As part of its continuing but slow expansion of the types of financial institutions that are subject to anti-money laundering (AML) obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act and USA PATRIOT Act, FinCEN proposed on August 25, 2015, to require certain investment advisers to establish and maintain AML programs and file suspicious activity reports (the Proposed Rules).  The Proposed Rules go further than FinCEN’s 2002 and 2003 proposals for investment advisors, which generally were limited to proposing AML program requirements only, without additional suspicious activity reporting and certain other record keeping requirements.

In explaining its rationale for the Proposed Rules,

In two recent posts on BryanCavePayments.com, Bryan Cave attorneys have addressed new developments related to the CFPB’s efforts to regulate payday lenders through their banking relationships as well as statements from New York’s top banking regulators suggesting that bank executives should be held personally liable for anti-money laundering violations.

On April 1st (but unfortunately not part of any April Fools joke), John Reveal published a post on the CFPB’s efforts against payday lenders.

In May 2014, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FDIC were criticized by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Bryan Cave is hosting the CPE and general membership meeting for the Atlanta Chapter of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists on Thursday, April 25 2013, from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. The event’s presentation is “Digital Currencies, Third Party Payment Processing, Oh My!” featuring Anthony Gallippi, co-founder and CEO of BitPay.

All AML/CTF professionals in the region are welcome to attend.

June 7, 2012 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Fourteenth Floor 1201 W. Peachtree Street, NW Atlanta, GA 30309

Parking is available at 14th Street and West Peachtree

The Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation recently released five cease and desist orders from January 2013 against six entities charging each with unlicensed activities under the state’s Transmitters of Money Act. These six entities offer a variety of services in Illinois, including domestic and international money transfer, bill payment services and prepaid cards.

One of these companies, Square, Inc. is described in its order as providing “mobile card reading devices for the express purpose of transmitting money,” providing iPhone and Android apps to Illinois consumers “for the express purpose of transmitting money” through those

The FDIC recently released a consent order with Meridian Bank (Paoli, Penn.) which dealt largely with the bank’s oversight and management of its electronic payment program and third-party payment processors (TPPPs), as well as BSA/AML issues. Although this order is tailored by the FDIC to address specific issues found at the bank and focuses on merchant transaction processing, a review of the requirements outlined in the order may be useful for banks and other financial services companies that deal with third-party providers or high-risk customers.

The order includes a lengthy and detailed list of the steps the bank must take

Hot on the heels of FinCEN’s advisory on risks associated with third-party payment processors (see Government Update, issue 18), FinCEN and the FDIC assessed concurrent $15 million civil money penalties against First Bank of Delaware for violations of BSA/AML laws and regulations. Among other things, FinCEN and the FDIC found that the bank “failed to adequately oversee third-party payment processor relationships and related products and services commensurate with associated risks.”

The bank also settled related civil claims with the DOJ, which alleged it “established direct relationships with several fraudulent merchants and third-party payment processors working in cahoots with

Bryan Cave is hosting the quarterly CPE and general membership meeting for the Atlanta Chapter of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists on Thursday, June 7, 2012, from 2:00pm to 4:00pm, with registration starting at 1:30pm. The event’s presentation is “Look Backs: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” featuring Craig Stone and Donna DeMartino with Alvarez & Marsal.

All AML/CTF professionals in the region are welcome to attend.

June 7, 2012 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Fourteenth Floor 1201 W. Peachtree Street, NW Atlanta, GA 30309

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Bryan Cave is hosting the quarterly CPE and general membership meeting for the Atlanta Chapter of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists on Thursday, March 15, 2012, from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. The event’s presentation is “Best Practices for BSA/AML Software Testing,” featuring Allan Cuttle, Director of Risk Management for ICS Risk Advisors.

All AML/CTF professionals in the region are welcome to attend.

March 15, 2012 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Fourteenth Floor 1201 W. Peachtree Street, NW Atlanta, GA 30309

Parking is available at 14th Street

Ten years ago, Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/anti-money laundering (AML) compliance was one of the biggest areas of concern for banks and their regulators.  Following September 11 and the heightened regulatory focus on BSA matters, most banks found it necessary to expend significant resources to enhance or even rebuild their BSA/AML programs.

In the past few years, bank regulators have had to focus on other matters, including residential and commercial loan concentrations, adequate capitalization, and even bank failures.  Banks also wisely have focused on these matters during these difficult economic times.

It is important, however, that these other matters do not

Bryan Cave is hosting the quarterly CPE and general membership meeting for the Atlanta Chapter of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists on Thursday, November 3, 2011, from 10:00am to 12:00pm.  We are also very pleased to announce that our own Judie Rinearson will be the guest speaker.

All AML/CTF professionals in the region are welcome to attend.

November 3, 2011 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Fourteenth Floor 1201 W. Peachtree Street, NW Atlanta, GA 30309

Free for Chapter Members; $5 for Non-Chapter Members

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