On September 26, 2024, FinCEN submitted a notice to the Federal Register withdrawing its finding that ABLV Bank, AS (ABLV) is a financial institution of primary money laundering concern. FinCEN also rescinded the related notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) seeking to impose special measure five pursuant to section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act (section 311).
ABLV is a commercial bank located in Riga, Latvia. On February 16, 2018, FinCEN issued an NPRM that set forth FinCEN’s findings of money laundering concern regarding ABLV and proposed imposing special measure five under section 311, prohibiting covered financial institutions from opening or maintaining in the United States correspondent accounts for, or on behalf of, ABLV. FinCEN found that ABLV was used to facilitate or promote money laundering, including by entities involved in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
According to FinCEN, the withdrawals are a result of the Bank’s irrevocable liquidation shortly after the issuance of the NPRM. ABLV’s banking license was withdrawn and its Luxembourg subsidiary was ordered to be dissolved by the European Central Bank. The Latvian authorities have also made significant efforts to find and deal with past illegal activity in which the bank was involved. As a result, FinCEN has decided that ABLV is no longer considered a primary money laundering concern.
Read FinCEN’s press release here.
The text of the withdrawal can be found here.