Recent news from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) reminds us of the importance of having a solid anti-money laundering (AML) compliance program. A well-known financial services company was fined $17 million for not having sufficient processes that could enable them “properly prevent or detect, investigate, and report suspicious activity.”
While the organization significantly grew over a short period of time, its procedures failed to keep up. As a result, certain suspicious activity went undetected and therefore could not be investigated. The financial intuition also failed to “establish and maintain an adequate” customer identification program (CIP), which requires broker-dealers to “obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens an account.”
$17 million is a big hit to a company of any size, not to mention to a company that’s been reprimanded in the past for similar issues. Key takeaway? Make sure you’re in compliance at all times.
Our financial services team has a great deal of experience in the development and management of regulatory compliance programs. Specifically, we’ve worked with some of the largest banks in the world to support their AML initiatives. If you’re interested in learning how we can help you, send us a note.
