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On August 1, 2024, the Department of Justice launched its Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program (the “Pilot Program”). Under this 3-year initiative managed by DOJ’s Criminal Division, a whistleblower may be eligible for an award of up to $50 million if she provides DOJ with information about corporate misconduct in certain industries.  As described in greater detail in the program guidance and below, the information must relate to at least one of four areas, including certain crimes relating to financial institutions, foreign corruption by companies, domestic corruption by companies and federal health care offenses involving private or other non-public health care benefit programs.

The Pilot Program has particular implications for financial institutions (“FIs”) and their anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (“AML/CFT”) compliance program personnel. Real-world application of the Pilot Program presumably will reveal the practical interplay (and possible tensions) between the Pilot Program and the relatively new whistleblower provisions under Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) created by the Anti-Money Laundering Act (“AML Act”), on which we have blogged frequently (see here, here, here, here, here and here).

Continue Reading  DOJ Unveils Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program – With Implications for Financial Institutions and AML/CFT Compliance Personnel

Advisory is Accompanied by Related OFAC and DOJ Actions

On June 20, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a supplemental advisory to alert U.S. financial institutions about emerging trends in the illicit fentanyl supply chain. The supplemental advisory emphasized the increasing involvement of Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations (“TCOs”) in the procurement of fentanyl precursor chemicals and manufacturing equipment from suppliers in the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”).

The detailed supplemental advisory builds upon FinCEN’s 2019 advisory (see our blog post here) by introducing new typologies and red flags for financial institutions to try to identify and report suspicious transactions.  As we discuss, the supplemental advisory was accompanied by related actions by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) as part of an apparently coordinated effort by the federal government to combat this pernicious illicit industry.

Continue Reading  FinCEN Issues Supplemental Advisory on Fentanyl Distribution and Growing Role of Transnational Criminal Organizations

Case Involves “Right to Control” Theory on Illicit Access to Bank Accounts Through Evasion of Banks’ AML Controls.  These Cases Will Continue.

In United States v. An, et al., 22-cr-640 (KAM) (E.D.N.Y. May 7, 2024), the Eastern District of New York recently addressed and rejected an argument by defendants that Ciminelli v. United States required dismissal of money laundering charges against them because the government had failed to allege that they had deprived or attempted to deprive banks of “property”. In attempting to harmonize the government’s approach with Ciminelli, the court defined a property interest by the banks in their customers’ accounts that will likely require further refinement by the Second Circuit, and perhaps draw the attention of the Supreme Court.

We previously blogged on the Supreme Court’s decision in Ciminelli, in which Justice Thomas, writing for a unanimous Court, rejected the Second Circuit’s longstanding “right to control” theory of fraud as a basis of liability under the federal wire fraud statute. In that post, we articulated the possible ramifications for the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and its prosecution of bank fraud cases, because the opinion did not limit itself to wire fraud but instead made frequent and more general reference to “the federal fraud statutes”.  We suggested that the DOJ may have to reconsider its tactic of charging bank fraud, rather than a violation of the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), based upon a defendant’s alleged acts of concealment which impacted victim banks’ ability to comply with the BSA.

The An opinion is complicated, and we summarize here only.  Although the DOJ won the motion at issue, which turned on the face of the indictment, related factual issues remain for trial.  Further, the basic legal issue may produce different outcomes in different courts.

Continue Reading  EDNY Upholds Money Laundering Charge Against Defense Attack Under Ciminelli

Enforcement Trends, Gaming, Crypto — and More

I am very pleased to co-chair again the Practicing Law Institute’s 2024 Anti-Money Laundering Conference on May 23, 2024, starting at 9 a.m. in New York City (the event also will be virtual). 

I am also really fortunate to be working with my fabulous co-chair Elizabeth (Liz) Boison…

Last week, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment against global cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin and two of its founders, Chun Gan and Ke Tang, for allegedly conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and conspiring to violate the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) by willfully failing to maintain an adequate anti-money laundering (“AML”) program.  KuCoin also was charged with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and a substantive violation of the BSA. Further, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) filed a complaint on the same day in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging that KuCoin violated the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”) and related regulations.

The indictment alleges that KuCoin failed to design and implement procedures to prevent it from being used for money laundering and terrorist financing, failed to maintain reasonable procedures for verifying the identity of customers, and failed to file any Suspicious Activity Reports.  When distilled, the indictment alleges that KuCoin had no real BSA/AML compliance program at all, because it pretended to not have any U.S. customers.  This allegation is familiar theme in similar U.S. enforcement actions, including those against Binance.

The CFTC civil complaint specifically alleges that KuCoin illegally dealt in off-exchange commodity futures transactions; solicited and accepted orders for commodity futures and swaps, and leveraged, margined, or financed retail commodity transactions without registering with the CFTC as a Futures Commission Merchant (“FCM”); failed to diligently supervise its FCM activities; operated a facility for the trading or processing of swaps without registering with the CFTC as a swap execution facility or designated contract market; and failed to implement an effective customer identification program.

Continue Reading  KuCoin and Founders Charged with Operating Illegally as Money Transmitter and Futures Commission Merchant

We previously have blogged on actions taken by the DOJ’s “Task Force KleptoCapture,” an interagency law enforcement task force with a mandate to target sanctioned Russian and pro-Russian oligarchs. While explicitly launched in May 2022 as a direct response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the task force’s mission is consistent with the U.S. government’s characterization of Russia as a kleptocratic regime (see our post here) and the Biden Administration’s promotion of anti-corruption as a “core United States national security interest” (see our posts here and here).

This week, DOJ announced (via both a press release and a filmed podium announcement by Attorney General Merrick Garland) a series of enforcement actions in five separate federal cases in districts up and down the East Coast, dealing with money laundering and evasion of sanctions, in several cases centered on quintessentially oligarchic luxury goods: high-end real estate and superyachts.  The enforcement actions also emphasize the continuing themes in these cases of the use of shell companies, proxies and lawyers to allegedly evade sanctions.

Continue Reading  The American Front in Russia’s War on Ukraine: DOJ’s “Task Force KleptoCapture” Continues Focus on Operations of Sanctioned Oligarchs

Third of Three Posts in a Related Series on Recent AML and Money Laundering Prosecutions

As we have blogged, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has been busy lately in regards to money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) / Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) prosecutions.

In our first blog post in this three-part series, we discussed a significant prosecution of an individual, and two related corporate non-prosecution agreements involving the gaming industry.  In our second blog post, we discussed two unusual prosecutions involving, respectively, an executive of a bank and an alleged AML specialist working with small financial institutions.

In our final post of this series, we will discuss the prosecution and sentencing of a lawyer who allegedly became part of the massive fraud and money laundering scheme perpetrated by his cryptocurrency client.  Specifically, on January 25, lawyer Mark Scott (“Scott”) was sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly laundering approximately $400 million in connection with a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme known as “OneCoin.”  Scott was a former partner at the international law firm of Locke Lord.  Although the alleged facts and circumstances of this case are both extreme and lurid, it nonetheless reminds lawyers of the need to be careful about getting too involved in the businesses of their clients, particularly in the presence of multiple red flags.

Continue Reading  Former Big Law Lawyer Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Allegedly Laundering $400 Million in Crypto Client Funds

Second of Three Posts in a Related Series on Recent AML and Money Laundering Prosecutions

The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has been very active in the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) / Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) space, as reflected by a recent series of individual prosecutions and corporate non-prosecution agreements (“NPAs”).  

In the first blog post in this series, we discussed a significant prosecution of an individual, and two related corporate NPAs, involving the gaming industry.  In our final post, we will discuss the prosecution and sentencing of a lawyer who allegedly became part of the fraud and money laundering scheme perpetrated by his crypto client.

In this second post, we will discuss two unusual prosecutions involving, respectively, an individual executive of a bank and an alleged AML specialist working with small financial institutions.  

As we previously noted, all of these cases, although all unique, are also united in certain ways – particularly in regards to the need for institutions and professionals to perform sufficient due diligence regarding the conduct and source of funds of high-risk clients and customers.

Continue Reading  Criminal Case Round-Up: Recent Prosecutions Involving Financial Institution Officers

First of Three Posts in a Related Series on Recent AML and Money Laundering Prosecutions

The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has been very active in the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) / Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) space, as reflected by a recent series of individual prosecutions and corporate non-prosecution agreements (“NPAs”). 

In this first blog post, we will discuss a significant prosecution of an individual, and two related corporate NPAs, involving the gaming industry. 

In the next related post, we will discuss two unusual prosecutions involving, respectively, an individual executive of a bank and an alleged AML specialist working with small financial institutions.  

In our final post, we will discuss the prosecution and sentencing of a lawyer who allegedly became part of the fraud and money laundering scheme perpetrated by his crypto client.

Although these cases are all unique and interesting in their own way, they are also all united in certain ways – particularly in regards to the need for institutions to perform sufficient due diligence regarding the conduct and source of funds of high- or higher-risk customers, and the related need for institutions to ensure that their own employees are not undermining the institutions’ AML compliance programs.

Continue Reading  Criminal Case Round-Up: Recent Prosecutions Involving Casinos

Farewell to 2023, and welcome 2024.  As we do every year, let’s look back.

We highlight 10 of our most-read blog posts from 2023, which address many of the key issues we’ve examined during the past year: criminal money laundering enforcement; compliance risks with third-party fintech relationships; the scope of authority of bank regulators; sanctions…