The weapons of modern war include tanks, missiles, and jet fighters launched from aircraft carriers far out at sea. Governments can draw on national treasuries to fund the monumental costs of that kind of war in the 21st Century. But where did Hamas, a terrorist organization based in an impoverished refugee camp with few financial… Read More >>
SEC to Broker-Dealers: Tighten Up AML Controls
Do the SEC and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) need to tighten up anti-money-laundering (AML) and countering-the-financing-of-terrorism (CFT) requirements? You don’t need to know the lyrics to “Tighten Up,” by Houston’s Archie Bell & the Drells, to puzzle out the answer. It does. The SEC’s Division of Examinations (a.k.a. EXAMS) oversees broker-dealers and… Read More >>
Deutsche Bank Fined $186M for Money Laundering Woes
Deutsche Bank AG, its New York branch, and other U.S. affiliates have been fined $186 million by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System because the German banking giant moved too slowly to resolve allegedly inadequate sanctions compliance and anti-money laundering (AML) controls, officials say. The Fed’s fine, consent order, and written agreement… Read More >>
Russia’s FATF Membership Is Suspended
The Russian Federation has had its membership in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) suspended because of its invasion of Ukraine — launched a year ago — and Janet L. Yellen, secretary of the U.S. Treasury is commending the move. In response, Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the United States, said the move was… Read More >>
Danske Bank Pays $2B to Settle Fraud Charges
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reports that it has filed charges of fraud against Danske Bank, a multinational financial services corporation with headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, “for misleading investors about its anti-money laundering (AML) compliance program in its Estonian branch and failing to disclose the risks posed by the program’s significant deficiencies.” Danske Bank… Read More >>
Wells Fargo Broker-Dealer Settles AML Charges
Wells Fargo Advisors, the St. Louis, Missouri-based broker-dealer unit of the well-known stagecoach banking brand, will pay seven million dollars to settle SEC charges that it failed to “file at least 34 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) in a timely manner between April 2017 and October 2021.” Those suspicious activity reports that were not filed included… Read More >>
Julius Baer Laundered Money to Support Bribery Scheme
As expected, private Swiss firm Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. (BJB) is resolving a criminal case with the U.S. Justice Department by paying a fine and penalties that are more than double what the bank admits to laundering. The full amount BJB will pay is $79.7 million. The bank has also admitted its role… Read More >>
ABN AMRO Pays $575M to Settle AML Case
ABN AMRO Bank NV is paying approximately $575 million, which includes a fine and disgorgement, to the Netherlands government to resolve charges that the Dutch banking giant violated anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorism financing laws. The bank has accepted an offer from the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service (NPPS) in a case that encompasses violations… Read More >>
Score Priority Settles AML Case with FINRA
Broker-dealer Score Priority has settled with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which charged the New York City-based firm with anti-money laundering (AML) violations. According to FINRA, the firm, which changed its name from Just2Trade, Inc. in January 2020, “failed to develop and implement an anti-money laundering (AML) program reasonably designed to achieve and monitor the… Read More >>
Firms Must Bolster AML Systems: FATF President
The G20 countries have recommitted to the battle against financial crime. One reason: The president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the self-described “global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog,” has prompted them to do more. In a plain-spoken speech at the recent Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting of the G20 countries,… Read More >>
