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Top Story Security Related

05/22/2020

Zimbabwe sanctions regs amended

OFAC has amended the Zimbabwe Sanctions Regulations at 31 CFR 541 to remove a general license that authorizes all transactions involving Agricultural Development Bank of Zimbabwe and Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe as a result of these entities being removed from OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.

05/21/2020

OFAC sanctions senior Iranian officials for human rights abuses

Treasury announced Wednesday that OFAC had taken action against Iran’s Interior Minister for his role in serious human rights abuses against Iranians, as well as seven senior officials of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) and a provincial commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Yesterday’s action also targets the Bonyad Taavon NAJA, which is translated as LEF Cooperative Foundation, along with its director and members of the board of trustees. The LEF Cooperative Foundation is an economic collaborative controlled by the LEF and is active in Iran’s energy, construction, services, technology, and banking industries.

All property and interests in property of these persons that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC. OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all dealings by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked or designated persons. for identification information, see BankersOnline's OFAC Update.

05/20/2020

First Data settles with FTC for $40.2M

The Federal Trade Commission has announced that Atlanta-based First Data Merchant Services LLC — one of the biggest payment processing companies — and its former executive will pay more than $40.2 million to settle Commission charges that they knowingly processed payments and laundered, or assisted laundering of, credit card transactions for scams that targeted hundreds of thousands of consumers. A complaint filed by the FTC alleged First Data ignored repeated warnings from employees, banks, and others that Chi “Vincent” Ko, through his company that served as an independent sales agent (ISO) for First Data, was laundering, and First Data was assisting and facilitating laundering, payments for companies that were breaking the law over a number of years. Ko was later hired as an executive at First Data.

05/20/2020

COVID-19 contact tracing text message scams

The Fderal Trade Commission has posted information regarding scams involving COVID-19 tracing, the process of identifying people who have come into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, instructing them to quarantine and monitoring their symptoms daily. Contact tracing plays a vital role in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19; however scammers pretending to be contact tracers are taking advantage of how the process works, and also are sending text messages. But theirs are spam text that ask the recipient to click a link which will download software onto the recipient's device, giving scammers access to personal and financial information.

05/20/2020

Winners of FinCEN's BSA Awards program

FinCEN has announced the award recipients of the 2020 FinCEN Director’s Law Enforcement Awards Program who will be publicly identified in an official ceremony on October 29, 2020 in Washington, DC.

The annual program recognizes law enforcement agencies that used Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reporting to successfully pursue and prosecute criminal investigation in seven categories:

  • SAR Review Task Force - Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • Significant Fraud - Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations
  • Cyber Threat - Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations
  • State and Local Enforcement - New York State Police
  • Third Party Money Launderers - Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation
  • Transnational Organized Crime - Drug Enforcement Administration
  • Transnational Security Threat Category - Federal Bureau of Investigation

The description of each investigation illustrates the key role of financial industry BSA filings in law enforcement's pursuit of criminals.

05/20/2020

Commercial Bank Exam Manual updated

The Federal Reserve Board has posted an update of its Commercial Bank Examination Manual, which presents examination objectives and procedures that Federal Reserve System examiners follow in evaluating the safety and soundness of state member banks. The Manual is intended as guidance for planning and conducting bank examinations.

05/20/2020

OFAC designates China-based Mahan Air sales agent

Treasury has announced that OFAC has designated China-based Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited for acting as a general sales agent for or on behalf of Iranian airline Mahan Air. Mahan Air is designated under counterterrorism authorities for providing support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), as well as under a counter proliferation authority that targets weapons of mass destruction proliferators and their supporters.

As a result of yesterday’s action, all property and interests in property of Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC. Identity information is available in BankersOnline's OFAC Update.

05/19/2020

FinCEN advisory on COVID-19 medical scams

Yesterday, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued Advisory FIN-2020-A002 on Medical Scams Related to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), to alert financial institutions to rising medical scams related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This advisory contains red flags, descriptions of COVID-19 related medical scams, and information on reporting suspicious activity [insert "COVID-19 FIN-2020-A002" in field 2 (Financial Institution Note to FinCEN)]. This is the first of several advisories FinCEN intends to issue concerning financial crimes related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

FinCEN also issued a companion notice that provides detailed filing instructions for financial institutions, which will serve as a reference for future COVID-19 advisories.

05/19/2020

Victims of online scam to receive refunds

The Federal Trade Commission has announced it is sending full refunds totaling more than $12 million to individuals who lost money to a company called "I Works," which operated deceptive “trial” memberships and bogus government-grant and money-making schemes in 2010. Utah-based I Works ran numerous online marketing campaigns, which falsely advertised that federal grants for personal needs were generally available to consumers, and that people who used I Works’ money-making product were likely to earn substantial income. The company unlawfully enrolled consumers in membership programs without disclosing, or without disclosing clearly, that it would charge their accounts on a recurring basis until consumers canceled.

The FTC is sending 147,333 refunds averaging $86 to victims of the I Works scheme.

05/14/2020

OFAC updates 490 North Korea-related SDN listings

OFAC has posted a notice that it has added descriptive text to 490 SDN listings to reflect a prohibition on foreign subsidiaries of U.S. financial institutions from knowingly engaging in transactions with SDNs designated under North Korea-related authorities.

The added text reads: "Transactions Prohibited For Persons Owned or Controlled by U.S. Financial Institutions: North Korea Sanctions Regulations section 510.214.” The prohibition was added by the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act (NKSPEA) as modified by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020.

For the list of affected SDNs, see OFAC's May 13, 2020, notice.

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