FinCEN imposes a record $125 million penalty on UBS for willful anti-money laundering violations spanning four years.
UBS Financial Services will pay a $125 million civil penalty for willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, marking the largest fine ever levied against a broker-dealer for such offenses. The settlement follows failures to monitor over 50,000 foreign currency wires totaling more than $10 billion between 2019 and 2023.
This is the second enforcement action against the firm, which previously paid a $14.5 million penalty in 2018 for similar lapses. Regulators found UBS failed to conduct proper due diligence on high-risk clients, including those linked to Russia and Latin America, and delayed filing hundreds of suspicious activity reports.
The violations occurred despite prior assurances to regulators that the firm would address underlying compliance issues. UBS admitted to willful violations as part of the consent order.