Legal issues and news

As many businesses and consumers have been forced to deal with the difficult conditions thrust upon them by the COVID-19 pandemic, so too have fraudsters needed to make adjustments just to continue their life of crime.

Financial institutions and authorities could better track money launderers if legalized-marijuana-related businesses were not included in SARs.

Artificial intelligence, machine learning and enhanced data sharing among lenders could go a long way toward spotting suspicious patterns in daily financial activity and bad actors, experts say.

The news media investigation of transactions by nefarious actors puts certain large banks in a negative light, but it also points to inefficient use of suspicious activity reports and other anti-money-laundering issues that the industry has decried for years.

JPMorgan Chase is poised to pay close to $1 billion to resolve market manipulation investigations by U.S. authorities into its trading of metals futures and Treasury securities, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

By taking action today, you can begin to have peace of mind that your previously existing fraud vectors have been sealed off, says PaymentWorks' Thayer Stewart.

With lawmakers weighing changes to Bank Secrecy Act requirements, the Government Accountability Office urged the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to establish written policies for expanding use of the agency’s database.

Matthew Raphaelson, Kenneth Zimmerman and Tracy Kidd, all of whom were senior executives in the company’s consumer banking unit, have agreed to pay six-figure fines in connection with Wells Fargo’s unauthorized account scandal.

Netwalker attacks are known to target victims using phishing emails disguised as COVID-19 updates from their organization, taking advantage of the heightened fears and anxieties that come with the current pandemic, says Stealthbits Technologies' Dan Piazza.

A new investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists says JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank and several other global institutions kept moving illicit funds after receiving warnings from U.S. officials.

The future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Fed’s supervisory regime for the biggest financial institutions, reform of the Community Reinvestment Act and a host of other industry-related issues are on the ballot this November.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is seeking to create a better-defined standard for effective AML compliance programs and is considering whether to impose formal requirements that banks assess their laundering risk.

By implementing email protections and patches, the bank was able to protect mobile payments, ATMs, and digital banking, says Red Canary's Tony Lambert.

In the coming months, governments will continue to disburse truly historic amounts of funds; and we can continue to expect historic levels of fraud. Leveraging technology can get money to those who deserve it while preventing criminals from exploiting this crisis, says Giant Oak's Gary Shiffman.

Fraud of all kinds has been spiking during the pandemic. Krista Tedder, head of payments, Javelin Strategy & Research, says there are many steps banks could be taking to detect and deter it.

The company's outgoing CFO discussed ways the asset cap is stunting growth, but provided no updates at an industry conference on when the restriction might be lifted or the types of jobs it will cut.

The 57 charges involve $175 million allegedly stolen from the small-business loan program. Defendants are accused of lying on their applications and using funds to buy cars, jewelry and other luxury items.

The bank discovered the actions, all of which were tied to the SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, after noticing that suspicious amounts of money had been deposited into checking accounts owned by bank employees, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Driver Management, a bank investor, alleges that First United in Maryland made false claims and improperly lobbied lawmakers to keep its nominees off the board. The bank asserts that it acted properly in response to an attempted hostile takeover.

Businesses must take steps to manage Shadow Code data breach risk by applying timely security patches and upgrading vulnerable open source libraries and third-party plugins, says PermiterX's Ameet Naik.