Financial Crimes Compliance

Under the BSA, financial institutions and other covered entities must have an appropriate risk-based AML compliance program built on five essential pillars: (1) a designated compliance officer; (2) written risk-based internal policies, procedures, and controls; (3) ongoing training; (4) independent review/examination; and (5) CDD and beneficial-owner identification for legal entities. This AML program requirement has trickled down from financial institutions to their own customers in recent years, given the significant risks and penalties for failures under the BSA.

At Winston, we have a team of lawyers who work together to provide AML/CFT compliance program guidance at all stages, from the risk-assessment stage to the policies-and-procedures stage and through to the implementation stage. In addition to implementing and modifying AML/CFT compliance programs at large, we have created and evaluated subordinate or supporting AML policies and procedures related to:

• CIP
• KYC/CDD
• EDD
• SAR
• Currency transaction reporting (CTR)
• OFAC
• Anti-bribery and corruption (ABC)

We take a client-centric approach to AML/CFT compliance and believe understanding the client’s unique business, objectives, and operations is an essential component of building, revising, and maintaining an effective AML program. We also take a collaborative approach internally to meet the client’s compliance needs. For example, our financial crimes compliance attorneys often work closely with our attorneys in related regulatory arenas such as ABC, export controls, imports/customs, anti-boycott, consumer protection, and data privacy.

Money laundering is a federal crime for all persons—not just covered entities. Moreover, those entities that do have AML program requirements can be criminally liable for program failures and responsible persons can be sentenced to imprisonment. Outside criminal penalties, BSA failures can result in hefty civil monetary penalties (often ranging in amounts up to several hundred million dollars) and may result in reputational, operational, practical, and compliance impact and costs. In this high-stakes industry, clients are often faced with complex and robust requirements from several federal and state regulatory bodies and examiners, who may in turn have their own rules and requirements.

Our financial crimes compliance attorneys frequently assist clients with respect to state and federal enforcement matters and related investigations. We provide a full suite of services depending on the client’s specific need. For example, we have conducted internal investigations for corporate clients where the clients self-identified AML-related issues. We also have successfully defended financial institution clients in connection with large criminal money-laundering investigations and in responding to DOJ grand jury subpoenas.

Our attorneys have represented clients on AML matters before several U.S. law enforcement agencies and federal regulatory bodies—including the DOJ, FinCEN, SEC, CFTC, FINRA, National Futures Association (NFA), FDIC, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Reserve, and IRS—and state regulatory agencies—including the NYDFS, the Texas Department of Banking, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (FOFR), and the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Likewise, we have successfully assisted clients in remediating programs under formal and informal enforcement actions, including consent orders and deferred-prosecution agreements.

For more than a century, we have been a trusted advisor and advocate to financial services clients around the world, advising them in some of their highest-stakes and most sensitive matters. Our multidisciplinary Financial Services Industry Group represents leading banks and financial services companies in a range of complex corporate and transactional matters; litigation and disputes; and regulatory, compliance, and enforcement matters.

Learn More

Our financial services corporate and transactional lawyers are grounded in the issues that financial institutions face worldwide and offer extensive experience assisting financial services firms with their corporate and transactional needs. From the formation of a new subsidiary or joint venture to the completion of a significant merger or acquisition, we are capable of handling transactions exceptionally and efficiently.

Our financial services litigators have a distinguished reputation for handling complex litigation involving consumer claims against financial institutions and for representing clients in government and internal investigations. We have defended financial services clients against claims brought under myriad consumer-protection statutes governing consumer transactions. We leverage our reputation as a trial lawyers’ firm to help clients overcome bet-the-company litigation, resolve day-to-day business matters, and prepare for future threats.

Learn More

We have a broad and established regulatory, compliance, and enforcement practice. We advise a wide range of financial services clients on federal and state supervisory examinations and in developing and implementing corrective action and remediation responses for numerous agencies, including, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Reserve Board (FRB), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Treasury/ Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (NJDOBI), and Florida Office of Financial Regulation (FOFR).