On September 7, 2022, Jimmy Kirby, Acting Deputy Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) spoke at the 2022 Federal Identity Forum & Exposition (FedID). Mr. Kirby discussed the importance of digital identity to FinCEN focusing on emerging threats, responsible innovation, and expansion of partnerships and feedback loops. https://www.fincen.gov/news/speeches/prepared-remarks-fincen-acting-deputy-director-jimmy-kirby-during-2022-federal What Is FinCEN? The U

On July 6, 2022, five U.S. agencies responsible for various aspects of the U.S. financial industry issued a "Joint Statement on the Risk-Based Approach to Assessing Customer Relationships and Conducting Customer Due Diligence". The five agencies are: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Financial Crimes Enforcement Network National Credit Union Administration Office of the Comptroller of the Currency The agencies reinforced "a

On May 19, 2022, Alessio Evangelista, Associate Director of FinCEN’s Enforcement and Compliance Division spoke at the Chainalysis Links Conference. Mr. Evangelista emphasized the large amount of information available to Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) and suggested “VASPs proactively adopt and uphold high standards for compliance.” What Is FinCEN? The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. FinCEN’s goal i

In some parts of the financial industry, there is an unfounded fear that an individual with more than one passport is a suspicious character. There are more law abiding individuals with multiple passports than criminals and such individuals should be welcomed to your institution as clients. Dual Citizenship Dual citizenship is the status of a person who is a legal citizen of two or more countries. 123 jurisdictions allow dual citizenship and another 13 allow dual citizenship

Whether it’s assessing a new foreign grantor trust client, setting up a new foreign biotech manufacturing plant or soliciting funds for a private equity investment in an offshore business, a risk assessment must be made regarding the foreign jurisdiction. If you haven’t had previous experience with the jurisdiction, you may be left scratching your head reviewing government and non-governmental organization (NGO) lists. Given that the press frequently pounces on the concept o

The South Dakota Trust Association hosted its third annual Fall Forum on October 17 & October 18, 2019. We were fortunate to have Scott Kelly, Deputy Director of Trusts, South Dakota Division of Banking and Jonathan Sanborn, Esq., Financial Institution Examiner, South Dakota Division of Banking provide helpful information during the “Guidance on Foreign Trusts” panel. South Dakota The South Dakota trust industry has over $500 billion assets under management (AUM). This numb

The British Virgin Islands (BVI) issued revised Common Reporting Standard (CRS) Guidance Notes on February 19, 2019. Included in the revisions is a change in the definition of Controlling Person. The BVI will now use a 10% threshold for CRS reporting commencing in 2019. Application of AML The OECD advised that for purposes of determining Controlling Persons thresholds under CRS, a CRS jurisdiction must follow its own domestic anti-money laundering / know your customer (AML/

In some parts of the financial industry, there is an unfounded fear that an individual with more than one passport is a suspicious character. There are more law abiding individuals with multiple passports than criminals and such individuals should be welcomed to your institution as clients. Dual Citizenship Dual citizenship is the status of a person who is a legal citizen of two or more countries. 123 jurisdictions allow dual citizenship and another 13 allow dual citizenshi

In my practice, I represent clients in the financial industry (FATCA/CRS) and in the biotech industry (legal management of foreign subsidiaries). Given the rapid fire political changes, it is important for both industries to stay on top of U.S. regulations regarding Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) and those listed on the Consolidated Sanctions List. Most organizations in the financial industry conduct Know Your Customer / Anti-money Laundering (KYC/AML) checks during t