The SEC and Finra Tighten Their Grip on Money Laundering Violations

Regulators are clamping down on money laundering violations among brokerdealers in firms of all sizes, regardless if they have the proper compliance resources or not. Brokerdealers of small and medium sized firms should brace themselves for increasing regulations involving their compliance practices. No more are Finra and the SEC targeting just the larger companies. Nick Fera, chief executive officer of Firm58 stated, “They’re getting more aggressive about things and it’s harder to operate a business in this environment.”

Recent Money Laundering Violations and Why

E.S. Financial Services based in Miami, agreed to a $1 million fine for charges of violating antimoney laundering rules. The SEC fined New York based Albert Fried & Co., $300,000 for failing to monitor customers’ trading for suspicious activity. In a record $17 million fine, Finra charged Raymond James Financial Inc, with widespread compliance failure and severe antimoney laundering.

These penalties are stemming directly from small and medium sized companies unable to keep up with compliance demands. A lot of these firms are having difficulty adhering to new rules due to lack of resources and privy criminals that are able to move money around without being noticed.

Starr Austen Can Help in Your Money Laundering Case

Don’t let a firm of any size dupe you out of your hard earned money. If an individual or firm has taken advantage of you, our team of investment fraud lawyers have experience in representing clients who have purchased unsuitable annuities and will fight for the protection of investors and handle cases involving unsuitability, securities arbitration misrepresentation, overconcentration, broker fraud, negligence and breach of trust.