The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is reportedly investigating the cryptocurrency company Anchorage Digital Bank.
According to a new Barron’s report, the federal agency’s El Dorado Task Force, which combats money laundering and other financial crimes, has contacted Anchorage Digital Bank employees to inquire about the company’s practices and policies.
Barron’s cites anonymous sources who are “familiar with the inquiry.”
The specific reason for the probe remains unclear. A spokesperson for Anchorage declined to comment, while representatives for Homeland Security didn’t provide a comment.
Back in 2022, Anchorage was ordered by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to improve its controls around client due diligence, monitoring suspicious customer activity and other anti-money-laundering measures.
In the banking regulator’s consent order, the OCC said Anchorage was in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act, which covers anti-money laundering requirements and reporting.
At the time, Anchorage said it had “already been working to strengthen the areas identified and will continue to bolster these areas, reinforcing a new, digital asset standard” to combat money laundering. Anchorage remains under the consent order.
Earlier this year, Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley complained that a US bank essentially turned off their bank account for unexplained reasons after two years of working with the lender.
“Our story is pretty ridiculous… We had a bank that we had a growing relationship with for a number of years, who basically on a dime, decided to turn off our bank account.”
The CEO, who didn’t mention the bank’s name, said the bank cut them off in June 2023, around the same time that numerous reports of “Choke Point 2.0” – an alleged coordinated effort by the government to shut down the crypto industry – were running rampant.
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