On January 1, 2021, the United States enacted the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA) after the US House of Representatives and US Senate voted to override a presidential veto of the law. Included within the NDAA are a significant number of provisions related to anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), including provisions reforming the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), a collection of statutes underpinning most of the current…

On December 30, 2020, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets control (OFAC) announced a $98,380 settlement with BitGo, Inc. (BitGo). This civil settlement, regarding apparent violations of multiple sanctions programs related to digital currency transactions, is the first published OFAC enforcement action against a business in the blockchain industry. BitGo, based in Palo Alto, California, is an “institutional digital asset custody, trading, and finance” company. The apparent sanctions violations relate to…

As 2020 finally comes to a close, it is time to consider year-end tax planning. One bright spot this year has been the performance of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, in particular, is trading at or near all time highs, considerably above its previous peak at the end of 2017. Other cryptocurrencies, like Ether, have also had considerable returns this year. Taxpayers holding significantly appreciated cryptocurrency may be considering the best way to optimize their charitable giving. Below…

On October 23, 2020, the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Federal Reserve Board published a joint notice of proposed rulemaking inviting comments on proposed modifications to regulations implementing the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). First, the agencies propose to lower the monetary threshold contained in the so-called “recordkeeping rule” and “travel rule” pursuant to which financial institutions are required to collect and retain information on certain funds transfers and…

The OECD released a report titled Taxing Virtual Currencies: An Overview of Tax Treatments and Emerging Tax Policy Issues on October 12. The report, which was prepared and endorsed by the 137 members of the OECD’s Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profits Shifting, provides a comprehensive analysis of the approaches and policy gaps across the main types of taxes (i.e., income, consumption, and property taxes). The report addresses the following areas, across more than…

On September 16, 2020, the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking comments on regulatory changes to enhance the effectiveness of anti-money laundering compliance programs of regulated financial institutions. As described in FinCEN’s press release, the ANPRM presents an opportunity for financial institutions to provide comments on “a wide range of questions pertaining to potential regulatory amendments under the Bank Secrecy Act…

As regulators from across the US government continue to grapple with the rapid expansion of financial technology (FinTech) and digital assets, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has adopted a welcoming position toward such technology and taken three recent steps with the potential to significantly benefit industry. First, the OCC is planning to propose a new national bank charter for payments companies, including those dealing with digital assets, that may allow such…