InfoBytes Blog
FINRA fines broker-dealer for AML program deficiencies
On December 26, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC), fining a broker-dealer $10 million for failing to establish and enforce an anti-money laundering (AML) program that complies with Bank Secrecy Act and implementing regulation requirements. According to FINRA, alleged failures in the firm’s automated AML surveillance system allowed transactions from countries with “high money laundering risk” to flow through the financial system from January 2011 through at least April 2016. Furthermore, the firm allegedly failed to (i) devote sufficient resources to reviewing suspicious transactions; (ii) adequately monitor customers’ penny stock trades and deposits for suspicious activities; and (iii) adequately monitor and conduct risk-based reviews of correspondent accounts of certain foreign financial institutions.
The firm neither admitted nor denied the findings set forth in the AWC agreement, but agreed to address identified deficiencies in its programs. FINRA further noted that the firm “has taken extraordinary steps and devoted substantial resources since 2013 to expand and enhance its AML policies and procedures.”