15 Mar 2016

David Corker’s comments re enforcement actions published in ACAMS Moneylaundering.com

Federal regulators of anti-money laundering rules issued 16 percent more enforcement actions in 2015 than in the previous year, a jump due in part to an intensified focus on nonbank firms.

Though the subject of individual accountability continued to be a topic of debate at industry events, signs of a rise in regulatory actions against executives and compliance officers were scarce in 2015. The OCC and FinCEN levied a total six AML-related fines against company employees compared with four the previous year.

Despite criticisms from some corners that Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was softening its oversight of banks, the regulator issued its largest-ever AML penalty in November, a £72 million fine against Barclays for its poor scrutiny of transactions processed on behalf of “ultrahigh-net-worth politically exposed persons,” or PEPs.

The bank “did well to avoid being prosecuted because there was clearly a breach of the money laundering regulations,” said David Corker, a partner with Corker Binning. “It was defiance of the regulations.”

Read the full article in ACAMS Moneylaundering.com here.