On August 4, 2023, FinCEN announced that officials from FinCEN traveled to Mexico City to reinforce its continuing commitment to close collaboration with the Mexican government to combat illicit finance. On August 2, FinCEN hosted a cross-border roundtable on the shared priorities of combating fentanyl and other drug trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other predicate crimes. The dialogue was participated by U.S. and Mexican financial institutions, U.S. and Mexican regulators and financial intelligence units, and U.S. law enforcement.

FinCEN has updated its “SAR Filings by Industry” webpage to include data from 2022. In addition to this webpage, FinCEN has an interactive map and and Interactive SAR Stats which allow BSA professionals to analyze what types of suspicious activity are being reported in their areas. As this data allows specific sorting of the data, BSA professionals are able to sort by many different fields including primary regulator, county, industry, etc.

On August 2, 2023, the FFIEC, on behalf of its members, released updates to the following sections of the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual.

On July 19, 2023, the Federal Reserve Board issued a consent order against Deutsche Bank AG, its New York branch, and other U.S. affiliates. The consent order requires Deutsche bank to pay a $186 million fine based on unsafe and unsound practices and violations of the Board's 2015 and 2017 consent orders with Deutsche Bank relating to sanctions compliance and anti-money laundering controls. 

On July 11, 2023, the SEC 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. To settle the SEC charges, Merrill Lynch agreed to pay a $6 million penalty. Merrill Lynch also agreed to pay a $6 million fine to settle charges brought by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

On Jun 29, 2023, FinCEN issued a press release to inform U.S. financial institutions that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental body that establishes international standards to combat money laundering, counter the financing of terrorism, and combat weapons of mass destruction proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF), has issued public statements updating its lists of jurisdictions with strategic AML/CFT/CPF deficiencies following its plenary meeting this month.  U.S. financial institutions should consider the FATF’s stance toward these jurisdictions when reviewing their obligations and risk-based policies, procedures, and practices.

On May 19, 2023, FinCEN and U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a joint alert urging financial institutions to be vigilant against efforts by individuals and entities to evade BIS export controls implemented in connection with Russia's further invasion of Ukraine. The supplemental joint alert provides financial institutions additional information regarding new BIS export control restrictions related to Russia, as well as reinforces ongoing U.S. Government engagements and initiatives designed to further constrain and prevent Russia from accessing needed technology and goods to supply and replenish its military and defense industrial base.

On April 25, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the 2023 De-risking Strategy, as mandated by Congress in the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020. The Strategy examines the phenomenon of financial institutions de-risking and its causes, and it identifies those greatest impacted. In addition, it offers recommended policy options to combat it.