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New Sentencing Guidelines Signal Consequences for Banking Marijuana Firms
By Valentina Pasquali
printThe U.S. Justice Department's plan to pursue harsher sentences against drug traffickers and other narcotics-related activity should prompt financial institutions to reassess the risks posed by providing services to state-authorized cannabis businesses, say sources. In guidelines published Friday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions directs federal prosecutors to pursue criminal charges against the "most serious, readily provable" offenses, or those that carry the heftiest standard penalties, such as mandatory minimum sentences. The memo does not elaborate on how federal prosecutors should tackle marijuana-linked activity in the 29 states and the District of Columbia where cannabis has been legalized for medical or recreational...
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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.
Looking at two guidance pieces from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) you get a quick lesson in how difficult it can be to regulate issues that society -let alone state and federal government- hasn't reached a consensus on.
Leaders of the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control sharply criticized the head of the nation's financial intelligence unit for issuing guidance on how banks can treat marijuana dispensaries.
As federal and state officials continue down the road toward relaxing cannabis restrictions, banks have questions beyond simply whether they can accept marijuana dispensaries as clients. They wonder whether less direct financial ties to the businesses could be cause for concern too.
A number of marijuana dispensaries are attempting to convert their profits into securities and other investments to hedge against the threat of having their bank accounts frozen and subjected to federal asset forfeiture proceedings, say sources.
Tasked to consider whether it can offer regulatory relief to the medical marijuana industry, the U.S. Treasury Department may have few options to persuade reluctant financial institutions to bank state-approved dispensaries.
Banks that maintain accounts for state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries will not be the targets of federal prosecutions, the head of the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.
More than 100 medical marijuana clinics have seen their accounts closed in the last 18 months by at least three U.S. banks concerned about regulatory repercussions, say cannabis advocacy groups.