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“Congress passes defense bill with big ramifications for AML, whistleblowers”

In a Compliance Week article, Phillips & Cohen partner Sean McKessy discusses missed opportunities in the new anti-money laundering whistleblower program included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.

Sean McKessy, a partner at the firm Phillips & Cohen and the first chief of the SEC Office of the Whistleblower, said the BSA program as constructed does not allow for tipsters to provide independent analysis, which precludes anyone who might be able to piece together violations through research of public documents.

And unlike the SEC and CFTC whistleblower programs, there is no fund created that would be dedicated to pay out awards.

“All this uncertainty will make a whistleblower think twice about stepping up,” he said. “As a result, I don’t think it’s going to move the needle very much.”

Read the entire article, “Congress passes defense bill with big ramifications for AML, whistleblowers,” on Compliance Week’s website (subscription required). 

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