Canaccord Genuity Fined $80 Million for Compliance Lapses

Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. has agreed to pay a record $80 million civil penalty to resolve regulatory charges in the United States concerning systemic failures in its anti-money-laundering protocols. The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) described the fine as the largest ever imposed on a broker-dealer for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.

Investigators found that between 2019 and 2022, the firm willfully failed to monitor suspicious trading activity and neglected to file at least 160 required reports. Some questionable transactions remained unreviewed for months or years, despite clear red flags. Among the lapses was an account for a firm based in Cyprus that reportedly spent years assisting oligarchs from Russia in moving funds out of their country. Furthermore, the investigation revealed that two compliance employees falsified internal records to make it appear that trade surveillance was being actively managed.