The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) fined A&S World Trading $275,000 for willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act in its first enforcement action against a company for failing to comply with a geographic targeting order (GTO).
FinCEN in October 2014 issued the GTO imposing reporting and record-keeping obligations on certain trades and businesses located within the Los Angeles Fashion District. The purpose of the GTO was to “enhance law enforcement’s ongoing efforts to identify and pursue cases against persons and businesses engaged in the illicit movement of U.S. currency to Mexico and Colombia on behalf of prominent drug trafficking organizations,” FinCEN stated in a press release at the time.
