Suspicious activity reports related to wildlife trafficking—which includes the illicit trade of protected animals, animal parts and derivatives thereof in violation of international or domestic law, and associated money laundering activity—“trended significantly up” between 2018 and 2020, and are expected to increase even more in 2021, FinCEN said in a new threat analysis released today.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network today issued an advisory alerting banks to economic impact payment fraud. The advisory describes EIP fraud, associated red flags and how to report suspicious activity.
The American Bankers Association wrote to the federal banking agencies today urging them to pursue a single interagency rulemaking instead of finalizing separate regulations regarding Suspicious Activity Report exemptions.
The federal banking agencies on Tuesday issued a set of frequently asked questions providing clarity about suspicious activity reporting and other anti-money laundering issues.
. . . and other questions in ABA’s Regulatory Policy and Compliance Inbox.
To help banks develop more efficient and effective Bank Secrecy Act compliance programs, the FDIC today issued a proposal that would allow the agency to issue exemptions from Suspicious Activity Report requirements, in conjunction with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
When asked about threats specifically targeting banks, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray urged banks to be wary of “cyber criminals targeting the vulnerabilities in third-party services” as a way in to financial institution data.
Banks filed more than 64,000 Suspicious Activity Reports referencing COVID-19 and related stimulus programs—about 71% of all coronavirus-related SAR filings, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Director Ken Blanco said today.
While the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s effort to calculate and evaluate the burden of filing Suspicious Activity Reports is a good first step, FinCEN needs to do more to fully grasp the costs and benefits of SAR filing, ABA said in a comment letter today.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network today issued an advisory alerting financial institutions to imposter scams and money mule schemes connected to the coronavirus pandemic.