Call Now For a Free Consultation:
(614) 532-4576
Nationwide Representation

Raymond James Fined $17 Million for Systemic Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Failures

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that it has fined Raymond James & Associates, Inc. (RJA) and Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. (RJFS) (collectively, Raymond James) for a combined $17 million for alleged widespread failures relating to the firm’s anti-money laundering (AML) programs. FINRA alleges that RJA, fined $8 million, and RJFS, fined $9 million, failed to establish or implement adequate AML policies and procedures. These alleged failures reportedly resulted in the firms’ failure to properly detect, investigate, and report suspicious activity over the course of several years. Linda L. Busby, RJA’s AML Compliance Officer from 2002 to February 2013, was also fined $25,000and suspended for three months.

According to FINRA, RJA and RJFS allegedly failed to improve their AML compliance systems to match the firms’ significant growth between 2006 and 2014. As a result, FINRA claims that Raymond James relied on a patchwork of written policies and procedures and systems across different departments to detect suspicious activity. FINRA claims that this resulted in certain “red flags” of potentially suspicious activity going undetected or properly investigated. FINRA asserts that Raymond James’ failures were especially concerning given that RJFS was sanctioned in 2012 for inadequate AML procedures,. As part of that earlier settlement, RJFS agreed to review its policies and procedures in order to certify that it had achieved compliance.

Among other things, FINRA reportedly discovered during its investigation that Raymond James failed to conduct required reviews for foreign financial institutions, that Busby failed to ensure RJA’s reviews were conducted, and that RJFS also failed to establish or maintain an adequate Customer Identification Program.

RJA, RJFS, and Busby neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to FINRA’s findings and accepted the settlements.

The information contained in The Firm’s posts on its blog, fraud alerts, investigations or elsewhere on the site is based upon information obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, news outlets and federal, state, and regulatory agency filings. All suspects and subjects of postings herein are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law or administrative action and any and all crimes are alleged until a court or regulatory agency finds otherwise .

Share This Story
If you found the information provided by this article useful, consider sharing to your social media channels to help others in their search for reliable resources.
Consult with Our Legal Team
There is never a cost associated with a consultation
Atlanta Office

945 East Paces Ferry Road, Suite 2275
Atlanta, GA 30326
Columbus Office

614-224-6000
305 W. Nationwide Blvd
Columbus, OH 43215
Meyer Wilson
New Orleans Office

900 Camp Street 
Suite 337
New Orleans, LA 70130
Los Angeles Office

310-905-8688
2029 Century Park East,
Suite 400N
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Cleveland Office

216-600-1355
4781 Richmond Rd.
Suite 400
Warrensville Heights, OH 44128
Bloomfield Hills Office

248-817-8214
41000 Woodward Ave.,
Suite 350
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304
Quick Links
The information contained in this Website is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. No recipients of content from this site, clients or otherwise, should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in the site without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from an attorney licensed in the recipient's state. Read More
The information contained in this Website is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.
Read More
chevron-down linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram