Treasury and DOJ Highlight AML Efforts
At SIFMA's 2022 Anti-Money Laundering & Financial Crimes Conference, DOJ and Treasury executives focused their remarks on efforts to respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the management of money laundering risks related to digital assets.
Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson outlined Treasury's strategy on the Russian Federation and its leadership. He described, among other things: (i) sanctioning Russia's largest financial institutions and restricting dealings with banks representing approximately 80 percent of the Russian banking sector; (ii) designating individuals and entities associated with Russia's defense sector and weapons manufacturing; and (iii) freezing assets controlled by sanctioned Russian elites and oligarchs around the world. He asserted that AML compliance is crucial in continuing to put pressure on the Russian Federation and any entity found to be assisting it. He also outlined Treasury's new focus on combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, citing the recently released 2022 National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing (see previous coverage).
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco emphasized the importance of self-reporting to combat terrorist financing and other illicit activities. She highlighted the increase of criminal activity in digital assets, stating that "those seeking to hide their activity will use every new 'shiny tool' to do it." She said that DOJ is "monitoring this space alongside the financial institutions who are framing AML risks and controls around them." She also emphasized the importance of information sharing between the financial industry and law enforcement in "detecting, reporting, and prosecuting money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit activity."
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Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson (i) reviewed the Department's efforts to target Russia's "war machine" and (ii) identified risks present in countering illicit finance.
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In its "2022 National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing," Treasury prioritized closing regulatory and legal gaps in the AML/CFT regime and the use of new technology to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of its efforts.
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The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs considered the implications of digital assets for illicit finance, terrorism, and other forms of criminal activity.
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FinCEN issued the first government-wide list of priorities concerning anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing policy.
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On January 1, 2021, Congress overrode a presidential veto to enact the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020. The Act creates a broad range of new obligations for federal agencies, financial institutions and other entities.
