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The Treasury Department has issued announcements of designations under OFAC's Global Magnitsky and Cyber-related sanctions programs.

The Global Magnitsky sanctions designations included individuals who have undermined fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, in the country of Georgia. Specifically, the Department of the Treasury sanctioned two Georgian government officials associated with brutal crackdowns on peaceful protestors and political opponents, and two private Georgian citizens that are responsible for or complicit in, or have directly or indirectly engaged in violently suppressing the exercise of the freedom of peaceful assembly of Georgians engaged in the democratic process and peaceful expression.

OFAC also designated five individuals and one entity associated with the Intellexa Consortium under its Cyber-related sanctions for their role in developing, operating, and distributing commercial spyware technology that presents a significant threat to the national security of the United States.

For the names and identification information of the designated parties covered by both announcements, see the September 16, 2024, BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The FDIC, OCC, and Federal Reserve Board have jointly announced they will extend until October 30, 2024, the comment period on a request for information on bank-fintech arrangements involving banking products and services.

The agencies are seeking input on the nature and implications of bank-fintech arrangements and effective risk management practices. Extending the comment period will allow the public more time to consider the request, prepare comments, and address the questions posed by the agencies. Comments were originally due by September 30, 2024.

• Federal Register Extension Notice

The FDIC has issued FIL-62-2024 with guidance to provide regulatory relief to financial institutions and facilitate recovery in areas of Pennsylvania — Lycoming, Potter, Tioga, and Union Counties — affected by Tropical Storm Debby August 9–10, 2024.

The OCC has announced it has entered into a Formal Agreement with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

The Formal Agreement identifies deficiencies relating to the bank’s financial crimes risk management practices and anti-money laundering internal controls in several areas including suspicious activity and currency transaction reporting, customer due diligence, and the bank’s customer identification and beneficial ownership programs.

The agreement requires the bank to take comprehensive corrective actions to enhance its Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering and U.S. sanctions compliance programs.

The Treasury Department has reported that OFAC has sanctioned Cambodian businessman Ly Yong Phat, his conglomerate L.Y.P. Group Co., and O‑Smach Resort for their role in serious human rights abuse related to the treatment of trafficked workers subjected to forced labor in online scam centers. OFAC also designated Cambodia-based Garden City Hotel, Koh Kong Resort, and Phnom Penh Hotel for being owned or controlled by Ly.

Treasury also announced that OFAC has designated 16 Maduro-aligned officials who obstructed a competitive and inclusive presidential election process in Venezuela and violated the civil and human rights of the people. The individuals sanctioned under the authority of Executive Order 13692 include leaders of the Maduro-aligned National Electoral Council and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice who impeded a transparent electoral process and the release of accurate election results, as well as the military, intelligence, and government officials responsible for intensifying repression through intimidation, indiscriminate detentions, and censorship.

For a link to the names and identification information of the designated parties, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update, which also includes information on a new Global Magnitsky General License and new and amended FAQs.

The Federal Reserve Board has announced it has executed a written agreement among Fieldpoint Private Holdings, Inc., Fieldpoint Private Bank and Trust, both of Greenwich, Connecticut, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the State of Connecticut Department of Banking, to address certain deficiencies at the holding company and the bank.

Topics listed in the agreement include Liquidity and Funds Management, Strategic Plan and Budget, Capital Plan, and Capital Conservation.

The Treasury Department on Wednesday announced that OFAC has sanctioned three individuals, five companies, and two vessels that are involved in smuggling oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to generate revenue for Hizballah.

For identification information on the individuals, entities, and vessels designated by OFAC, and other OFAC actions yesterday, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday announced it had ordered TD Bank, N.A. to pay $7.76 million in consumer redress to thousands of victims for its illegal actions regarding credit reporting. The Bureau said the bank for years repeatedly shared inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies. The information included systemic errors about credit card delinquencies and bankruptcies. In addition to the redress, the CFPB is ordering TD Bank to pay a $20 million civil money penalty.

Specifically, the CFPB said TD Bank harmed consumers by—

• Failing to fix its credit card reporting errors
• Sharing fraudulent information with consumer reporting companies after the bank identified hundreds of thousands of deposit account openings that were either confirmed or suspected to be fraudulent
• Failing to investigate and resolve consumer disputes

For additional information and the details of the Bureau's consent order, click HERE.

The FDIC has announced it Board of Directors will meet at 10:00 a.m. EDT September 17, 2024. The meeting will be open to the public for observation only by webcast.

On the agenda are—

• A notice of proposed rulemaking on custodial deposit accounts with transaction features and prompt payment of deposit insurance to depositors
• A final statement of policy on bank merger transactions

The Treasury Department yesterday announced that OFAC has sanctioned nine Mexican nationals and 26 Mexico-based entities linked to a fuel theft network that generates tens of millions of dollars benefiting the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), a violent Mexico-based drug trafficking organization responsible for a significant proportion of fentanyl and other deadly drugs trafficked into the United States. Mexico-based drug trafficking cartels such as CJNG have turned to fuel theft in recent years, resulting in billions of dollars in lost revenue to the Mexican government. Today’s action was coordinated closely with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Government of Mexico, including La Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (UIF), Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit.

OFAC also designated ten individuals and six entities based in Iran and Russia and identified four vessels as blocked property that are enabling Iran’s delivery of weapons components and weapons systems, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and close-range ballistic missiles (CRBMs), to Russia.

For identification information on the individuals, entities, and vessels designated or identified yesterday, see BankersOnline’s September 10, 2024, OFAC Update.