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THE LATEST ON GOVERNMENT INQUIRIES AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

Government Investigations and White Collar Litigation Group

Jeffrey M. Hanna

Photo of Jeffrey M. Hanna Jeff’s practice includes complex litigation at the trial and appellate level, focusing on matters arising from government, regulatory, and criminal and corporate internal investigations.

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Highlights from the 2024 SIFMA Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Conference on the Corporate Transparency Act

By Jeffrey M. Hanna and Lauren Mann on Anti-Money Laundering
On May 6, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) Director Andrea Gacki, Acting Chief of the Enforcement Division Steve Hsieh, Acting Associate Director of the Policy Division James Martinelli, and other key industry leaders, convened at SIFMA’s Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes conference in New York to discuss, among other things, FinCEN’s priorities for… Continue Reading

Federal District Court Declares Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) Unconstitutional

By Jeffrey M. Hanna, Lauren Mann, Ashley Bouchez and Government Investigations Group on Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance
On March 1, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama declared the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) unconstitutional.  Enacted as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, the CTA requires certain legal entities to report beneficial ownership information (“BOI”) to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”). … Continue Reading

FinCEN Issues Access Rule Compliance Guide for Beneficial Ownership Information

By Jeffrey M. Hanna, Lauren Mann and Government Investigations Group on Compliance
Rule Regarding Access to Beneficial Ownership Information Takes Effect On February 21, 2024, FinCEN published a Small Entity Compliance Guide to aid in compliance with the Corporate Transparency Act’s (“CTA”) Beneficial Ownership Information (“BOI”) Access and Safeguards Rule (“Access Rule”).  The Compliance Guide is called the Small Entity Compliance Guide only because federal law requires… Continue Reading

New York LLC Transparency Act Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements to Take Effect

By Jeffrey M. Hanna, Lauren Mann, McGuireWoods LLP and Government Investigations Group on Compliance
On December 23, 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the New York LLC Transparency Act (“NYLTA”), which requires LLCs to disclose beneficial ownership information (“BOI”) to the New York Department of State.  Effective December 21, 2024, the NYLTA will impose separate BOI reporting requirements on New York LLCs, which are also subject to the… Continue Reading

Corporate Transparency Act: Three Updates for January 2024

By Jeffrey M. Hanna, Lauren Mann, McGuireWoods LLP and Government Investigations Group on Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance
RELATED UPDATE: Deputy Attorney General Monaco Announces New DOJ Whistleblower Program (March 8, 2024) As of January 1, 2024, the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) has gone into effect. Companies that may be Reporting Companies of Beneficial Ownership Information (“BOI”) should be aware of three key aspects of the CTA.… Continue Reading

FinCEN Extends Time to File Beneficial Ownership Information for Entities Created After January 1, 2024

By Jeffrey M. Hanna, Lauren Mann, McGuireWoods LLP and Government Investigations Group on Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance
The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) was enacted in 2021 as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020. The CTA requires certain business entities (“Reporting Companies”) to report beneficial ownership information (“BOI”), and, for entities created or registered on or after January 1, 2024, information with respect to any individual who directly files the document… Continue Reading

FinCEN Specifies When and How Reporting Companies May Use FinCEN Identifiers

By Jeffrey M. Hanna, Lauren Mann, McGuireWoods LLP and Government Investigations Group on Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance
The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) was enacted in 2021 as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, requiring certain business entities (“Reporting Companies”) to report beneficial ownership information (“BOI”), and, for entities created or registered on or after January 1, 2024, information with respect to any individual who directly files the document creating the… Continue Reading

Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act

By Jeffrey M. Hanna, Lauren Mann, McGuireWoods LLP and Government Investigations Group on Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance
Corporate Transparency Act Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements to Take Effect In 2021, the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) was enacted as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, requiring certain business entities (“Reporting Companies”) to report beneficial ownership information (“BOI”) to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”).  FinCEN issued the final… Continue Reading

DOJ Announces “Pilot Program Regarding Compensation Incentives and Clawbacks” with Significant Ramifications for Corporations Facing Criminal Investigations

By John S. Moran, Brandon M. Santos, Casey Erin Lucier, Jeffrey M. Hanna, Caroline Schmidt Burton and McGuireWoods LLP on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends
The Department of Justice Criminal Division announced a “Pilot Program Regarding Compensation Incentives and Clawbacks” (the “Program”) this week with broad implications for corporations and their individual executives operating within the Department’s jurisdiction. During two keynote speeches delivered at the American Bar Association’s National Institute on White Collar Crime, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco (remarks… Continue Reading

At Long Last, FinCEN Issues Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Rule

By Matthew Orso, Jeffrey M. Hanna and McGuireWoods LLP on Financial Institution Regulation
At long last, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a final rule establishing a beneficial ownership information reporting requirement for corporations and companies both large and small. In its announcement earlier today, FinCEN explained that the rule will require most companies and corporations registered to do business in the United States to report information about their… Continue Reading

FinCEN’s Proposed Foreign Affiliate SAR Sharing Program — Key Considerations

By Jeffrey M. Hanna and McGuireWoods LLP on Anti-Money Laundering
On January 25, 2022, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) solicited commentary regarding its proposed rule that would create a time-limited pilot program to expand the ability of financial institutions to share Suspicious Activity Reports (“SARs”) and SAR-related information.  (See 31 U.S.C. § 5318(g)(8)).  The proposed program would permit a financial institution with a SAR… Continue Reading

FinCEN Director Blanco Comments on Section 314(b)’s New Guidance

By Patrick Rowan and Jeffrey M. Hanna on Financial Institution Regulation
On December 10, 2020, FinCEN Director Kenneth Blanco delivered prepared remarks at the ABA’s annual Financial Crimes Enforcement Conference. At the outset, Director Blanco addressed the importance of U.S. national security amidst the unprecedented environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic. In his remarks, Director Blanco announced “important guidance” and “much needed clarity” concerning FinCEN’s voluntary… Continue Reading

FinCEN Rule Ends AML Program Exemption for Banks that Lack a Federal Regulator

By Jeffrey M. Hanna and McGuireWoods LLP on Anti-Money Laundering
On September 15, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) published a Final Rule bringing banks that lack a federal functional regulator further under its purview. The rule subjects these institutions to minimum standards for anti-money laundering (“AML”) requirements, including a BSA officer, AML policies and procedures, and regular employee training, among other obligations. It… Continue Reading

Congressional Investigations: A Month In, Congress Signals Close Scrutiny of CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Program

By Jeffrey M. Hanna, John Adams, Todd R. Steggerda, Mona G. Mohib, Paul J. Reagan and McGuireWoods LLP on Compliance
The CARES Act is only a month old, but plans for investigations to track the nearly $3 trillion in coronavirus relief funds are already emerging from Congress. Among the mechanisms for oversight created and funded by the CARES Act itself is the Congressional Oversight Commission, a five-member committee overseeing $500 billion in loans doled out… Continue Reading

FinCEN Issues Statement to Financial Institutions on BSA/AML Compliance During COVID-19 Pandemic

By Jeffrey M. Hanna and McGuireWoods LLP on Anti-Money Laundering, Financial Institution Regulation, Fraud, Deception and False Claims
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released a statement to financial institutions on March 16, 2020, concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement covered two main topics: Potential delays by financial institutions in filing required Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reports Remaining alert to identify malicious or fraudulent transactions, which often arise during natural disasters First, FinCEN… Continue Reading

What the Venezuela Sanctions May Mean for Future Sanctions Programs

By Alex J. Brackett, Jeffrey M. Hanna, Patrick Rowan and Government Investigations Group on Sanctions, Trade Embargo, and Export Controls
When the Trump Administration designated Venezuelan state-owned oil producer Petreoleos de Venezuela (“PdVSA”) on January 28, 2019, pursuant to preexisting sanctions relating to the political situation created by the Maduro regime, it sent a significant but not unanticipated ripple through the global petroleum markets.  The impact of the sanctions for commodities traders and petroleum refiners—particularly… Continue Reading

SEC Opens Cease-and-Desist Order Proceeding against Broker-Dealer and Chief Compliance / AML Officer

By Jeffrey M. Hanna and McGuireWoods LLP on Anti-Money Laundering, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Securities and Commodities
As we have highlighted in prior posts, regulators of financial institutions, including FinCEN, FINRA and SEC, have increasingly brought actions to bring organizations – and individuals – into compliance with AML / BSA obligations.  This enforcement activity is consistent with FinCEN’s August 2014 Advisory, now nearly three years old, emphasizing the idea that U.S. financial institutions… Continue Reading

FinCEN Opens 2017 with SAR Sharing Guidance for Casinos

By Jeffrey M. Hanna, Matthew Orso and Patrick Rowan on Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance
Financial institutions’ ability to share suspicious activity reports (“SARs”) within the corporate organizational structure serves as an important tool for Bank Secrecy Act compliance and risk avoidance.  FinCEN began 2017 by reminding casinos of their ability to share information under this rule. Subject to certain limitations, casinos may share with domestic parents and affiliates suspicious… Continue Reading

FinCEN Associate Director for Enforcement Delivers Remarks at Title 31 Conference, Stresses Importance of Culture of Compliance

By Jeffrey M. Hanna and Patrick Rowan on Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation
On the day after his appointment in August 2016, the Associate Director for Enforcement for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Thomas Ott, addressed the National Title 31 Suspicious Activity & Risk Assessment Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.  In his remarks, he (1) covered recent enforcement actions, (2) sought to dispel myths or misconceptions about… Continue Reading

Casino AML: FinCEN Fines Former Sparks Nugget Management $1 Million

By Patrick Rowan and Jeffrey M. Hanna on Anti-Money Laundering
Attributing observed deficiencies to a lack of a culture of compliance, FinCEN has again targeted a casino for willful violations of the anti-money laundering (“AML”) provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”).  This time the casino in FinCEN’s sights is the Sparks Nugget, Inc. d/b/a John Ascuaga’s Nugget (“Sparks Nugget”), located in Sparks, Nevada.  In… Continue Reading

CFPB Announces Two-Year Policy Priorities

By Jeffrey M. Hanna and Jodie Herrmann Lawson on Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation
At the end of February 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced nine priority goals for the next two years.  According to its press release, the CFPB set these priorities by balancing the amount of consumer harm observed against the Bureau’s capacity to eliminate or mitigate that harm.  The CFPB identified three core tools… Continue Reading

FinCEN Announces First Card Club AML Enforcement Action

By Jeffrey M. Hanna and Patrick Rowan on Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation, Fraud, Deception and False Claims
Just in time for Christmas, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the financial industry (including casinos and card clubs) regulator, announced its first-ever enforcement action against a card club, California’s Oaks Card Club (Oaks). The enforcement action, which carried a penalty of $650,000, is the latest in a string of actions against gaming enterprises and is… Continue Reading

FinCEN Announces Caesars Penalty After Multiyear Investigation

By Jeffrey M. Hanna and Patrick Rowan on Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation
This week the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a Consent Agreement that imposed an $8 million civil penalty against Desert Palace, Inc. d/b/a Caesars Palace. Caesars first disclosed the investigation in SEC filings in late 2013. The investigation grew out of a 2012 audit performed by FinCEN’s examiner, the Internal Revenue Service Small Business/Self-Employed… Continue Reading

Casino Forfeiture a Reminder that FinCEN’s Regulatory Oversight May Involve DOJ and Criminal Penalty

By Jeffrey M. Hanna and Patrick Rowan on Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation
In early June 2015, FinCEN assessed a civil money penalty on the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, located in the Northern Mariana Islands, an archipelago to the east of the Philippines (don’t feel bad if you click here to learn a little more). Being a U.S. territory, the Northern Marianas are subject to federal regulation.… Continue Reading

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