The United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, has said that it intends to conduct cease and desist proceedings against cryptocurrency custodian bank Anchorage Digital for violating certain anti-money laundering requirements.
In an announcement on Thursday, The OCC said it issued a consent order against Anchorage Digital based on its “failure to adopt and implement a compliance program” in accordance with the Bank Secrecy Act, or BSA, and AML regulations. The government office said such actions placed Anchorage Digital in violation of its operating agreement with the OCC, established in January 2021.
“The OCC holds all nationally incorporated banks to the same high standards, whether they conduct traditional or novel activities,” said Michael Hsu, acting comptroller of the currency. “When institutions fall short, we will take action and hold them accountable to ensure compliance with federal laws and regulations.”
Anchorage neither admits nor denies the comptroller’s conclusions, but the order reports that the bank “has initiated corrective action and has committed to take all necessary and appropriate measures to remedy the deficiencies.” A consent order, by definition, implies that two parties – in this case, Anchorage and the OCC – have reached an agreement in principle to proceed.
In a statement to Cointelegraph, Anchorage Digital said it had “already been working to strengthen the areas identified [por la OCC] and will continue to strengthen these areas, reinforcing a new digital asset standard for internal BSA/AML controls and procedures.” The bank hinted that the OCC’s actions could help set a regulatory precedent that could encourage other companies in the sector to create federally regulated digital asset banks.
According to the OCC, there is a 15-day window to establish a “specific corrective action” committee to ensure the bank meets AML and BSA requirements, and issue progress reports on the plan as it is executed. In addition, the government office directed Anchorage to make a BSA official available to ensure compliance.
Anchorage was the first United States cryptocurrency company to receive a national bank letter from the OCC in January 2021. Since his departure from government office, former Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks was briefly the CEO of Binance.US and now the CEO of cryptocurrency mining firm Bitfury.
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