First Ever Criminal Bank Secrecy Act Charge Brought Against U.S. Broker-Dealer

On December 19, 2018, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced criminal charges against and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with Central States Capital Markets, LLC, a Kansas-based broker-dealer, under the Bank Secrecy Act.

The charge was for a felony violation of the BSA, which consisted of CSCM’s willful failure to file a suspicious activity report regarding the illegal activities of one of its customers.  According to the USAO, this represents the first ever criminal BSA charge brought against a United States broker-dealer.  This case is another milestone in the recent trend towards stricter enforcement of the anti-money laundering regulatory requirements applicable to broker-dealers.

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