by eric9to5

MAS charges 3 with running unlicensed MSB

Enforcement Actions against Unlicensed Remittance Operators

Singapore, 22 September 2015… Two women and one man, aged between 48 to 59, will be charged in Court for their suspected involvement in carrying on remittance businesses without a valid remittance licence issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

They are suspected of operating unlicensed remittance businesses by transferring money from customers to overseas recipients for a fee.

All three suspects have been summoned to attend Court on 23 September 2015, 10 am at Court 23. Each of them will face a charge of carrying on a remittance business without a remittance licence under Sec 6(1) of the Money-changing and Remittance Businesses Act, Chapter 187. If convicted, each of them is liable to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or a maximum jail term of two years or to both.

Mr David Chew, Director, Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), said, “CAD will not hesitate to take swift action against any individual or entity involved in unlicensed remittance businesses. Such activities also pose a risk to members of the public who engage their services. We would like to encourage members of the public to report unlicensed money-changing or remittance businesses to the Police or MAS.”

Mr Chua Kim Leng, Assistant Managing Director, Banking and Insurance Group, MAS, said, “MAS takes a serious view of anyone who carries on a remittance business without a valid licence. Such unlicensed operators conduct their businesses without any regulatory oversight and are at risk of being used as conduits for money laundering activities. Members of the public who wish to remit money to another country should do so through a licensed bank or licensed remittance agent.”

Link:

MAS Notice

Posted with Blogsy

06.16.15

by eric9to5

June 4, 2015: AUSTRAC enforcement action against FNF First National FInance Pty Ltd

Due to “significant money laundering or financing of terrorism risk,” the Australian regulator has revoked the firm's remittance business registration.

Link:

AUSTRAC Enforcement Action media release

Posted with Blogsy

06.15.15

by eric9to5

June 4, 2015: AUSTRAC enforcement action against MoneyGram

The crime? Providing money services through an unregistered business (in Australia, they're called “remittance services” and “remittance businesses”). Surprising, given all the hoops that they go through to be registered and licensed in the US.

The fine? 336,600 AUD, on top of a January 2015 fine of 122,400 AUD for the same reason.

Note that this is the largest fine every assessed by AUSTRAC.

Link:

AUSTRAC Enforcement Action News Release

Posted with Blogsy

06.12.15

by eric9to5

Small MSB, Small FinCEN CMP: $12,000

FinCEN assessed a Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) of $12,000 on King Mail & Wireless, Inc. and its owner for “ignoring” their AML responsibilities. King Mail, as well as another MSB run by the owner, is now closed. The firm executed millions of dollars in transactions to Yemen without filing any SARs or CTRs, despite transactions that warranted such filings, or having any transaction monitoring or suspicious activity review processes in place.

Additionally, the owner has agreed to not be employed in any capacity in the financial sector either in the US or that conducts business in the US.

Links:

FinCEN News Release

FinCEN Enforcement Action

Posted with Blogsy

05.11.15

by eric9to5

Virtual Currency, Real Civil Monetary Penalty

FinCEN fined Ripple Labs (and its XRP II, LLC subsidiary), which sells the XRP virtual currency, for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BCA) by not registering as a Money Service Business (MSB) or having an AML program. The fine? $700,000.

Links:

FinCEN News Release

Enforcement Action

Statement of Facts and Violations

Remedial Framework Agreement

Posted with Blogsy

04.03.15

by eric9to5

Check, please! Aurora Sunmart fined $75,000 by FinCEN

On March 18th, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), part of the US Treasury Department, announced the levying of a $75,000 Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) against Aurora Sunmart, a Colorado-based Money Services Business (MSB), and its owner/manager, Jamal Awad. The penalty was for repeated violations of Bank Secrecy Act registration, program, and recordkeeping requirements going back to 2008.

The press release that not only did Aurora Sunmart fail to implement an adequate program, it also neglected to train its staff or conduct internal program reviews adequately. Almost half of the Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) between 2009 and 2012 were filed “significantly late,” and none were filed after September 2012.

Some tidbits from the CMP assessment:

MSBs are require to register as an MSB, and re-register every 2 years. Aurora Sunmart’s last re-registration was in August 2014, and was 581 days (over 1 1/2 years) overdue.
“Aurora Sunmart did not consistently implement its own written internal controls
requiring a valid picture ID from all check cashing customers, obtaining the customer’s Social
Security Number and current address if the check cashing transaction amounted to more than
$10,000, and verifying that business customers provided proof of business registration or an
Employer Identification Number.”
“The training program was
limited to employees reading a Western Union compliance program, which failed to address
procedures related to check cashing. Moreover, Aurora Sunmart failed to conduct training for two
of its five employees, despite employing them for several years.“

In addition to the fine, both the firm and Mr. Awad may not engage in MSB activity that would require FinCEN registration until certain requirements related to setting up a proper AML program are met. Finally, Mr. Awad is required to certify that the requirements have been met under oath.

Link:

FinCEN Press Release

Assessment of Civil Monetary Penalty

Posted with Blogsy