Bank Settles OCC and FinCEN Charges for BSA/AML Violations

A federal savings bank settled OCC charges and FinCEN charges for violating Bank Secrecy Act regulations and failing to adequately implement anti-money laundering programs.

As outlined in the OCC Consent Order, the bank failed to (i) adopt and implement a BSA/AML program that adequately covers the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act, (ii) file timely suspicious activity reports, and (iii) correct BSA/AML internal control problems that the OCC had previously identified. As a result of these actions, the OCC found the bank in violation of Section 18(s) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, OCC Rule 21.21 (requiring a reasonably designed BSA/AML compliance program), and OCC Rule 163.180 (requiring timely filing of suspicious activity reports).

In a related FinCEN investigation into the bank's BSA/AML violations, the bank admitted that it "willfully failed to accurately and timely report thousands of suspicious transactions to FinCEN involving suspicious financial activity by its customers." FinCEN noted that these transaction included customers using personal accounts for "apparent criminal activity." As a result, FinCEN found the bank in violation of BSA Section 5318(h) and Rule 1020.210 (AML program requirements for banks), as well as BSA Section 5318(g) and Rule 1020.320 (reports by banks of suspicious transactions).

To settle the charges, the bank agreed to (i) cease and desist violative conduct; (ii) take corrective measures to improve its internal controls, training, staffing, and third-party risk management of its BSA/AML program; and (iii) a $140 million civil monetary penalty to be paid to the Treasury, with $80 million representing FinCEN’s penalty and $60 million representing the OCC’s penalty.