AML - Volkov Law

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FinCEN Issues Proposed Rule to Strengthen and Modernize Financial Institutions’ AML/CFT Programs

By: Sam Finkelstein and Daniela Melendez, associates at the Volkov Law Group . Sam can be reached at sfinkelstein@volkovlaw.com and Daniela can be reached at dmelendez@volkovlaw.com. On June 28, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network released a notice of proposed rulemaking. The purpose of the proposed rule

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OFAC Settlement with DaVinci Payments Is Wake-Up Call for Prepaid Access Industry

Rewards programs have become ubiquitous in recent years. These so-called loyalty management programs exist to nudge customers or employees in a particular direction; a company’s workers might be inclined to exercise more regularly, for example, if they know there is a $5 gift card waiting for them after

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Danske Bank Pleads Guilty and Pays $2 Billion to Resolve Massive Fraud Case

Danske Bank, the largest bank in Denmark, agreed to plead guilty to fraud and paid $2 billion to settle long-standing anti-money laundering and fraud violations stemming from its banking operations in Estonia. Danske Bank plead guilty to one count of bank fraud conspiracy. The notorious Danske Bank case

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Kraken Coughs Up $362,158 to OFAC to Settle Iran Sanctions Violations

Cryptocurrency companies are in trouble. Regulators are bearing down on crypto companies with the Eye of Sauron – pulling the crypto companies into their jurisdiction, prosecuting fraud cases, and aggressively prosecuting companies for sanctions and anti-money laundering violations. One by one you can bet that crypto companies will be in

Podcasts

Episode 252 -- Matt Stankiewicz on the Bittrex OFAC and FinCEN Enforcement Action: Cryptocurrency and AML and Sanctions Compliance

The Episode is available HERE. Matt Stankiewicz, a Partner at Volkov Law, is a leading industry expert on cryptocurrency. Bittrex, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, suffered twin enforcement actions for AML and Sanctions Compliance deficiencies. Matt takes a deep dive on the enforcement actions and outlines practical compliance steps that every

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The United States Strategy on Countering Corruption: Digging into the Anti-Corruption Initiatives (Part III of III)

The new United States Strategy on Countering Corruption includes several important statements of interest to legal and compliance professionals. Under the third of the five pillars, Holding Corrupt Actors Accountable, the U.S. Government specifically calls out the importance of private sector commitment to anti-corruption compliance programs “to improve

Podcasts

Episode 218 -- The Biden Administration's New Strategy on Countering Corruption

The Biden Administration announced a new, comprehensive anti-corruption initiative, the United States Strategy on Countering Corruption. The new anti-corruption initiative is the follow on to the earlier announcement elevating the global anti-corruption battle to a national security concern. After that announcement, the Biden Administration conducted a 200-