TechFlow news — On January 17, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced charges against broker-dealer and investment adviser LPL Financial LLC for multiple violations related to its anti-money laundering (AML) program. LPL has agreed to pay an $18 million civil penalty and commit to enhancing its AML policies and procedures.
The SEC's order found that from May 2019 through December 2023, LPL had longstanding deficiencies in its customer identification procedures, including failures to timely close accounts with customers whose identities had not been properly verified. Additionally, LPL failed to close or restrict thousands of high-risk accounts, such as those related to cannabis and foreign entities, as required by its own AML policies.
