“Cash businesses such as marijuana distribution can be a magnet for criminal violence. Today's guidance seeks to mitigate the public safety concerns created by high volume cash based businesses without access to the banking and financial systems. The guidance also seeks to prevent criminal organizations from laundering their criminal proceeds beyond the reach of law enforcement. The guidance reaffirms the expectation that states that have enacted laws authorizing marijuana-related conduct will implement clear, strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems. That obligation remains. This new guidance also makes it clear that banks have an obligation to continue to report and not offer services to businesses that operate outside such strong regulatory and enforcement regimes."
A s attached to this release.
The U.S. Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is issuing guidance today entitled “BSA Expectations Regarding Marijuana-Related Businesses," which is referred to in the attached memorandum from the Deputy Attorney General. FinCEN's guidance will be available later today on this website:
http://www.fincen.gov/
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
