News
Conference Roundup: In Hollywood, Talks Centered on Ukraine, De-Risking and Marijuana
printIf you attended the ACAMS Moneylaundering.com conference in Hollywood, FL this past week, you were certain to hear concerns by compliance officers about Russian sanctions and, when the regulators weren't standing nearby, complaints that anti-money laundering (AML) requirements aren't getting any easier. During a question-and-answer session on the conference's final day, former senior Bush administration adviser Juan Zarate said that the fundamental question of President Obama's response to the invasion of the Crimean peninsula is whether to treat Russia's government as a criminal regime. The United States could bar certain correspondent accounts held for Russian banks, said Zarate, an architect...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
Short of abiding by the Community Reinvestment Act and other prohibitions against discriminatory lending, banks still have the right to choose who they'll do business with. While that seems like an obvious statement, it gets drowned out in the debate about "de-risking."
The nation's financial intelligence unit will weigh whether additional guidance is needed on how banks should treat clients tangentially or directly associated with state-sanctioned marijuana dispensaries, according to sources.
What do foreign diplomats and porn stars have in common? If you were thinking the question is a set up for a joke, you haven't been reading the news lately. It turns out that both porn stars and foreign government officials face difficulties finding a U.S. financial institution that will bank them.
In announcing sanctions against Russian politicians and one bank Thursday, U.S. officials made clear that American financial institutions should prepare for more, and soon.
Diplomatic tension over Ukraine has raised doubts that the United States will attend an upcoming Moscow plenary of the world's largest anti-money laundering task force, say current and former officials.
Large banks need to clearly delineate which senior executives are responsible for Bank Secrecy Act compliance violations, the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency said in a speech Monday.
International banks are bracing for economic sanctions against Russian officials beyond those announced Monday by Western nations, according to compliance officers.