Beneficial Ownership Information Access
On 11/15/24, FinCEN updated two Beneficial Ownership Information Access FAQs. The theme of the 11/15/24 update is Beneficial Ownership Access in accordance with the Corporate Transparency Act. FinCEN had previously update the its FAQ Section on 4/18/24 when they added a new section titled “Access to BOI Information”. This was a new section that addressed […]
BIS New Guidance for FI’s Best Practices
On 10/9/24, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) within the Department of Commerce has issued guidance aimed at financial institutions (FIs), outlining best practices for adherence to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). This BIS new guidance offers foundational information regarding the EAR and outlines measures that financial institutions can implement to reduce the risk […]
Deepfake Media FinCEN Fraud Alert
On 11/13/24, FinCEN issued an alert aimed at assisting financial institutions in recognizing fraudulent schemes linked to the utilization of deepfake media generated by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools. The alert for deepfake media outlines the various typologies related to these schemes, offers red flag indicators to aid in the detection and reporting of suspicious […]
Model 1 FFI’s Obtain Extension of Relief
IRS issued Notice 2024-78 on 10/28/24 providing the extension of temporary relief for FATCA Model 1 Financial Institutions (FFI’s) regarding the reporting of U.S. Taxpayer Identification Numbers. This means that the temporary relief outlined in Notice 2023-11 is extended, in accordance with the procedures and requirements specified in this Notice 2024-78, for certain FFI’s that […]
TD Bank gets $1.3 Billion Penalty from FinCEN
On 10/10/24, FinCEN assessed a record $1.3 billion penalty against TD Bank for BSA violations. This unprecedented penalty should function as a cautionary message and a warning to all financial institutions. All financial institutions should critically evaluate whether they have developed and sustained a well-structured BSA/AML and CFT compliance program. The risk assessment process of […]
BOI FAQs 10/3/24
On 10/3/24, FinCEN published twenty five (25) new updates to the BOI FAQ webpage. The BOI FAQs 10/3/24 address: access to BOI reports, third party service providers, entity conversion, identifications, community property and exemptions. FinCEN’s last update to the BOI FAQ webpage was on 9/10/24. Business owners ought to understand the importance of keeping up […]
Pig Butchering Crypto Scams Rising
Pig Butchering Crypto Scams are scams which resemble the practice of fattening a hog before slaughter. “Victims invest in supposedly legitimate virtual currency investment opportunities before they are conned out of their money. Scammers refer to victims as “pigs,” and may leverage fictitious identities, the guise of potential relationships, and elaborate storylines to “fatten up” […]
Mail Theft-Check Fraud
Back on February 27, 2023, FinCEN issued (in close collaboration with the United States Postal Inspection Service) an Alert on Nationwide Surge in Mail Theft-Related Check Fraud Schemes Targeting the U.S. Mail. Then, on 9/9/24, FinCEN issued a Financial Trend Analysis related to mail theft-check fraud incidents based on Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) data filed […]
BOI Reporting Companies Get More FinCEN Clarification
On 9/10/24, FinCEN updated its BOI FAQs page by adding four new FAQs that provide more clarity to BOI Reporting Companies. The new FAQ’s address the areas of companies that cease to exist, foreign companies that stop doing business in the U.S. and beneficial owners. The last FinCEN update to BOI FAQs was on 7/24/24. […]
Are Crowdfunding Monies Taxable?
On August 2024, the IRS, for the third time in two years, reminded taxpayers that crowdfunding monies may be taxable. Due to the popularity of crowdfunding monies raised online, the IRS issued News regarding how money raised through crowdfunding may be taxable via its First Notice as a Fact Sheet on March 2022 (FS-2022-20) and […]
Investment Adviser Sector and FinCEN
FinCEN seeks to safeguard the investment adviser sector from illicit finance as evidenced by the issuance of the Final Investment Adviser Rule on 8/28/24 with a compliance date of 1/1/26. The investment adviser sector final rule seeks to “address the current uneven application of AML/CFT requirements across the investment adviser sector, which creates illicit finance […]
Residential Real Estate and FinCEN
FinCEN seeks to safeguard residential real estate as evidenced by the issuance of the Final Residential Real Estate Rule issued 8/28/24 and taking effect on 12/1/25. The Final Rule requires “certain” industry professionals to report information (via the “Real Estate Report”) on non- financed transfers (cash sales) to FinCEN given that residential real estate has […]
