Merrill Lynch Fined $12 Million for Failing to File SARs
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today announced charges against Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and its parent company BAC North America Holding Co. (BACNAH) for failing to file hundreds of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) from 2009 to late 2019.
According to the SEC's order, BACNAH assumed responsibility for creating and implementing Merrill Lynch's SAR policies and procedures and for filing Merrill Lynch's SARs. However, BACNAH improperly used a $25,000 threshold instead of the required $5,000 threshold for reporting suspicious transactions. As a result, Merrill Lynch failed to file hundreds of required SARs.
A SAR is a report filed by a financial institution to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) when it suspects that a transaction may be related to money laundering or other financial crimes. SARs are an important tool for law enforcement to identify and investigate criminal activity.
The SEC's order finds that Merrill Lynch violated the books and records provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 17a-8 thereunder and that BACNAH caused those violations. Without admitting or denying the SEC's findings, Merrill Lynch and BACNAH agreed to cease and desist from committing or causing violations of those provisions, and Merrill Lynch also agreed to a censure and the aforementioned $6 million civil penalty.
The SEC's action against Merrill Lynch and BACNAH sends a clear message that financial institutions must comply with the requirements for filing SARs. SARs are an essential tool for law enforcement to identify and investigate criminal activity, and financial institutions that fail to file required SARs can face significant penalties.
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Senior Writer Space Coast Living
1 年Another slap on the wrist. Might wanna throw some folks in prison this way they will learn to stop being wall Street criminals.