As we reported last week, U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum on January 4 rescinding the seminal cannabis “Cole Memo” and other DOJ guidance involving cannabis. This has raised continuing issues and confusion for financial institutions concerning what the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) would do concerning the guidance it issued on February 14, 2014 entitled “BSA Expectations Regarding Marijuana-Related Businesses.”
This morning, we received the following note from the FinCEN’s Resource Center:
“The SAR reporting expectations outlined in the February 14, 2014 guidance, FIN-2014-G001 remains in place. FinCEN will continue to work closely with law enforcement and the financial sector to combat illicit finance, and we will notify the financial sector of any changes to FinCEN’s SAR reporting expectations.”
We’ll continue to keep on top of this issue and share our insights as the federal positions evolve.