Oppenheimer Settles Money Laundering Violations with U.S. Regulators

On December 29, 2005, Oppenheimer & Company, Inc. ("Oppenheimer"), a securities broker-dealer based in New York, consented to the assessment of a $2.8 million civil penalty for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The settlement had several international implications. As of April 2002, the Bank Secrecy Act has required securities brokers and dealers to establish anti-money laundering programs. Beginning January 2003, covered parties have had to file suspicious activity reports (SARs) with FinCEN. FinCEN determined that Oppenheimer failed to establish and implement an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) program, and failed to properly identify and report transactions that were suspicious within the meaning of the BSA regulations ? [more]