FinCEN penalizes Paxful for willful BSA failures

What changed

FinCEN assessed a $3.5 million penalty after Paxful admitted willful failures to register as an MSB, maintain an effective AML program, and file SARs while facilitating more than $500 million in suspicious activity involving illicit actors and high-risk jurisdictions.

Who it affects

• Peer-to-peer trading platforms, MSBs, investment advisers diligencing venues, and clients

What is still open

• Continuing remediation and related actions by partner agencies

What it means for an advisor

• Benchmark platform diligence against registration, risk assessment, sanctions geography, transaction monitoring, SAR backlogs, governance, and remediation expectations.