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• A Formal Agreement with Credit Suisse AG New York Branch, New York, NY, to address deficiencies in the branch’s compliance related to the Bank Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering laws and regulations. The branch’s execution of this formal agreement was a condition for the branch’s conversion to a federal license. The provisions of the formal agreement are substantially the same as a December 2020 written agreement between the branch and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the New York State Department of Financial Services.
• A Formal Agreement with Touchmark National Bank, Alpharetta, GA, for unsafe or unsound practices, including those relating to the bank’s strategic planning, board and management oversight, liquidity risk management, interest risk management, credit risk management, audit, and information technology.

• Manuel Alejandro Ramirez Perez, former relationship banker and credit solutions advisor at Bonita Springs and North Naples, Florida, branches of Bank of America, N.A., Charlotte, NC, for improperly accessing customer accounts and providing information on those accounts to a third-party individual.
• Aviana Rivera, former personal banker at a Bryan, Texas, branch of First National Bank Texas, Killeen, TX, for embezzling $11,500 from the account of a bank customer.

The Treasury Department has announced that OFAC has designated two individuals and five entities that have facilitated weapons procurement for Ansarallah, commonly referred to as the Houthis. OFAC is also designating one individual and one company, as well as identifying one vessel, that have facilitated the shipment of commodities, the sale of which provides an important funding stream to the Houthis that aids in their weapons procurement. This action targets key actors who have enabled the Houthis to generate revenue and acquire a range of materials to manufacture the advanced weaponry they are now using to conduct ongoing terrorist attacks against commercial ships.

For the names and identification information of the designated parties, see the June 17, 2024, BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Federal Reserve Board on Friday announced its issuance of a Consent Cease and Desist Order against Evolve Bancorp, Inc., and Evolve Bank & Trust, both of West Memphis, Arkansas, for deficiencies in the bank's anti-money laundering, risk management, and consumer compliance programs.

Evolve partners with various financial technology companies that, in turn, provide access to banking products and services to their end customers. Examinations conducted in 2023 found that Evolve engaged in unsafe and unsound banking practices by failing to have in place an effective risk management framework for those partnerships. In addition, Evolve did not maintain an effective risk management program or controls sufficient to comply with anti-money laundering laws and laws protecting consumers.

The Board is requiring the bank to improve its policies and programs in those areas, in addition to requiring other remedial improvements. For current partnerships with financial technology companies, the Board's action requires Evolve to strengthen its risk management practices to address potential risks, including compliance and fraud risks, by implementing appropriate oversight and monitoring of those relationships, including through enhanced procedures related to recordkeeping and consumer compliance programs. The Board's enforcement action against Evolve is independent of the bankruptcy proceedings regarding Synapse Financial Technologies, Inc.

The Board's action was taken in conjunction with the Arkansas State Bank Department, the state supervisor of Evolve.

On Friday, the Treasury Department reported that OFAC has imposed sanctions on four individuals with links to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), including members of an ISIS-linked human smuggling network. The investigations into these targets, as well as their subsequent designations, were taken in close coordination with the Government of Türkiye. As a result of this close cooperation, the Government of Türkiye concurrently took its own domestic action against this network.

Also on Friday, the State Department announced its designation of Tzav 9, a violent extremist Israeli group that has been blocking, harassing, and damaging convoys carrying lifesaving humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

For additional information on the sanctioned parties, see BankersOnline’s June 14, 2024, OFAC Update.

The Treasury Department on Wednesday announced it has issued sweeping new measures guided by G7 commitments to intensify the pressure on Russia for its continued cruel and unprovoked war against Ukraine. Yesterday’s actions ratchet up the risk of secondary sanctions for foreign financial institutions that deal with Russia’s war economy; restrict the ability of Russian military-industrial base to take advantage of certain U.S. software and information technology (IT) services; and, together with the Department of State, target more than 300 individuals and entities both in Russia and outside its borders—including in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Central Asia, and the Caribbean—whose products and services enable Russia to sustain its war effort and evade sanctions.

To help clarify the risk foreign financial institutions face by conducting or facilitating significant transactions or providing any service involving Russia’s designated banks, OFAC has updated the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List) information for five sanctioned Russian financial institutions, to include the addresses and aliases of their foreign locations.

Specifically, OFAC has updated the listings for Promsvyazbank Public Joint Stock Company to include its locations in Beijing, People’s Republic of China (PRC), Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, and New Delhi, India; for State Corporation Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs Vnesheconombank to include its locations in Beijing, PRC and Mumbai, India; for Sberbank to include its locations in Beijing, PRC and New Delhi and Mumbai, India; for VTB to include its locations in New Delhi, India, and Beijing and Shanghai, PRC; and for VTB Capital Holdings Closed Joint Stock Company to include its location in Hong Kong, PRC.

For the names and identification information of the designated parties, and information on related OFAC actions, see the June 12, 2024, BankersOnline OFAC Update.

On June 11, the Treasury Department announced that OFAC has sanctioned members of one of Guyana’s wealthiest families, Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin Mohamed, their company, Mohamed’s Enterprise, and a Guyanese government official, Mae Thomas, for their roles in public corruption in Guyana. Additionally, OFAC designated two other entities, Hadi’s World and Team Mohamed’s Racing Team, for being owned or controlled by Mohamed’s Enterprise and Azruddin, respectively. These individuals and entities are sanctioned pursuant to Executive Order 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world.

For the identification information of the designated parties, see the June 11, 2024, BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Treasury Department yesterday reported that OFAC has sanctioned four individuals (including tanker captains), four entities, and two vessels in multiple jurisdictions that have engaged in the illicit transport of oil and other commodities, including for the network of Houthi financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal. This action targets maritime shipping and financial facilitators, several vessel managers and owners, and a company involved in forging shipping documents. This seventh round of sanctions targeting the network of Sa’id al-Jamal since October 2023 underscores the U.S. government’s commitment to isolating and disrupting the financing of international terrorist groups such as the Houthis.

For the names and identification information of the designated individuals, entities, and vessels, see the June 10, 2024, BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday reported it had charged three New Yorkers with fraud for selling unregistered membership interests in LLCs that purported to invest in shares of pre-IPO companies, first on behalf of StraightPath Venture Partners LLC, the subject of the Commission’s emergency action in May 2022, and, later, on behalf of Legend Venture Partners LLC, the subject of the Commission’s emergency action in June 2023. Both StraightPath and Legend are now under court-ordered receiverships.

In this new action, the SEC alleges that New York residents Mario Gogliormella, Steven Lacaj, and Karim Ibrahim directed an unregistered sales force of more than 50 callers in boiler rooms to pressure investors into making investments without telling them that the shares had been substantially marked up—between approximately 19 and 105 percent on average above the prices that StraightPath or Legend had paid for the underlying shares. As a result of these tactics, the defendants and their sales force allegedly pocketed more than $45 million in fees from unsuspecting investors from 2019 to 2022.

The SEC’s complaint charges the defendants with violating antifraud and other provisions of the federal securities laws. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, return of allegedly ill-gotten gains, and civil penalties. The SEC also charged Adam Ibrahim, Karim Ibrahim’s brother, as a relief defendant.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York on Friday reported it has unsealed an indictment charging Gogliormella, Lacaj, and Karim Ibrahim with securities fraud, among other offenses, in connection with their work for StraightPath and Legend.

FinCEN has released its Year in Review for Fiscal Year 2023, which is intended to help stakeholders gain insight into the collection and use of Bank Secrecy Act data, including FinCEN’s efforts to support law enforcement and national security agencies. The Year in Review includes statistics from fiscal year 2023 on BSA reporting and how it is queried and used by law enforcement agencies. It also includes information on how FinCEN uses and analyzes BSA reporting to fulfill its mission, including to support alerts, trend analyses, and regulatory actions.

The Treasury Department has released a Request for Information on the Uses, Opportunities, and Risks of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Financial Services Sector.

Through this RFI, Treasury seeks to increase its understanding of how AI is being used within the financial services sector and the opportunities and risks presented by developments and applications of AI within the sector, including potential obstacles for facilitating responsible use of AI within financial institutions, the extent of impact on consumers, investors, financial institutions, businesses, regulators, end-users, and any other entity impacted by financial institutions’ use of AI, and recommendations for enhancements to legislative, regulatory, and supervisory frameworks applicable to AI in financial services. Treasury is particularly interested in understanding how AI innovations can help promote a financial system that delivers inclusive and equitable access to financial services.

UPDATE: Published at 89 FR 50048 in the June 12, 2024, Federal Register, with a comment period ending on August 12, 2024.