OCC Issues Order to Anchorage Digital on Anti-Money Laundering Compliance

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said it intends to drop a lawsuit against cryptocurrency custodian bank Anchorage Digital for violating certain anti-money laundering requirements.

In a statement on Thursday, the OCC said it issued a complaint against Anchorage Digital based on its "failure to adopt and implement a compliance program with Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards." consent order. The government department said the conduct put Anchorage Digital in breach of its operating agreement with the OCC established in January 2021.

“The OCC holds all state-chartered banks to the same high standards, whether they are engaged in traditional or new activities,” said Michael Hsu, Comptroller of the Currency. "When agencies fall short, we will take action to hold them accountable and ensure they comply with federal laws and regulations."

Anchorage neither admitted nor denied the Office of Comptroller’s findings, but the order reported that the bank “has initiated corrective action and is committed to taking all necessary and appropriate steps to correct deficiencies.” By definition, a consent order means The two parties — in this case, Anchorage and the OCC — have reached an agreement in principle on what to do next.

In a statement to Cointelegraph, Anchorage Digital stated that it "has been working to strengthen the areas identified by the (OCC) and will continue to support these areas, strengthening new digital asset standards for internal BSA/AML controls and procedures. The bank suggested that the OCC’s actions could help establish a regulatory precedent that would encourage other companies in the space to establish federally regulated digital asset banks.

Under the OCC, there is a 15-day deadline to establish a committee of "specific corrective actions" to ensure banks comply with AML and BSA requirements and issue progress reports as the plans are implemented. In addition, the OCC requires Anchorage to provide a BSA officer to ensure compliance.

Anchorage is the first cryptocurrency company in the United States to receive a national banking license from the OCC in January 2021. Since leaving the OCC, former Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks briefly served as CEO of Binance.US and is now CEO of crypto mining firm Bitfury.