FINRA Lawyer Blog
On August 23, 2022, FINRA published an AWC reflecting a settlement with ViewTrade Securities, Inc. The AWC alleges that ViewTrade failed to establish and implement written AML policies and procedures that could reasonably detect and cause the reporting of suspicious transactions in violation of FINRA Rule 3310. FINRA Rule 3310 requires that each member firm develop and implement a written AML program reasonably designed to achieve and monitor the member’s compliance with the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act (31 U.S.C. 5311, et seq.) (BSA). Rule 3310(a) further requires firms to, “[e]stablish and implement policies and procedures that can be reasonably expected to detect and cause the reporting of transactions required under [the BSA] . . . . ” The regulations implementing the BSA, in turn, require every broker-dealer to file a Suspicious Activity Report (“SAR”) with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network any time they detect, “any suspicious transactions relevant to a possible violation of law or regulation.”
FINRA’s past guidance on this issue (NTM 02-21 and Regulatory Notice 19-18) advised firms to look for red flags and provided several examples:
- Customers’ mailing address is associated with multiple other accounts or business that do not appear related,