UBS Pays $125 Million for Bank Secrecy Act Violations

UBS Financial Services Inc. agreed to pay $125 million in a coordinated resolution with four federal regulators to settle repeated violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network imposed the majority of the penalty, representing the largest fine ever levied against a broker-dealer for such violations. The settlement also includes $20 million fines from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and an $8 million penalty from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Regulators determined that the firm failed to remediate anti-money-laundering gaps identified in 2018. This failure led to a lack of monitoring for 50,000 to 60,000 foreign currency wires totaling more than $10 billion between 2019 and 2023. FinCEN specifically highlighted deficiencies in customer due diligence regarding high-risk clients with ties to Latin America and Russia.

As part of the order, UBS must undergo an independent review of its anti-money-laundering program and conduct a third-party lookback of suspicious transactions. The company stated the announcement brings closure to a legacy matter and noted that it has cooperated fully with regulators while investing in program remediation.