SEC-PR-2024-185 (11-22-24) (SEC-PR-2411)
SEC Charges Three Broker-Dealers with Filing Deficient Suspicious Activity Reports – Firms receive credit for cooperating with SEC’s investigations
Excerpt: Washington D.C., Nov. 22, 2024 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that broker-dealers Webull Financial LLC, Lightspeed Financial Services Group LLC, and Paulson Investment Company, LLC have agreed to settle charges that they filed with law enforcement suspicious activity reports (SARs) that failed to include important, required information. The three broker-dealers agreed to pay $275,000 combined in civil penalties to settle the SEC’s charges.
Federal law requires broker-dealers to file SARs to report transactions that the broker-dealer has reason to suspect involve, among other things, funds derived from illegal activity or activity that has no apparent lawful purpose. The SARs must contain “a clear, complete, and concise description of the activity, including what was unusual or irregular that caused suspicion.”
According to the SEC orders, each of the three broker-dealers filed multiple deficient SARs over a four-year period beginning in 2018.
“Suspicious activity reports play a vital role in keeping our markets safe, and the failure of broker-dealers to include necessary information to explain suspicious transactions deprives law enforcement and regulatory agencies of valuable and timely intelligence, undermining the very purpose of the SARs,” said Jason Burt, Director of the SEC’s Denver Regional Office. “Today’s cases reinforce the importance of complying with the applicable regulations and guidance surrounding the filing of SARs.”
Source: (https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024-185)
Categories: (Suspicious Activity Reports)
SEC-PR-2024-185 (11-22-24)