FINCEN AND U.S. TREASURY’S OFAC TAKE ENFORCEMENT ACTION AGAINST BITTREX

On October 11, both the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the U.S. Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took enforcement actions against Bittrex due to alleged violations of sanctions programs and reporting requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

According to the OFAC‘s announcement, the crypto exchange agreed to an over $24-million settlement, as investigations by OFAC and FinCEN revealed that the exchange apparently violated multiple sanctions programs and willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act’s (BSAs) anti-money laundering (AML) and suspicious activity report (SAR) reporting requirements.

Likewise, FinCEN announced the assessment of a civil money penalty valued at $29,280,829.20 against Bittrex, for violating the BSA and FinCENs implementing regulations. FinCEN said its actions are part of a global settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Bittrex did not take appropriate measures to deal with risks related to its products and services, including anonymity-enhanced cryptos, and did not effectively monitor transactions on its trading platform, said FinCEN.

The exchange transacted with entities and individuals located in jurisdictions subject to comprehensive OFAC sanctions, said FinCEN. OFAC said Bittrex did not screen customer information for terms related to sanctioned jurisdictions.

According to OFAC Director Andrea Gacki, “when virtual currency firms fail to implement effective sanctions compliance controls, including screening customers located in sanctioned jurisdictions, they can become a vehicle for illicit actors that threaten U.S national security.”