Financial Services

The U.S. government has recently announced a variety of sanctions against certain Russian oligarchs, Russian entities and regions of Ukraine. There's a number of ways in which this can impact cryptocurrency and blockchain companies, even those that are not doing business in the United States. In this video, Jeffrey Alberts explains the recent sanctions programs, how they apply to crypto companies, and what crypto companies should do now to ensure that they don't violate the sanctions that the U.S. government has recently imposed. 

On March 16, FinCEN announced the creation of the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Program, which is aimed at offering rewards to people who provide information to the U.S. government about various stolen assets that are linked to the Russian government. It can implicate people who work at financial institutions, as well as a number of other types of companies that are involved in high value transactions, such as transactions involving real estate, artwork, luxury goods, or crypto assets. In this video, Jeffrey Alberts, co-chair of Pryor Cashman's FinTech Group and chair of the White Collar Defense and Investigation Practice, discusses the development of the program and its potential implications.

Marijuana possession and recreational use were legalized in New York, the banking capital of the United States.  This has banks and other financial services companies asking whether it is now legal to provide financial services to marijuana-related businesses.  Is it really possible that you can smoke it, but you can’t bank it?  In this video, Jeffrey Alberts, co-chair of Pryor Cashman's Financial Institutions Group, discusses the current state of the cannabis banking law, changes to expect in the coming year, and what financial services companies can do now to prepare for these legal developments.

This week, FinCEN published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking for a rule implementing the beneficial ownership reporting provisions of the Corporate Transparency Act.  In this video, Jeffrey Alberts, co-chair of Pryor Cashman's Financial Institutions Group, discusses the proposed rule and shares a few thoughts on what financial institutions should do now to prepare.

Partner Jeffrey Alberts provides an overview of the intra-agency appeals process.