indictment returned in July,...more
In the rainforests of Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, the fires often start when drug traffickers try to clear large swaths of land. Due to the dry bush and lack of rainfall, the flames often spread out of control, but in...more