The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a consent order against Anchorage digital, crypto platform, and infrastructure provider, for failing to meet certain Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering requirements as demanded by the banking regulator.
The order has noted that Anchorage Digital has neither admitted nor denied the allegations of violating the BSA/AML program, in turn breaching the operating agreement it entered into with the OCC. Issuing the order on April 21, the OCC has called upon the platform to revamp its compliance program so that it meets the federal requirements.
“The OCC holds all nationally chartered banks to the same high standards, whether they engage in traditional or novel activities,” said the Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu in the news release. “When institutions fall short, we will take action and hold them accountable to ensure compliance with federal laws and regulations.”
The banking regulator has now required Anchorage to appoint a compliance committee where the majority of the members are not employees of the company. The committee will oversee the platform's compliance with the required anti-money laundering rules.
In addition, after 30 days of creating the program, the compliance committee will need to submit a written progress report that details the corrective actions to be taken by Anchorage to improve its AML/BSA program and comply with the OCC guidelines.
Anchorage Digital has been operating as a digital bank since January 2021 after receiving approval from the OCC, becoming the first crypto-related firm in the United States to establish as a national law bank. As a federal bank charter, Anchorage offers sub-custody services to financial institutions that want to offer crypto-related services to their customers.
OCC directs Anchorage Digital to revamp AML rules via consent order Our Bitcoin News.
