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Republican lawmakers accused banks and federal regulators Wednesday of using the Bank Secrecy Act as a fig leaf to systematically deny services to fossil fuel companies, cryptocurrency platforms, firearms dealers and other legal businesses they view as reputationally burdensome. Those allegations, aired during a hearing of the Senate Banking Committee, sparked a contentious debate with Democratic lawmakers, some of whom argued that the high risk of illicit finance certain types of businesses inherently present justifies the caution banks have shown in opening or maintaining accounts for them. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) noted North Korea's use of cryptocurrency for illicit purposes...