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The FinCEN Files Prove We Need an Anti-Money-Laundering Whistleblower Program

Posted 09/25/20

The FinCEN Files. It sounds ominous, and recalls the Panama Papers, the Paradise Papers, and others. Like those earlier stories, the FinCEN Files expose powerful players, including a large number of highly regulated banking giants.

December 2020 Update: New NDAA Monday Laundering Whistleblower Reward Provisions

The FinCEN Files, published by the International Consortium of Investigation Journalists and BuzzFeed News, document over 200,000 suspicious financial transactions via documents leaked...

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, International Whistleblowers, Money Laundering,

Catch of the Week: DOJ Charges North Korean and Malaysian Nationals for Bank Fraud, Money Laundering and Sanctions Violations

Posted 09/11/20

The Department of Justice announced a criminal complaint charging Ri Jong Chol, Ri Yu Gyong, North Korean nationals, and Gan Chee Lim, a Malaysia national, for conspiracy to violate North Korean Sanctions Regulations, bank fraud, and conspiracy to launder funds. The DOJ said defendants allegedly established and utilized front companies that transmitted U.S. dollar wires through the United States to purchase...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Foreign Exchange, Money Laundering, Regulatory Violations,

Catch of the Week: Interactive Brokers Pays $38 Million for Failures in Money-Laundering and Supervision

Posted 08/14/20

Brokerage firm Interactive Brokers LLC will pay $38 million in penalties to settle charges from multiple U.S. market regulators regarding its anti-money laundering practices, including alleged failures to file suspicious activity reports (SARs). The discount broker has paid an $11.5 million penalty to settle charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the deficiencies in its internal controls that...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Money Laundering, Regulatory Violations, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program,

COVID Frauds of the Week: Fraud on the PPP

Posted 06/26/20

hundared dollar bill zoomed in to president's face

This week’s COVID-19 frauds centered on (temporarily) successful attempts to receive Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds for nonexistent companies and fabricated or inflated employee headcounts. First up is the owner of a wedding planning company that sought personal enrichment via more than $3 million in forgivable PPP loans for his 120 nonexistent employees. Fahad Shah, 44, of Murphy, Texas, was arrested...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, COVID-19, FCA Federal, Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, Government Loan Programs, Importance of Whistleblowers, Legislation and Regulation News,

The Paycheck Protection Program is a Big Solution to a Big Problem, but it Needs Big Oversight

Posted 04/10/20

It’s no secret that our local bodegas, corner nail salons, and go-to restaurants are in trouble. The unprecedented nationwide stay-home initiatives may be flattening the curve, but they’re also threatening to bankrupt millions of small businesses and their employees. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act aims to address this problem with numerous programs, including the Paycheck Protection...

Tagged in: COVID-19, FCA Federal, Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Legislation and Regulation News, Whistleblower Rewards,

Catch of the Week: Wells Fargo Pays $3 Billion, and another $35 Million, in Latest in Long Line of Government Enforcement Actions against the Bank

Posted 02/28/20

On February 21, 2020 the Department of Justice announced that Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay $3 billion to resolve civil and criminal allegations that Wells Fargo’s “cross-selling” practices led to millions of accounts being opened for customers under false pretenses and without consent. These practices allegedly led to Wells Fargo collecting millions of dollars in fees. Less than one week later, two of...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, FIRREA, Importance of Whistleblowers,

Top Ten Federal Financial Fraud Recoveries of 2019

Posted 01/17/20

The U.S. government has a range on 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, each of which are very much open for business and continuing to pay millions of dollars in whistleblower awards in exchange for their assistance in exposing...

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, FIRREA, Housing and Mortgage Fraud, Top 10,

Legislation Watch: Proposed Amendments to Bank Secrecy Act Include Whistleblower Rewards

Posted 10/23/19

Currently in the 116th Congress, both the House and Senate are considering bills that would amend existing law to provide a whistleblower reporting system and meaningful financial rewards to whistleblowers who come forward to the federal government to report unlawful money laundering and other violations of specified banking laws. We have previously written on the important benefits that would be available with...

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Legislation and Regulation News, Money Laundering,

Constantine Cannon Attorneys Eric Havian and Michael Ronickher Published on Need for Whistleblowers in Anti-Money Laundering Enforcement

Posted 04/26/19

currency hanging on laundry line with clothespins

With a whistleblower program for anti-money laundering enforcement currently under discussion in the House of Representatives Financial Services subcommittee, Constantine Cannon attorneys Eric Havian and Michael Ronickher were published in Banking Exchange on April 22 on the benefits such a program could bring. Highlighting the example of the recent Standard Chartered settlement, in which the London-based bank agreed...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, Legislation and Regulation News, Money Laundering,

Top Ten Federal Financial Fraud Recoveries of 2018

Posted 01/25/19

Wooden gavel and handcuffs on top of U.S. currency

While 2018 has been a banner year for FCPA, Tax, and SEC & CFTC recoveries, in the bottomless pit of financial frauds that hurt taxpayers, the government, consumers, investors, and the American economy, 2018 brought us additional stunning recoveries for violations related to residential-mortgage backed securities, international economic sanctions, consumer protection, anti-money-laundering, EB-5 investment fraud, and...

Tagged in: Accounting Fraud, Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, FIRREA, Foreign Exchange, Housing and Mortgage Fraud, Market Manipulation and Trading Violations, Misrepresentations, Money Laundering, Securities Fraud, Top 10, Visa Fraud,

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The FinCEN Files Prove We Need an Anti-Money-Laundering Whistleblower Program

Catch of the Week: DOJ Charges North Korean and Malaysian Nationals for Bank Fraud, Money Laundering and Sanctions Violations

Catch of the Week: Interactive Brokers Pays $38 Million for Failures in Money-Laundering and Supervision

COVID Frauds of the Week: Fraud on the PPP

The Paycheck Protection Program is a Big Solution to a Big Problem, but it Needs Big Oversight

Catch of the Week: Wells Fargo Pays $3 Billion, and another $35 Million, in Latest in Long Line of Government Enforcement Actions against the Bank

Top Ten Federal Financial Fraud Recoveries of 2019

Legislation Watch: Proposed Amendments to Bank Secrecy Act Include Whistleblower Rewards

Constantine Cannon Attorneys Eric Havian and Michael Ronickher Published on Need for Whistleblowers in Anti-Money Laundering Enforcement

Top Ten Federal Financial Fraud Recoveries of 2018

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