BREAKING NEWS: FinCEN Imposes Record AML Penalty Against Broker-Dealer

The U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network fined the U.S. subsidiary of the Canadian broker-dealer Canaccord Genuity a record $80 million Friday after concluding that the company willfully violated anti-money laundering rules. 

In a 53-page consent order, FinCEN noted that Canaccord operated a "significantly under‑resourced" AML program, leaving thousands of high‑risk customers insufficiently vetted and allowing numerous securities‑fraud schemes to go undetected and unreported for extended periods. Friday's fine is the largest ever against a broker-dealer for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.

Canaccord failed to file at least 160 suspicious activity reports covering thousands of securities trades tied to fraud schemes that saw thousands of investors lose money, according to FinCEN.

"Today's action should be a wake-up call to broker-dealers that willfully fail to comply with their obligations to safeguard the financial system from illicit actors," FinCEN director Andrea Gacki said in a statement Friday. 

Canaccord acknowledged the deficiencies as early as 2013 but failed to address the problems, FinCEN noted. 

• Topics: Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Finance of Terrorism, Fraud
• Source: U.S.: FinCEN
• Document Date: March 6, 2026