August 10, 2020
Greenwich, Connecticut-based brokerage firm Interactive Brokers LLC will pay fines and disgorgement totaling $23.7 million to the SEC and CFTC, as well as a $15 million penalty to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), to resolve allegations related to the firm’s anti-money laundering policies. The SEC penalty of $11.5 million resolves charges that over the course of one year the brokerage failed to file more than 150 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) for U.S. microcap securities trades it executed on behalf of its customers. The SEC order finds that defendant failed to recognize red flags concerning transactions, failed to properly investigate suspicious activity, and failed to file SARs even when suspicious transactions were flagged by compliance personnel. The $11.5 CFTC penalty, together with over $700,000 in restitution, resolves charges including that the firm, which is a registered futures commission merchant, failed to detect and report suspicious transactions, including in its handling of the accounts of Haena Park. SEC; CFTC
Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, Money Laundering, Regulatory Violations,