The Canadian financial institution Canaccord Genuity has agreed to pay an $80 million fine for violating the United States Bank Secrecy Act, marking the largest anti-money laundering penalty imposed by U.S. regulators on a brokerage firm.
According to an investigation by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the U.S. Treasury, the institution failed to file at least 160 suspicious activity reports from 2019 to 2022.
These reports should have disclosed risks of potential money laundering, fraud, or illegal fund movements to regulators.
FinCEN pointed out that some suspicious transactions remained in the system for months or even years without review, indicating structural deficiencies in its anti-money laundering monitoring system.
Involvement of Russian Fund Transfers
Regulators noted that an account held by a Cyprus company was used to help Russian oligarchs move funds out of Russia.
Furthermore, the investigation discovered that two compliance employees had falsified internal records to make it appear as though the transaction monitoring review process had been completed.
Regulatory Cooperation and Fine Allocation
The fine was jointly executed by the U.S. Treasury, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
Under the settlement terms, if the company complies with the remedial measures proposed by an independent compliance consultant, the Treasury will waive $5 million of the fine.
The company stated that it has financially prepared for the final fine amount of $75 million and is continuing to enhance its compliance systems.
Wealth Management Business Scale
Public data shows that by the end of 2025, Canaccord Genuity's global wealth management business managed assets amounting to 144.8 billion Canadian dollars, approximately $106.3 billion.
Regulators stated that this enforcement action aims to strengthen financial institutions' obligation to fulfill anti-money laundering responsibilities, thereby maintaining the integrity of the financial system.
