In 2017, we saw an increased focus on anti-money laundering (AML) by regulators, which has continued in 2018 as seen in the recent enforcement action against Rabobank, N.A. See United States v. Rabobank, N.A., No. 18 Cr. 0614 (S.D. Cal.) (Department of Justice enforcement action); In the Matter of Rabobank, N.A., No. AA-WE-2017-82 (FinCEN enforcement action). Given this increased focus, we wanted to provide specific suggestions to compliance officers, senior management teams and boards of directors for strengthening their financial institutions’ AML compliance programs. We’ve also included important upcoming AML compliance deadlines.

Seven Suggestions for Strengthening AML Compliance

(1) Cut the flow of suspicious transactions. Several of 2017’s AML enforcement actions illustrated the need for financial institutions to go beyond merely detecting and reporting suspicious transactions. Financial institutions should continue to review and file suspicious activity reports (SARs) on related, ongoing activity and where appropriate, stop transactions by closing accounts or otherwise interdicting their flow through the institution. See In re Deutsche Bank, Consent Order, 2017 WL 735666 (N.Y. Bnk. Dept. Jan. 30, 2017) (noting the bank failed to identify suspicious activity). Further, it is pertinent to have written procedures regarding ongoing monitoring and the steps to be taken in response to suspicious activity—even if the jurisdiction does not require written guidelines. In addition, there should be checks in place to ensure that decisions to file SARs are not impeded by concerns about internal requirements to close accounts, as the decisions are related but independent of each other.

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