Wells Fargo facing possible Finra action over anti-money-laundering failures

Wells Fargo Advisors has been warned that it is facing possible Finra action for alleged failures in its anti-money-laundering policies, according to a disclosure posted to the firm’s public BrokerCheck profile.
The firm received a Wells Notice from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.’s enforcement unit in mid-July which indicated that the regulator planned to recommend disciplinary action, the firm said. Finra alleged that Wells Fargo had failed “to implement policies and procedures reasonably defined to achieve compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act,” and had also allegedly failed to implement regulations to detect and report suspicious activity, according to the disclosure.
Wells Fargo spokeswoman Rachelle Rowe declined to comment as the matter was ongoing. Michelle Ong, a Finra spokeswoman, also declined to comment.
The investigation dates back more than four years and is tied to a specific Wells Fargo Advisors branch office, according to a source familiar with the matter. Wells Fargo currently has around 15,300 financial advisers.
In 2010, Wachovia Corp., which was acquired by Wells Fargo in 2008, paid $160 million to settle federal charges that it had laundered Mexican drug money.
Finra generally provides firms a call and letter ahead of time to indicate their plan to recommend formal disciplinary action. Firms then have the opportunity to respond, discuss the facts of the case and argue why formal charges are not appropriate, according to Finra’s website.
Finra rules require firms to report Wells Notices on their U4, which is disclosed through Finra’s BrokerCheck database.