• The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were reportedly investigating possible money laundering at Signature Bank, a crypto-friendly bank that was recently shut down by state regulators.
• The DOJ was reportedly looking for signs of criminal activity in transactions while the SEC was also looking into the bank’s activities.
• Spokespeople for the DOJ, FDIC, U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, and SEC declined to comment on the matter.
U.S. Department of Justice Investigating Signature Bank
The U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and in New York were investigating possible lax monitoring at Signature Bank to prevent money laundering, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was also looking at the bank, the people said. New York-based Signature Bank, which has a number of crypto clients, was shut down on March 12 by state regulators, the Federal Reserve announced at the time.
DOJ Looking for Signs of Criminal Activity
The DOJ was watching new accounts and looking for signs of criminal activity in transactions, according to sources close to Bloomberg reporters who broke this story on Wednesday night.. Spokespeople for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.(FDIC), DOJ ,the U.S Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and SEC declined to comment to Bloomberg when asked about this investigation into Signature Bank and its crypto-related activities
Signature Bank Shutdown
New York-based Signature bank has been known as a crypto friendly institution since it began offering services to cryptocurrency related companies several years ago . On March 12th 2021 ,state regulators announced that they had seized control of this financial institution due to concerns about anti-money laundering practices .
Crypto Industry Impacted
This news will no doubt come as a shock to those within the cryptocurrency industry who have relied heavily on Signature Banks services over recent years . It remains unclear how this development may affect other similar institutions or what impact it may have on wider regulations within this space .
Conclusion
As investigations are still ongoing ,it is too early draw any concrete conclusions regarding what actions might be taken against signature bank or similar institutions operating within this space . We will continue monitor events closely as they unfold throughout 2021 .