1. Clients's Numerous Fund Transfers Not Investigated or Reported to FinCEN.
2. Failed to Conduct the Annual AML Program Review and Annual CEO Certification.
   
3. For complete details, click onto:  [FINRA Disciplinary Actions for December]

    1.  Clients's Numerous Fund Transfers Not Investigated or Reported to FinCEN.   Global Strategic Investments, LLC (Miami, FL) agreed to pay a $150K fine, an one of its Registered Principals agreed to pay a $25K fine and a 3-month suspension as a principal, to settle FINRA charges the firm, acting through Principal Hernandez, failed to adequately implement or enforce its AML compliance program, and to otherwise comply with their AML obligations.  Specifically, the firm and/or Hernandez are alleged to have: 

• failed to ID and analyze numerous transactions to determine if they were, in fact, suspicious and would require the filing of Form SAR-SF; 
• permitted foreign customers to deposit funds into their accounts and, within days and/or weeks, disbursed funds from their accounts to 1st and 3rd parties and, in certain instances, in amounts slightly below $10,000;
• permitted client to continue the above activity without file an SAR, after one customer told Hernandez he did this to avoid questions from his bank;  the firm and Hernandez finally acted on the transactions about one year after the activity occurred;
• failed to establish and implement Customer ID Procedures (CIP) for verifying a customer’s identity.  (FINRA Case #2009016158801) 

    2.  Failed to Conduct the Annual AML Program Review and Annual CEO Certification.   Donnelly Penman & Partners (Grosse Pointe, MI) and one of its Principals agreed to jointly pay a $10K fine, and the firm agreed to an additional $10K fine, to settle FINRA charges that they failed to conduct and evidence an independent test of its AML program., despite the requirement that the firm monitor compliance with requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act, and despite having been already sanctioned by FINRA for a similar violation.  Specifically, the firm and/or Principal Haggarty, are alleged to have: 

• failed to create a required annual report for submission to senior management, detailing the firm's system of supervisory controls, including a summary of test results showing:
  
  • whether its supervisory procedures are reasonably designed with respect to the firm’s and its RR's and associated persons’ activities, to achieve compliance with applicable securities laws, regulations and rules;
  • significant identified exceptions; and,
  • any additional or amended supervisory procedures created in response to the test results.
• failed to prepare and execute a CEO certification confirming that:
  • firm has processes in place to establish, maintain, review, test and modify written complaince controls and WSP's reasonably designed to achieve compliance with applicable FINRA and MSRB rules, and federal securities laws and regs;
  • CEO conducted one or more meetings with the CCO in the preceding 12 months to discuss such processes. (FINRA Case #2009016347901)