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The U.S. Department of the Treasury yesterday announced that OFAC has a procurement network responsible for facilitating the illegal export of goods and technology from over two dozen U.S. companies to end-users in Iran, including the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), which is designated for its role in providing financial support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and Hizballah. These designations target three individuals and four entities tied to the procurement of sophisticated U.S. technology for use by CBI in violation of U.S. export restrictions and sanctions.

Among the goods and technology acquired by CBI were items classified as information security items subject to national security and anti-terrorism controls by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security.

For the names and identification information of the designated entities and individuals, see BankersOnline's February 14, 2024, OFAC Update.

Yesterday, FinCEN issued a Financial Trend Analysis (FTA) reflecting an increase in Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reporting associated with the use of convertible virtual currency (CVC) and online child sexual exploitation (OCSE) and human trafficking. This FTA is based on BSA reporting filed between January 2020 and December 2021.

The analysis detailed in this FTA furthers Treasury efforts to combat human trafficking as well as the illicit uses of CVC. For example, Brian Nelson, Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, announced at the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking that FinCEN has joined the Canadian financial intelligence unit’s Project Protect—a flagship public-private partnership on human trafficking. In addition, in June 2021, FinCEN identified human trafficking and cybercrime as among the “Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism National Priorities” issued pursuant to the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020.

More recently, in October 2023, FinCEN issued a finding pursuant to Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act that CVC mixing is a class of transactions of primary money laundering concern and proposed reporting requirements to increase transparency in connection with CVC mixing.

FinCEN’s analysis highlights the value of BSA reporting filed by regulated financial institutions.

• FinCEN press release

The Federal Reserve Board has reported it has issued a consent order for the payment of a civil money penalty of $9,600 to Select Bank, Forest, Virginia, for a pattern or practice of unspecified flood insurance violations.

FinCEN has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be published in the February 15, 2024, Federal Register that would require certain investment advisers to apply Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), including implementing risk-based AML/CFT programs, reporting suspicious activity to FinCEN, and fulfilling recordkeeping requirements.

The proposed rule would add investment advisers to the list of businesses classified as “financial institutions” under the BSA. Investment advisers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as well as those that report to the SEC as exempt reporting advisers, would be required to implement AML/CFT programs. They would also be required to file suspicious activity reports, fulfill certain recordkeeping requirements, and fulfill other obligations applicable to financial institutions subject to the BSA and FinCEN’s implementing regulations.

The proposed rule would also apply information-sharing provisions between and among FinCEN, law enforcement government agencies, and certain financial institutions, along with special measures that have been applied under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act. Finally, FinCEN is proposing to delegate examination authority for this rule to the SEC given the SEC’s expertise in the regulation of investment advisers and experience in examining other financial institutions with respect to AML/CFT responsibilities.

Treasury today also published its risk assessment of this sector, which identifies illicit finance threats and vulnerabilities in the sector, including how the uneven application of AML/CFT requirements across the sector allows both legitimate and illicit investors to “shop around” for an adviser who does not need to inquire into their source of wealth.

Comments on the proposal are due by April 15, 2025.

• FinCEN press release
• Fact Sheet on the proposed rule

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council has issued, on behalf of its members—the Federal Reserve Board, FDIC, OCC, CFPB, NCUA, and the State Liaison Committee—a Statement on Examination Principles Related to Valuation Discrimination and Bias in Residential Lending. The statement's purpose is to (i) mitigate risks that may arise due to potential discrimination or bias in those practices, and (ii) promote credible valuations.

Because real estate valuations are a critical underwriting component in residential real estate lending, both from a consumer compliance and safety and soundness perspective, examiners assess institutions’ compliance management systems and risk management practices for identifying and mitigating potential discrimination or bias in residential property valuation practices.

Institutions rely on real estate valuations when assessing the level of collateral support in residential credit decisions. Deficiencies in real estate valuations, including those due to valuation discrimination or bias, can lead to increased safety and soundness risks, as well as consumer harm and have an adverse impact on borrowers and their communities. Examples of such harm are consumers being denied access to credit for which they may be otherwise qualified, offered credit at less favorable terms, or steered to a narrower class of loan products.

For an institution, the failure of internal controls to identify, monitor, and control valuation discrimination or bias could negatively affect credit decisions, potentially exposing an institution to legal and compliance risks or affecting an institution’s financial condition and operations. Furthermore, material findings and concerns related to noncompliance with laws and regulations generally negatively affect the supervisory assessment of an institution’s management in a safety and soundness examination.

To promote compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements, institutions may establish a formal valuation review program. Effective review programs can enable institutions to identify noncompliance with appraisal regulations or USPAP, inaccuracies, or poorly supported valuations. These review programs can also provide the opportunity for institutions to address deficiencies due to potential valuation discrimination or bias before making a credit decision. The Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines [see 75 FR 77450, December 10, 2010] provide additional information on the valuation review process and identify elements of an effective real estate valuation program.

The statement of principles should not be interpreted as new guidance to supervised institutions nor an increased focus on supervised institutions’ appraisal practices. Instead, the statement of principles offers transparency into the examination process and supports risk-focused examination work.

On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission announced it had obtained a $195 million judgment against Simple Health Plans LLC and its CEO Steven J. Dorfman over charges they duped consumers into signing up for sham health care plans that did not deliver the coverage or benefits they promised and effectively left consumers uninsured and exposed to limitless medical expenses.

In granting the FTC’s motion for summary judgment, the Federal District Court in the Southern District of Florida also banned Simple Health, five related entities and Dorfman from telemarketing and from marketing, promoting, selling or offering any healthcare products.

In a complaint filed in 2018, the FTC said that Florida-based Simple Health misled people into thinking they were buying comprehensive health insurance that would cover preexisting medical conditions, prescription drugs, primary and specialty care treatment, inpatient and emergency hospital care, surgical procedures, and medical and laboratory testing. In reality, most consumers who enrolled reported paying as much as $500 per month for what was actually a medical discount program or extremely limited benefit program that did not deliver the promised benefits and often left consumers with thousands of dollars in uncovered medical bills, or worse yet, unable to get necessary healthcare.

Yesterday, the Treasury Department announced that OFAC has taken its second Russian oil price cap enforcement action of 2024, imposing sanctions on four entities and identifying one vessel as blocked property. The network of these entities and the vessel were involved in a price cap violation scheme in late 2023.

OFAC also issued two new determinations that implement G7 commitments to ban the importation of Russian diamonds. First, OFAC issued a determination prohibiting the importation of on non-industrial diamonds mined or extracted in Russia, notwithstanding whether they have been substantially transformed in a third country, effective beginning on March 1, 2024 for certain categories of diamonds, and expanding on September 1, 2024 to include additional categories. Second, OFAC issued a determination prohibiting the importation of diamond jewelry and unsorted diamonds of Russian Federation origin or exported from the Russian Federation, effective March 1, 2024.

For identification information on the designated entities and vessel and links to the Determinations and a related General License, see BankersOnline's February 8, 2024, OFAC Update.

In prepared remarks at the Brookings Institution on Tuesday, NCUA Chairman Todd M. Harper reported that the NCUA intends to review several aspects of compliance with consumer protection laws and regulations. He said, " Overdraft and non-sufficient fund fees are a key component of the NCUA’s review. NCUA examiners this year will continue an expanded review of credit union overdraft programs, including website advertising, balance calculation methods, and settlement processes. Problematic overdraft programs and non-sufficient funds alerts include fees that aren’t reasonable and proportional, rely on systems that authorize positive and settle negative, or impose multiple representment fees, often in one day."

Chairman Harper added, "NCUA’s fair lending examinations will also increase in number and focus on ensuring policies and practices are fair and not discriminatory. And examiners will continue to evaluate credit unions’ policies and procedures governing compliance with flood insurance rules. The NCUA's other areas of emphasis for 2024 include Bank Secrecy Act compliance and support for small credit unions and minority depository institutions."

The Treasury Department has reported that OFAC has sanctioned one of Ecuador’s most violent gangs, Los Choneros, and its leader, José Adolfo Macías Villamar (a/k/a “Fito”), pursuant to counter narcotics authorities.

For identification information on Los Choneros and Macías Villamar, see BankersOnline's February 7, 2024, OFAC Update.

FinCEN has filed a notice of proposed rulemaking for publication in the February 16, 2024, Federal Register that would require certain persons involved in real estate closings and settlements to submit reports and keep records on identified non-financed transfers of residential real property to specified legal entities and trusts on a nationwide basis.

Transfers made directly to an individual would not be covered by this proposed rule. The proposed rule describes the circumstances in which a Real Estate Report (a streamlined version of a Suspicious Activity Report) must be filed, who must file a Real Estate Report, what information must be provided, and when such a report is due. These reports are expected to assist the U.S. Department of the Treasury; Federal, State, and local law enforcement; and national security agencies in addressing illicit finance vulnerabilities in the U.S. residential real estate sector and to curtail the ability of illicit actors to anonymously launder illicit proceeds through the purchase of residential real property, which threatens U.S. economic and national security.

Under the proposed rule, persons involved in real estate closings and settlements would continue to be exempt from the anti-money laundering compliance program requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act. However, as provided in 31 CFR 1010.205(c), no such exemption applies for a financial institution that is otherwise required to establish an anti-money laundering program.

Comments will be accepted for 60 days following publication (through April 16, 2024).

• FinCEN press release
• Fact Sheet
• Publication update: Published at 89 FR 12424 on 2/16/2024, as scheduled. Comments due by 4/16/2024.