New York Bank Fined For Anti-Money-Laundering Law Failures

Article - Media, Fined

WSJ | 21.02.01

Apple Bank for Savings will pay the FDIC $12.5 million for allegedly failing to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act

Apple Bank for Savings agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle a regulator’s claims that it failed to comply with anti-money-laundering rules. The bank allegedly violated the Bank Secrecy Act, an anti-money-laundering law, between April 2014 and September 2018, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said. The order was issued in December and made public on Friday.

Continue reading “New York Bank Fined For Anti-Money-Laundering Law Failures”

Fined: ACS Execution Services, LLC Fined by FINRA

Fined

ACS Execution Services, LLC Fined by FINRA

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $75,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it reported ROEs to OATS that contained inaccurate, incomplete or improperly formatted data with respect to order events timestamped in milliseconds.

Read full report.

Fined: Wedbush Securities Inc. Fined by FINRA

Fined

Wedbush Securities Inc. Fined by FINRA

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $30,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to transmit Reportable Order Events (ROEs) to OATS due to system issues that arose during its transition between third-party order management systems. The findings stated that due to the same system issues, the firm transmitted ROEs containing inaccurate, incomplete, or improperly formatted data to OATS.

Read full report.

Fined: Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC Fined by FINRA

Fined

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC Fined by FINRA

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $20,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it permitted individuals who were employed by a foreign affiliate of the firm to effect transactions in a firm proprietary account without requiring the individuals to pass the Series 57 examination and become qualified and registered as Securities Traders.

Read full report.

Fined: FIMCO Securities Group, Inc. Fined by FINRA

Fined

FIMCO Securities Group, Inc. Fined by FINRA

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $5,000. A lower fine was imposed after considering, among other things, the firm’s revenues, financial resources and ability to pay. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to conduct supervisory testing and verification or prepare an annual report documenting the results.

Read full report.

Fined: BNP Paribas Securities Corp. Fined by FINRA

Fined

BNP Paribas Securities Corp. Fined by FINRA

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $90,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it submitted inaccurate, incomplete, or improperly formatted information to the Order Audit Trail FINRA has taken disciplinary actions against the following firms and individuals for violations of FINRA rules; federal securities laws, rules and regulations; and the rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB). Reported for April 2020 2 Disciplinary and Other FINRA Actions April 2020 System (OATS™).

Read full report.

Fined: Virtu Americas LLC Fined by FINRA

Fined

Virtu Americas LLC Fined by FINRA

A Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC)
was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $250,000. Without
admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and
to the entry of findings that it implemented policies and procedures that
failed to reasonably avoid displaying, or engaging in a pattern or practice of
displaying, locking or crossing quotations in over-the-counter (OTC) equity
securities.

Read full report.

Fined: Paulson Investment Company LLC Fined by FINRA

Fined

Paulson Investment Company LLC Fined by FINRA

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $50,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it sold private placement offerings claiming exemption from registration under Rule 506 of Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933, but without having established pre-existing, substantive relationships with the offerees prior to participating in those offerings. T

Read full report.

Fined: Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC nka Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC Fined by FINRA

Fined

Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC nka Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC Fined by FINRA

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $175,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to reasonably supervise a former registered representative who excessively traded equity positions in accounts belonging to an elderly customer. The findings stated that the customer was 88 years old when the trading commenced and that as a result of the excessive trading, she paid at least $300,000 in commissions and other fees.

Read full report.

Fined: Wedbush Securities Inc. Fined by FINRA

Fined

Wedbush Securities Inc. Fined by FINRA

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $90,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it misreported its short positions in equity securities that must be reported pursuant to FINRA Rule 4560 by overstating its short positions and the number of accounts with short positions.

Read full report.

Fined: Prudential Investment Management Services LLC Fined by FINRA

Fined

Prudential Investment Management Services LLC Fined by FINRA

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured, fined $1,000,000 and required to retain one or more qualified independent consultants not unacceptable to FINRA to conduct a comprehensive review of the adequacy of its compliance with FINRA rules in connection with the violations described in the AWC. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it disseminated inaccurate information about group variable annuities expense ratios and inaccurate historical performance information about investment options offered in those annuities.

Read full report.

Fined: Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Fined by FINRA

Fined

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Fined by FINRA

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured, fined $225,000 and required to revise its supervisory system and WSPs. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it effected a short sale for its own account without borrowing the security or entering into a bona fide arrangement to borrow the security, and without documenting its compliance with the locate requirement for short sale transactions.

Read full report.

Fined: Spencer Edwards, Inc. Fined by FINRA

Fined

Spencer Edwards, Inc. Fined by FINRA

A NAC decision became final in which the firm was fined $3,400,000 and ordered to pay disgorgement in the amount of $90,940, plus prejudgment interest. The NAC affirmed the findings in relevant part and modified the sanctions imposed by the OHO. Given that the firm is no longer operating as a broker-dealer, the NAC assessed, but did not impose, a suspension on the firm requiring it to engage an independent consultant who will monitor its supervisory and anti-money laundering procedures related to its microcap securities liquidation business.

Read full report.

THE DOLLAR HAS NO INTRINSIC VALUE : DO YOUR ASSETS?