Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch brokerage unit has agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle SEC charges that it failed to file numerous Suspicious Activity Reports between April 2020 and September 2024 due to gaps in its transaction monitoring threshold.
Regulatory Enforcement
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
U.K. regulator forces third FS firm to pay $42M for financial crime failures related to wealth management company collapse
The U.K. banking regulator has censured asset servicing bank CACEIS UK for failing to operate adequate financial crime controls. The bank agreed to pay $41.9 million in compensation to clients.
Posted inCryptocurrency and Digital Assets
Experts weigh up challenges for firms, FCA under U.K. plan to regulate crypto
The U.K. has set itself a path to regulate crypto from the end of next year that is different to the rest of Europe. While the EU has created sector-specific rules for the industry under the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, the U.K. will instead make crypto firms subject to the same rules as every other financial services provider.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Hedge fund founder faces five years in prison for extensive market spoofing scheme
A California day trader and founder of a hedge fund faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to manipulating stock prices through buy and sell “spoofing” schemes.
Posted inPharmaceuticals
Former biopharm director heads to prison for insider trading ahead of Novartis purchase
A former director of biopharmaceutical company, Chinook Therapeutics, has been sentenced to prison for insider trading related to the company’s $3.2 billion sale to Novartis in 2023, a fraud detected through data analysis by the SEC.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
U.S. agencies take aim against Cambodian money laundering conglomerate
United States enforcement agencies have landed more blows against a sprawling, Cambodian-based money laundering, financial conglomerate, believed to operate hand-in-glove with cybercriminals who scam U.S. individuals out of their life savings.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Australian regulator calls $24.6 million HSBC Australia fine a world first for customer fraud protection
HSBC Australia has been fined nearly $25 million for failing to protect customers from financial scammers. The bank must also publish adverse publicity orders on its website, its app, and in letters to affected customers.
Posted inFinancial Services
Former California fintech board member sentenced for $248M fraud scheme that led to bankruptcy
A former board member of a California financial technology company that marketed itself as being environmentally driven was sentenced to prison for 14 years for defrauding lenders and investors of more than $248 million, according to the DOJ.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Trump’s latest tariffs gambit puts spotlight on ‘inadequate’ forced labor laws
The risks associated with companies either conniving in or unwittingly profiting from modern slavery have garnered increased attention over recent years, but the United States’ latest attempt to hit dozens of countries with tariffs for failing to tackle the problem more seriously has pushed the issue of forced labor to the top of corporate agendas.
Posted inAML
New AML investigation into Wise adds pressure on compliance in rapid growth fintechs and challenger banks
Belgian authorities are investigating money-transfer fintech Wise for its controls around suspicious transactions worth over $577 million across 30 European countries. The current investigation only concerns the fintech’s EU operations, but the company has a history of fines for weak financial controls in several regions, including the U.S. and the Middle East.
