Strengthening Compliance: Lessons From the OCC's Consent Order With Patriot Bank — Payments Pros – The Payments Law Podcast
Recent Developments in Anti-Money Laundering - The Consumer Finance Podcast
Investment Management Update – Exit Strategies
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), published the FinCEN Advisory on the Iranian Regime's Illicit Oil Smuggling Activities, Shadow Banking Networks, and Weapons...more
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (the “Philly Fed”) recently executed an agreement (the “Agreement”) with Pennsylvania-based Customers Bank (and its Customers Bancorp, Inc. holding entity) (collectively, “Customers”)....more
On 13 February 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a groundbreaking Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to combat illicit finance and national security threats in the investment adviser sector. The...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
As the world now knows, Binance Holdings Limited, doing business as Binance.com (“Binance” or the “Company”), has entered into a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”)....more
Priorities Echo Prior Alerts and Enforcement Actions - The SEC’s Division of Examinations (the “Division”) released on October 16 a report on its “Examination Priorities” (the “Report”) for fiscal year 2024. This release...more
The new Director of FinCEN, Andrea Gacki, addressed several key topics on October 3, 2023 at the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (“ACAMS”) conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Specifically, Director...more
The U.S. government is turning up the dial on its efforts to combat evasion of export controls and sanctions against Russia. The severe trade restrictions against Russia (and Belarus) have seen continuous escalation since...more
On September 15, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) announced its first “Gap Rule” enforcement action in a Consent Order with Bancrédito International Bank and Trust...more
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued a joint alert and a supplemental alert (the...more
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) settled enforcement actions with Washington state-based Bittrex. In the two settlements, Bittrex...more
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) announced on October 11 simultaneous settlements with Bittrex, Inc. (“Bittrex”), a virtual currency exchange and hosted...more
Greetings, and thank you for taking a look at our new monthly crypto enforcement newsletter. Our goal is to share five topics each month that we believe are of significance in the world of crypto enforcement—particularly as...more
With the imposition of sweeping new sanctions on Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine, federal financial regulators are issuing warnings about efforts to evade these actions. On Monday, March 7, 2022, the...more
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) released detailed sanctions compliance guidance for the virtual currency industry (the Guidance). The Guidance provides an overview of OFAC sanctions requirements and lists several best...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
Cryptocurrency, and its most-noted asset Bitcoin, has been breaking into the mainstream press. While most lawyers have heard terms like “blockchain” and probably even know a few people who have been deeply interested in the...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has focused on cryptocurrency in the last six months, while consumer interest hits all-time highs. The cryptocurrency market is not unlike the cannabis market from several years...more
As we wrote over the summer, Congress has passed a bill that will require certain corporations and limited liability companies (“LLCs”) to report information on their beneficial owners to the U.S. Treasury Department’s...more
The prevalence, sophistication, and severity of ransomware attacks have increased anti-money laundering risks faced by financial institutions both as targets of ransomware attacks and as potential intermediaries in...more
A recent report by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (headlined by Chairman Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, and Ranking Member Tom Carper, Democrat of Delaware) has drawn widespread attention...more
AMA Details Components of a Strong AML/BSA Program - Earlier this month, the American Gaming Association (“AGA”) released an updated Best Practices for Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) Compliance (“Best Practices Guidance”)...more
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Executive Summary - Developments and Trends in Policy and Enforcement - US Department of the Treasury - The Office of Foreign Assets Control - Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network -...more
On June 30, 2016, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) adopted a new anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering (AML) regulation (Final Rule) that builds on federal anti-money laundering requirements to address...more
Final regulations impose certification requirements on a financial institution’s Board of Directors or Senior Officer(s) relating to BSA/AML and OFAC compliance. The New York State Register today published the final...more