FinCEN: Mission, Priorities and Successes
On April 27, 2023, Himamauli Das, Acting Director of FinCEN spoke before the Committee on Financial Services U.S. House of Representatives. His Statement reiterated FinCEN’s mission to safeguard the financial system from illicit use, combat money laundering and its related crimes including terrorism, and promote national security through the strategic use of financial authorities and […]
Managing Third-Party Relationships and Risks
On June 6, 2023, Federal Bank Regulatory Agencies (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)) issued final joint guidance designed to help banking organizations manage risks associated with third-party relationships, including relationships with financial technology companies. The Agencies […]
Offshore Digital Assets Information Exchange Coming!
The Biden Administration General Explanations of the Administration’s Revenue Proposals for Fiscal Year 2024 discusses the proposal for exchange of information reporting by financial institutions and offshore digital asset brokers. The proposal for exchange of information stems from the sentiment that tax evasion using digital assets continues to be a rapidly growing problem. The global […]
FinCEN BOI Guidance
On 3/24/23, FinCEN issued its first set of guidance materials to aid the public in understanding upcoming beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements taking effect on January 1, 2024. BOI refers to identifying information about the individuals who directly or indirectly own or control a company. BOI reporting information reporting will be done directly to […]
Foreign Digital Asset Accounts to be Reported
The Biden’s Administration 2024 Revenue Proposal includes US taxpayer reporting requirements for foreign digital asset accounts. The proposal would be effective for returns required to be filed after December 31, 2023. Tax compliance and enforcement with respect to digital assets continues to be a growing problem for the US Government given that the digital asset […]
Check Fraud FinCEN Alert
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. Despite the declining use of checks in the United States, Criminals have been increasingly targeting the U.S. Mail and United States Postal Service mail […]
The BOSS and FinCEN
On 9/29/22 FinCEN issued the very anticipated Final Rule establishing a beneficial ownership information reporting requirement, pursuant to the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). The Final Rule will require most corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities created in or registered to do business in the United States to report information about their beneficial ownership. […]
Regulators Warn Banking Organizations Dealing with Crypto
On 1/3/23, Regulatory Agencies; including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller issued a Joint Statement on Crypto-Asset Risks to Banking Organizations. The Regulatory Agencies want to ensure that Banking Organizations understand that the risks related to the crypto-asset sector that cannot […]
Model 1 FFIs get FATCA Temporary Reporting Relief
On 12/30/22, the IRS issued Notice 2023-11 with the purpose of providing FATCA reporting relief to Model 1 FFIs who have been unable to obtain US TINs for their pre-existing accounts that are US reportable accounts. In turn, the Model 1 FFIs will provide information that the IRS can analyze to determine why these TINs […]
When are Casinos Financial Institutions?
According to the IRS and FinCEN, Casinos licensed to do business as casinos and which have gross annual gaming revenues in excess of $1,000,000 are Financial Institutions subject to the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act, which is known as Title 31. As a result, Casinos are subject to the Bank Secrecy Act and are […]
IRS-CI Expands Partnerships with Foreign Counterparts
On 11/3/22, IRS-CI (IRS Criminal Investigation) released it FY2022 Annual Report highlighting more than 2,550 investigations, 90% conviction rate; enforcement actions focused on tax fraud, money laundering, cybercrimes, and important partnerships. During its Fiscal Year 2022, which began Oct. 1, 2021, and ended Sept. 30, 2022, IRS-CI identified over $31 billion from tax and financial […]
Sponsoring Entities under IRS FATCA scrutiny
On 10/11/22, the IRS issued Notice Number 2022-05: FATCA Registrations: Sponsoring Entities with no Registered Sponsored Entities. The IRS has identified Sponsoring Entities that do not appear to have Sponsored Entities registered in the FATCA Registration System. A Sponsored Entity is a Sponsored FFI or a Sponsored Direct Reporting NFFE. Sponsoring Entity A Sponsoring Entity […]
