quora
webinr-icon

“A Fintech’s Path to Rapid Growth with 100% KYC/KYB Compliance” - 7th November

Register Here

FinCEN Fines Puerto Rican Bank, Bancrédito, $15 Million on BSA Violation

n-img-fincen

Puerto Rican bank, Bancrédito, was fined $15 million by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for failing to provide Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR) between October 2015 and May 2022 and violating rules by the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). 

The Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN) fined Puerto Rican bank, Bancrédito, $15 million for failure to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). According to a report by FinCEN, The bank was unable to timely provide suspicious transaction activity reports from October 2015 to May 2022 and failed to maintain due diligence checks in the US. The bank also failed to implement and maintain an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and BSA programme.

According to the consent decree, Bancrédito failed to supervise the account funds flow related to Panamanian bank servicing firms and individuals in Venezuela and Panama; the alleged transfer also involved one of Bancrédito’s executives.

Bancrédito was initially established by Julio Velutini, a citizen of Venezuela, in 2008 and intended to serve foreign banks in the Caribbean and Central America. After being accused of bribing Puerto Rico’s now-former Governor, Velutini turned him into the authorities in August 2020. Former Governor, Wanda Vazquez, undermined an investigation and was also arrested for accepting campaign bribes from Velutini.

FinCEN Director, Andrea Gacki, stated, “Bancrédito processed millions of dollars in suspicious transactions through the United States on behalf of high-risk customers, providing correspondent accounts to foreign financial institutions without the required due diligence and reporting required by the BSA. With today’s action, FinCEN is sending the message that the era of easy money laundering through Puerto Rican [international banking entities] is over.”

The penalty then marked the first enforcement against Puerto Rican IBE under the gap rule, which was affected in March 2021 to make banks comply with the AML regulations whilst providing international banking services.

According to a statement released by FinCEN, Bancrédito must surrender its licence to keep working in the US as an IBE whilst providing and maintaining all records related to BSA. Nonetheless, calling the action taken “unjustified,” the holding company of Bancrédito is planning to file a lawsuit against FinCEN. 

Suggested Reads:

MOROCCAN CHARITY, NAJIBA FOUNDATION, FACES ACCOUNT TERMINATION BY ING BANK FOR AML FAILURES

EUROPOL WARNS TRADE-BASED MONEY LAUNDERING POSES SUBSTANTIAL THREAT TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

CAMBODIA AND THAILAND POLICE FORCES UNITE AGAINST MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORIST FINANCING

Related Posts

News

United States Senate, UAE Government, and Spain Make Significant Efforts to Curb Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Activities

UK Parliament Legislates New Digital Identity Verification Services Bill Taiwan and Singapore St...

United States Senate, UAE Government, and Spain Make Significant Efforts to Curb Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Activities Read More

News

UK Parliament Legislates New Digital Identity Verification Services Bill

At the same time, trade bodies and digital identity service providers have consulted with the gov...

UK Parliament Legislates New Digital Identity Verification Services Bill Read More

News

Taiwan and Singapore Strengthen AML Regulations for Virtual Asset Providers and Banks

According to the recently passed amendments, overseas crypto platforms are obliged to set up loca...

Taiwan and Singapore Strengthen AML Regulations for Virtual Asset Providers and Banks Read More

News

Singapore and Europe Enhance AML Framework to Fight Financial Crimes Effectively

For the CSPs, the law mandates that they must ensure that the arranged nominees are “fit and prop...

Singapore and Europe Enhance AML Framework to Fight Financial Crimes Effectively Read More

News

Türkiye Removed From Gray List, India Recognized for Its AML Efforts, and Kuwait Urged to Have Better Money Laundering Control Measures: FATF Updates

In addition to these shortcomings, the watchdog discovered that the country’s banking, constructi...

Türkiye Removed From Gray List, India Recognized for Its AML Efforts, and Kuwait Urged to Have Better Money Laundering Control Measures: FATF Updates Read More

News

FINMA, SFC, and MAS Fine Multiple Financial Institutions Over $1.5 Billion For Money Laundering Activities

These suspicious transactions amounted to more than $300 million and were conducted between 2002 ...

FINMA, SFC, and MAS Fine Multiple Financial Institutions Over $1.5 Billion For Money Laundering Activities Read More

News

Nigeria, Myanmar, and Türkiye Take Effective Steps to Meet FATF Recommendations

Mohammad Shahid Ahmed, the Chief of Staff at NFIU, has been appointed as the Vice Chairman of the...

Nigeria, Myanmar, and  Türkiye Take Effective Steps to Meet FATF Recommendations Read More

News

Regulatory Authorities Fines TD Bank, Adelaide Casino, and SBI over $500 Million For AML Failings

In addition to this, the spokesperson also stated that the company failed to comply with due dili...

Regulatory Authorities Fines TD Bank, Adelaide Casino, and SBI over $500 Million For AML Failings Read More

News

United States Senate, UAE Government, and Spain Make Significant Efforts to Curb Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Activities

UK Parliament Legislates New Digital Identity Verification Services Bill Taiwan and Singapore St...

United States Senate, UAE Government, and Spain Make Significant Efforts to Curb Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Activities Read More

News

UK Parliament Legislates New Digital Identity Verification Services Bill

At the same time, trade bodies and digital identity service providers have consulted with the gov...

UK Parliament Legislates New Digital Identity Verification Services Bill Read More

News

Taiwan and Singapore Strengthen AML Regulations for Virtual Asset Providers and Banks

According to the recently passed amendments, overseas crypto platforms are obliged to set up loca...

Taiwan and Singapore Strengthen AML Regulations for Virtual Asset Providers and Banks Read More

News

Singapore and Europe Enhance AML Framework to Fight Financial Crimes Effectively

For the CSPs, the law mandates that they must ensure that the arranged nominees are “fit and prop...

Singapore and Europe Enhance AML Framework to Fight Financial Crimes Effectively Read More

News

Türkiye Removed From Gray List, India Recognized for Its AML Efforts, and Kuwait Urged to Have Better Money Laundering Control Measures: FATF Updates

In addition to these shortcomings, the watchdog discovered that the country’s banking, constructi...

Türkiye Removed From Gray List, India Recognized for Its AML Efforts, and Kuwait Urged to Have Better Money Laundering Control Measures: FATF Updates Read More

News

FINMA, SFC, and MAS Fine Multiple Financial Institutions Over $1.5 Billion For Money Laundering Activities

These suspicious transactions amounted to more than $300 million and were conducted between 2002 ...

FINMA, SFC, and MAS Fine Multiple Financial Institutions Over $1.5 Billion For Money Laundering Activities Read More

News

Nigeria, Myanmar, and Türkiye Take Effective Steps to Meet FATF Recommendations

Mohammad Shahid Ahmed, the Chief of Staff at NFIU, has been appointed as the Vice Chairman of the...

Nigeria, Myanmar, and  Türkiye Take Effective Steps to Meet FATF Recommendations Read More

News

Regulatory Authorities Fines TD Bank, Adelaide Casino, and SBI over $500 Million For AML Failings

In addition to this, the spokesperson also stated that the company failed to comply with due dili...

Regulatory Authorities Fines TD Bank, Adelaide Casino, and SBI over $500 Million For AML Failings Read More

Take the next steps to better security.

Contact us

Get in touch with our experts. We'll help you find the perfect solution for your compliance and security needs.

Contact us

Request demo

Get free access to our platform and try our products today.

Get started