The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network assessed a $15 million civil money penalty against Shinhan Bank America in New York for willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.
Fincen said in a press release that the $1.8 billion-asset bank’s payment will also cover a $5 million penalty from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The New York Department of Financial Services also assessed a civil penalty of $10 million.
Shinhan admitted to committing violations between April 2016 and March 2021 by, among other things, failing to implement and maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. It also failed to timely report several hundred transactions to Fincen involving suspicious financial activity by its customers.
Tens of millions of dollars in suspicious transactions were not reported to in a timely manner, including transactions tied to tax evasion, public corruption and money laundering.
Fincen said it warned the bank as far back as 2015. The FDIC hit the bank with a consent order in 2017 ordering it to improve BSA compliance.
“Today’s action should serve as a reminder to banks of all sizes that AML program deficiencies must be promptly and effectively addressed, and that Fincen takes seriously repeated failures to remediate violations of the BSA,” Fincen Director Andrea Gacki said in the release.