Tag Archives: Jeremy Dresner

Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions: Trends and Developments Emerging Under the Trump Administration

By David S. Cohen, Franca Harris Gutierrez, Sharon Cohen Levin, Ronald I. Meltzer, Jeremy Dresner, David M. Horn, Zachary Goldman, Michael Romais and Semira Nikou

I. Executive Summary

Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) and sanctions matters continue to be a core focus of regulators, law enforcement agencies, policymakers and Congress, and the story of the Obama and Trump Administrations on AML and sanctions is one of general continuity. Policymakers are turning to sanctions with increasing frequency and launching programs that are increasingly complex, and regulatory and enforcement agencies are devoting significant resources and attention to AML. Congress continues to debate BSA reform, while the Treasury Department and federal banking regulators have encouraged financial institutions to use technology to support BSA compliance, in the hope of making the process more effective and efficient.

As Congress, the executive branch and regulators all continue to focus a great deal of attention on AML and sanctions issues, the expectations of financial institutions to prevent financial crime are growing. Sanctions regulations are becoming more numerous, are reaching more deeply into securities markets and are branching into new areas of technology—such as cryptocurrency. Simultaneously, the AML regime’s push toward greater transparency in a number of contexts, from virtual currency regulation to beneficial ownership reform, means that financial institutions will shoulder greater responsibility for knowing their customers and their customers’ activities. Strict distinctions among different categories of financial crime are starting to collapse, as an increasing number of sanctions programs and FinCEN advisories focus on issues such as corruption and misappropriation of assets by politically exposed persons (PEPs). Continue reading

FinCEN Releases Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Customer Due Diligence and Beneficial Ownership Requirements

by David S. Cohen, Franca Harris Gutierrez, Sharon Cohen Levin, Jeremy Dresner and Michael Romais

Last week the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued much-anticipated Frequently Asked Questions (PDF: 387 KB) (FAQs) that provide additional guidance to financial institutions relating to the implementation of the new Customer Due Diligence Rule (CDD Rule), set to go into effect on May 11, 2018.[1] In general, the FAQs clarify certain issues that have caused implementation challenges for financial institutions. While FinCEN’s earlier guidance provided a general overview of the CDD Rule—including the purpose of the rule, the institutions to which it is applicable, and some relevant definitions—the new FAQs provide greater detail for financial institutions seeking to comply with the CDD Rule. The FAQs are meant to assist covered financial institutions in understanding the scope of their customer due diligence (CDD) obligations, as well as the rule’s impact on their broader anti-money laundering (AML) compliance. While the guidance is helpful in clarifying some of FinCEN’s expectations, the implementation challenge lies in applying the CDD Rule to a financial institution’s specific products and services.

As financial institutions work to meet the CDD Rule’s fast-approaching May 11 compliance deadline, they should pay special attention to the following key areas summarized below. Continue reading

FinCEN Launches New Information-Sharing Platform: The FinCEN Exchange

by David S. Cohen, Franca Harris Gutierrez, Sharon Cohen Levin, Jeremy Dresner, and Michael Romais

Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) recently announced the creation of the FinCEN Exchange, a new voluntary platform to facilitate information sharing between the government and industry on topics related to anti–money laundering (“AML”) and other financial crime issues. The program represents a significant step forward on two related priority areas for FinCEN: information sharing and public-private partnerships. Continue reading