Archive

Why FinCEN Should Quickly Establish Regulations for the New AML Whistleblower Program

The nascent AML whistleblower program promises to boost enforcement in a difficult area, but FinCEN must swiftly develop regulations to ensure that it launches the program in the most robust way possible. Created by the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA), passed as part of the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the program went into immediate effect.  Motivated by retaliation protections and the...

COVID Frauds of the Week: DOJ Continues to Crack Down on PPP Fraudsters

As of this week, the Small Business Administration has disbursed over $700 billion in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to small businesses and non-profits. There are over $100 billion in remaining appropriations, with additional appropriations likely to follow thereafter. With numbers like these, the program has become a magnet for fraudsters seeking to profit from the pandemic. The DOJ has been actively going...

The New BSA Whistleblower Provision – From the Whistleblowers’ Perspective

Constantine Cannon whistleblower attorneys Mary Inman and Carolina Gonzalez were recently guest bloggers at Money Laundering Watch from Ballard Spahr.  Ballard Spahr attorneys Peter D. Hardy and Meredith S. Dante posed questions to Inman and Gonzalez about recent amendments to the Bank Secrecy Act that provide new options for whistleblowers reporting anti-money laundering violations.  With the kind permission of...

Trump Tower Intrigue

There may now be informants in Trump Tower.  Most reports of former President Trump’s objections to the National Defense Authorization Act cited his anger about the removal of symbols of the Confederacy and failure to repeal protection for social media companies.  But perhaps Mr. Trump should have paid more attention to a provision buried deep within the law that offers big rewards to whistleblowers who reveal...

Congress Has Passed Sweeping Anti–Money Laundering Legislation. Now It’s Up To Trump.

Associate Sarah “Poppy” Alexander was quoted in the BuzzFeed News article, ‘Congress Has Passed Sweeping Anti–Money Laundering Legislation. Now It’s Up To Trump’ published on December 11, 2020.

Following rising concerns about money laundering using the US financial system, Congress has passed new anti-money laundering legislation included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). First, it would...

US Bill to Offer Rewards for Whistleblowers Exposing Money Laundering

Partner Mary Inman was quoted in the OCCRP article, "US Bill to Offer Rewards for Whistleblowers Exposing Money Laundering", published on January 18, 2021.

Treasury’s new whistleblower reward program is inspired by the highly successful U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Whistleblower Reward Program created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act following the 2008 financial...

New US Whistleblower Reward Program Bolsters Anti-Money Laundering Fight

PartnerMary Inman was quoted in The Banker article, “New US whistleblower reward scheme bolsters AML fight”, published on January 14, 2021.

A new anti-money laundering (AML) whistleblower reward program was included in the US government defense spending bill recently passed by Congress. This program arose in the wake of the FinCEN Files leak, revealing how fraudsters successfully moved millions of dollars of...

Catch of the Week: Capital One pays $390M to resolve anti-money laundering (AML) violations.

Capital One, one of America’s ten largest banks, has agreed to pay $390 million to resolve allegations that it violated the Bank Secrecy Act and various other laws targeted at preventing money laundering. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) specifically said that Capital One willfully failed to guard against money laundering from 2008 to 2014, including a failure to file...

Top Ten Federal Financial Fraud Recoveries of 2020

The U.S. government has many enforcement options for financial and investment fraud, including those that provide for whistleblower rewards such as the SEC Whistleblower Program, the CFTC Whistleblower Program, and the IRS Whistleblower Program.  These programs, along with a new one under the Anti-Money-Laundering Act of 2020, are open for business and promise to pay millions of dollars in whistleblower awards in...

Congress Set to Pass NDAA with New Whistleblower Reward Provisions for Money Laundering

The FY21 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), likely to be passed by Congress this week, takes a critical step for anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement by creating a long overdue AML whistleblower program.  The NDAA’s new whistleblower program, administered by the Department of Treasury, would provide for mandatory awards to whistleblowers who brought forward information about violations of the Bank...