Month: November 2021

MATTHEW LEVINE AND ILENE JAROSLAW AUTHOR ARTICLE ON CRYPTOCURRENCY ENFORCEMENT IN NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL

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Matthew Levine and Ilene Jaroslaw teamed up to discuss how the federal regulatory and prosecutorial enforcement focus is shifting to cryptocurrency exchanges. The article in the New York Law Journal is found here:  New York Law Journal – Biden Administration Increasingly Focused on Crypto Exchanges – Nov 29 2021  

NYDFS ISSUES $100 MILLION PENALTY TO MASHREQBANK FOR OFAC-RELATED COMPLIANCE VIOLATIONS

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NYDFS Issued a $100  million to Mashreqbank.  Enforcement takeaways:

–  Conduct is failing to implement an effective OFAC compliance program, submitting incomplete reports to NYDFS, and failing to report misconduct to NYDFS;

–  Conduct relates to violations of federal economic sanctions against Sudan
–  NYDFS previously penalized Mashreq Bank $40 million in 2018 for a deficient BSA/AML program;

–  No monitor imposed;

–  Parallel actions by OFAC and the Federal Reserve Board.

The enforcement action may be found here:  https://www.dfs.ny.gov/reports_and_publications/press_releases/pr20211109

 

 

 

NYDFS CREATES CLIMATE RISK DIVISON

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NYDFS created a new Climate Risk Division, with a new Executive Deputy Superintendent overseeing the Division, which will:
– integrate climate risks into its supervision of regulated entities
– support industry growth in managing climate risks
– coordinate with international, national, and state regulators
– develop internal capacity on climate-related financial risks
– support capacity-building of peer regulators on climate-related supervision
– ensure fair access to financial services for all communities, especially those most impacted by climate change.

Press release is here:  https://www.dfs.ny.gov/reports_and_publications/press_releases/pr202111032