On July 13, 2022, the House of Representatives (the “House”) adopted an amendment to the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) offered by Maxine Waters (D. CA), inserting into the NDAA a version of the “Establishing New Authorities for Business Laundering and Enabling Risks to Security Act,” otherwise more commonly known as the ENABLERS Act. 
BSA/AML
FinCEN and federal functional regulators issue coded warnings against de-risking
On July 6, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (collectively, “the Agencies”) issued a Joint Statement to “remind” banks that they, of course, should apply a risk-based…
NYDFS stresses use of blockchain analytics for AML compliance by virtual currency businesses
On April 28, 2022 the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) issued its Guidance on Use of Blockchain Analytics, a document directed to all virtual currency business entities that either have a NYDFS Bitlicense or are chartered as a limited purpose trust company under the New York Banking Law. The Guidance emphasizes “the…
OCC targets BSA/AML compliance by Anchorage Digital Bank – only 15 months after granting bank charter to the crypto custodian
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency entered into a Consent Order with Anchorage Digital Bank (“Anchorage”), which requires Anchorage to create a compliance committee and take steps to remediate alleged shortcomings with respect to the implementation and effectiveness of Anchorage’s Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (“BSA/AML”) program. Notably, Anchorage will pay no civil penalty.
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This week’s podcast: A look at key Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/anti-money laundering (AML) developments in 2021 and expectations for 2022
The topics discussed include the historic changes made by the AML Act at the beginning of 2021, including the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA); the proposed FinCEN rules to implement the CTA’s beneficial ownership reporting requirements; the CTA’s implications for financial institutions’ customer due diligence compliance obligations; FinCEN’s list of priorities for AML and countering the…
FinCEN issues assessment on possible “no-action” letters for industry
As required by the Anti-Money Laundering Act (“AML Act”), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued on June 30, 2021 its 14-page assessment regarding the feasibility of FinCEN issuing so-called “no-action” letters to financial institutions (the “Assessment”). FinCEN issued this Assessment on the same day that it issued the first government-wide list of national priorities…
FinCEN identifies AML/CFT “priorities” for financial institutions
As required by the Anti-Money Laundering Act (“AML Act”), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued on June 30, 2021 the first government-wide list of priorities for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (“AML/CFT”) (the “Priorities”). The Priorities purport to identify and describe the most significant AML/CFT threats facing the United…
To fight terrorism, FinCEN and Federal Reserve Board request comment on proposed major expansion of recordkeeping and travel rules for international transfers
Proposed change would expand BSA definition of “money” to include virtual currency. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) and the Federal Reserve Board (“Board”) have requested comment on an important proposed new rule that would amend the “Recordkeeping Rule” and “Travel Rule” under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and expand them significantly. The proposed…
This week’s podcast: Federal banking regulators and FinCEN issue new statements on Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering enforcement: a look at highlights
Topics discussed include how the banking regulators and FinCEN will approach the decision whether to take enforcement action against a financial institution (including what BSA/AML program failures typically would (or would not) result in cease and desist orders), how the regulators’ statement differs from 2007 guidance, how the enforcement statements relate to recent updates to…
Federal banking agencies issue joint statement on enforcement of BSA/AML requirements; FinCEN follows with its own statement
Regulators Provide Greater Transparency into BSA/AML Enforcement Process. On August 13, 2020, the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “Agency” or collectively the “Agencies”) issued a joint statement updating and clarifying their 2007 guidance regarding how they evaluate enforcement actions…