	Background

		Bank Secrecy Act/Anti- Money-Laundering Requirements

BSA established reporting, recordkeeping, and other anti-money-  laundering (AML) requirements for financial institutions. Financial Institutions Have Paid Billions for Violations of Financial Crimes-Related Requirements since 2009

Since 2009, financial institutions have been assessed about $12 billion in  fines, penalties, and forfeitures for violations of BSA/AML, FCPA, and  U.S. sanctions program requirements. Specifically, from January 2009  through December 2015, federal agencies assessed about $5.2 billion for  BSA violations, $27 million for FCPA violations, and about $6.8 billion for  violations of U.S. sanctions program requirements. Of the $12 billion,  federal agencies have collected all of these assessments, except for  about $100 million. These payments are deposited into accounts in Treasury’s  General Fund and are used for the general support of federal government  activities. From January 2009 through December 2015, about $2.7  billion was collected from financial institutions for the covered violations  and deposited into Treasury General Fund accounts. From January 2009 through  December 2015, about $3.2 billion was deposited into the AFF and $5.7  billion into the TFF, of which $3.8 billion related to a sanctions case was  rescinded in the fiscal year 2016 appropriation legislation. Funds from the  AFF and TFF are primarily used for program expenses, payments to third  parties—including the victims of the related crimes—and equitable  sharing payments to law enforcement agencies that participated in the  efforts resulting in forfeitures. For the cases in our review, as of  December 2015, DOJ and Treasury had distributed about $1.1 billion in  payments to law enforcement agencies and approximately $2 billion is  planned to be distributed to victims of crimes. The remaining funds from  these cases are subject to general rescissions to the AFF and TFF or  may be used for program or other law enforcement expenses. Forfeitures Are Deposited into Accounts with Several Authorized Uses, Including Payments to Crime Victims and Law Enforcement Partners

Forfeitures—including those from financial institutions for violations of  BSA/AML and U.S. sanctions programs requirements—are deposited into  three accounts depending in part on the agency seizing the assets (DOJ  and other law enforcement agencies use the AFF, Treasury and the  Department of Homeland Security use the TFF, and U.S. U.S. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

This report describes the fines, penalties, and forfeitures federal agencies  have collected from financial institutions for violations of Bank Secrecy  Act and related anti-money-laundering requirements (BSA/AML), Foreign  Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA), and U.S. sanctions programs  requirements. Specifically, our objectives in this report were to describe  (1) the amount of fines, penalties, and forfeitures that the federal  government has collected for these violations from January 2009 through  December 2015; and (2) the process for collecting these funds and the  purposes for which they are used. The agencies and offices  included in this review were: (1) offices within the Department of the  Treasury’s (Treasury) Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence,  including officials from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network  (FinCEN), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and Treasury  Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture, and Treasury’s Office of  Management; (2) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); (3) the  federal banking regulators—Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve  System (Federal Reserve), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation  (FDIC), National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and the Office of  the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC); and (4) the Department of Justice  (DOJ). To respond to our first objective, we identified and analyzed these  agencies’ data on enforcement actions taken against financial institutions  that resulted in fines, penalties, or forfeitures for violations of BSA/AML,  FCPA, and U.S. sanctions programs requirements.
Why GAO Did This Study

Over the last few years, billions of dollars have been collected in fines, penalties, and forfeitures assessed against financial institutions for violations of requirements related to financial crimes. These requirements are significant tools that help the federal government detect and disrupt money laundering, terrorist financing, bribery, corruption, and violations of U.S. sanctions programs.
GAO was asked to review the collection and use of these fines, penalties, and forfeitures assessed against financial institutions for violations of these requirements—specifically, BSA/AML, FCPA, and U.S. sanctions programs requirements. This report describes (1) the amounts collected by the federal government for these violations, and (2) the process for collecting these funds and the purposes for which they are used. GAO analyzed agency data, reviewed documentation on agency collection processes and on authorized uses of the funds in which collections are deposited, and reviewed relevant laws. GAO also interviewed officials from Treasury (including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Office of Foreign Assets Control), Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Justice, and the federal banking regulators.
GAO is not making recommendations in this report.

What GAO Found

Since 2009, financial institutions have been assessed about $12 billion in fines, penalties, and forfeitures for violations of Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money- laundering regulations (BSA/AML), Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA), and U.S. sanctions programs requirements by the federal government. Specifically, GAO found that from January 2009 to December 2015, federal agencies assessed about $5.2 billion for BSA/AML violations, $27 million for FCPA violations, and about $6.8 billion for violations of U.S. sanctions program requirements. Of the $12 billion, federal agencies have collected all of these assessments, except for about $100 million.
Collections of Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures from Financial Institutions for Violations of Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and U.S. Sanctions Programs Requirements, Assessed in January 2009–December 2015
Agencies have processes for collecting payments for violations of BSA/AML, FCPA, and U.S. sanctions programs requirements and these collections can be used to support general government and law enforcement activities and provide payments to crime victims. Components within the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and financial regulators are responsible for initially collecting penalty payments, verifying that the correct amount has been paid, and then depositing the funds into Treasury's General Fund accounts, after which the funds are available for appropriation and use for general support of the government. Of the approximately $11.9 billion collected, about $2.7 billion was deposited into Treasury General Fund accounts. The BSA and U.S. sanctions-related criminal cases GAO identified since 2009 resulted in the forfeiture of almost $9 billion through the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Treasury. Of this amount, about $3.2 billion was deposited into DOJ's Asset Forfeiture Fund (AFF) and $5.7 billion into the Treasury Forfeiture Fund (TFF), of which $3.8 billion related to a sanctions case was rescinded in fiscal year 2016 appropriations legislation. Funds from the AFF and TFF are primarily used for program expenses, payments to third parties, including the victims of the related crimes, and payments to law enforcement agencies that participated in the efforts resulting in forfeitures. As of December 2015, DOJ and Treasury had distributed about $1.1 billion to law enforcement agencies and about $2 billion was planned for distribution to crime victims. Remaining funds from these cases are subject to general rescissions to the TFF and AFF or may be used for program or other law enforcement expenses.