In a harbinger of future enforcement actions surrounding AML compliance program violations,
Capital One was credited $100 million for its 2018 payment to the Office of the Comptroller for AML violations involving its check cashing business unit. The FinCEN enforcement settlement involved conduct from 2008 to 2014 for Capital One’s check cashing business, which it terminated in 2014.
Capital One acknowledged that from 2008 to 2014 that it failed to maintain an effective AML program and to file thousands of suspicious activity reports (SARs) and currency transaction reports (CTRs). FinCEN concluded that these violations were “willful and negligent.”
The factual statement outlines a blatant disregard for laundering of Capital One check cashing business transactions involving organized crime, tax evasion, fraud and other financial crimes. FinCEN labeled these violations as “egregious.”