The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed a rule requiring registered investment advisers (RIAs) to implement customer identification programs (CIPs), another facet of a coordinated attempt to close an apparent loophole in federal anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.
The proposed rule, jointly released by the two regulators Monday, would require RIAs and exempt reporting advisers (ERAs) to establish, document, and maintain written CIPs, which would help to “prevent illicit finance activity involving the customers of investment advisers by strengthening the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism … framework for the investment adviser sector,” the SEC said in a press release.
