SARs Do Not Need to Be Filed At the First Sign of Potential Problems
Honoring “Keep Open” Letters from Law Enforcement Should Not Lead to Criticism
On January 19, 2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), along with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the National Credit Union Administration jointly published
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Suspicious Activity Reporting and Other Anti-Money Laundering Considerations. The agencies provided answers to certain frequently asked questions (FAQs) in an effort to (1) clarify for financial institutions the regulatory requirements related to Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) that they must comply with; and (2) help financial institutions focus their resources on Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reporting activities that provide the most value to law enforcement.
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
In December 2020, as part of the larger National Defense Authorization Act, the Corporate Transparency Act (the “Act”) was enacted. The Act requires that anonymous shell companies, most notably limited liability companies and partnerships, disclose their ultimate beneficial ownership and control in an effort to combat corruption, money laundering and financing of terrorism, among other things, in the United States.
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The Act requires that corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies formed in the United States, or non-U.S. entities registered to do business in the United States, disclose the beneficial ownership of such companies at the time of entity formation to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), a bureau of the Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat financial crimes. The Act requires the following information: the beneficial ow
Updated Jan 26, 2021 at 4:06 p.m. UTC
FinCEN Further Extends Comment Period for Controversial Crypto Rules
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is further extending a comment period for a controversial proposed rule that would require crypto exchanges to gather and store counterparty information for transactions to unhosted wallets.
FinCEN announced the move Tuesday, saying all comments are due 60 days after the change is submitted to the Federal Register, the U.S. government’s logbook. The move is a victory for the crypto industry, which has complained the previous deadline of 15 days was far too short. FinCEN previously extended the comment period by 15 days for a proposed currency transaction report rule and 45 days for the counterparty data collection rule.
Altcoins
Ethereum  (trading at $1,430 at press time) outperformed BTC as it soared sharply by almost 19.50% last week. Things are looking great nowadays for the worldâs second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
The overall altcoin market is looking relatively stable considering what s happening with Bitcoin.
Source:
Biden Orders Halt of FinCENâs Proposed Crypto KYC Regulations
On his very first day in the office after his inauguration, the newly elected US president decided to freeze all federal regulatory processes including Financial Crimes Enforcement Networkâs (FinCEN) proposed crypto Know Your Customer (KYC) Regulations for 60 days.
This is good news to all crypto operators in the US as Biden wants to ensure that âhis appointees or designees have the opportunity to review any new or pending rulesâ, the announcement reads.
Regulators Ponder Strategy As Bitcoin & Co Are Too Large to Ignore
As the crypto industry grows, itâs natural that regulators would increase their scrutiny.
Some argue that the intention of regulators is to suffocate crypto and make way for CBDCs.
No major changes expected in the US in at least the next few months.
Source: Adobe/Jon Le-Bon
The writing is on the wall: regulation is coming for crypto. While a small handful of nations have already introduced specific cryptoasset legislation over the past few years, it looks as though the worldâs major powers are gearing up to introduce substantial new regulations and laws.