Washington counsel for financial crime, national security and government enforcementEstablished 2002 · 1-202-9824-980
Practice

Financial Crimes, AML and Sanctions

Integrated defense and compliance counsel for terrorism finance, material support, money laundering, the Bank Secrecy Act, OFAC sanctions and complex financial investigations.

Senior-led from Washington, D.C. Matters are staffed around the legal issue, operating facts and government forums involved.

Senior lawyers working on financial crimes, aml and sanctions matters
Overview

Advice built around the complete record.

Financial-crime matters can move from an internal alert to a government investigation with little warning. A payment may raise sanctions, money-laundering, terrorism-financing, fraud, forfeiture and regulatory questions at the same time. We create a privileged command structure and a common factual record so the client can respond accurately without allowing one workstream to undermine another.

The practice covers 18 U.S.C. §§ 2339A and 2339B, the Bank Secrecy Act, USA PATRIOT Act Sections 311 and 314, OFAC programs, correspondent banking, trade-based money laundering, hawala, informal value transfer and digital assets. We advise on legal elements, knowledge and intent, beneficial ownership, transaction purpose, wallet attribution, program delivery and the timing of designations or authorizations. Labels and screening scores are treated as investigative leads, not conclusions.

For institutions, the work also addresses governance and control effectiveness. Risk assessments, customer and counterparty diligence, monitoring, screening, investigations, SAR decision processes, quality assurance, testing and remediation are examined as one system. For individuals and organizations under investigation, the team preserves evidence, prepares witnesses, analyzes government process and evaluates whether a focused presentation, administrative petition, negotiation or litigation is appropriate.

Who we advise

We represent banks, MSBs, fintechs, crypto exchanges, charities, NGOs, boards, executives and individuals. Each client sees a different part of the financial chain. Our work connects customer, payment, operational and government information without assuming that any single data source establishes control, knowledge or intent.

Humanitarian and nonprofit matters receive a calibrated review of donors, partners, beneficiaries, procurement, cash, financial routes, licensing and end-use monitoring. The objective is to address genuine diversion or prohibited-party risk while preserving lawful activity and avoiding unsupported de-risking.

Scope

What we do

The work is scoped to the client’s actual decision, evidence and legal duties. Senior lawyers coordinate specialist work so separate issues remain part of one strategy.

01

Terrorism-financing and material-support defense

Advice, investigation, documentation and implementation calibrated to the matter’s facts, forum and urgency.

02

Money-laundering and conspiracy investigations

Advice, investigation, documentation and implementation calibrated to the matter’s facts, forum and urgency.

03

Bank Secrecy Act and USA PATRIOT Act advice

Advice, investigation, documentation and implementation calibrated to the matter’s facts, forum and urgency.

04

OFAC blocking, licensing and enforcement

Advice, investigation, documentation and implementation calibrated to the matter’s facts, forum and urgency.

05

Designation response and administrative reconsideration

Advice, investigation, documentation and implementation calibrated to the matter’s facts, forum and urgency.

06

Correspondent banking and Section 311 risk

Advice, investigation, documentation and implementation calibrated to the matter’s facts, forum and urgency.

07

Sections 314(a) and 314(b) governance

Advice, investigation, documentation and implementation calibrated to the matter’s facts, forum and urgency.

08

TBML, hawala and informal value-transfer analysis

Advice, investigation, documentation and implementation calibrated to the matter’s facts, forum and urgency.

09

Crypto wallet, mixer and transaction investigations

Advice, investigation, documentation and implementation calibrated to the matter’s facts, forum and urgency.

10

AML/CFT program design, testing and remediation

Advice, investigation, documentation and implementation calibrated to the matter’s facts, forum and urgency.

Financial Crimes, AML and Sanctions counsel reviewing evidence
Financial Crimes, AML and Sanctions counsel meeting with decision-makers
Financial Crimes, AML and Sanctions counsel coordinating a strategy
Working method

A disciplined four-stage approach.

Protect

Establish privilege, preservation, transaction controls, government-contact rules and immediate legal deadlines.

Reconstruct

Build the end-to-end financial and operational record, including ownership, counterparties, communications and control decisions.

Analyze

Apply the specific criminal, BSA, sanctions and regulatory authorities to confirmed facts and unresolved questions.

Resolve

Pursue defense, disclosure, licensing, delisting, remediation, settlement or litigation through one coordinated strategy.

Experience profile

Selected capabilities

Capability 01

Bank CTF remediation

regulator-facing remediation involving correspondent monitoring, Section 314 governance, a targeted lookback and evidence-based validation.

Capability 02

Charity sanctions response

designation and delisting strategy supported by governance, program-delivery, partner, audit and changed-circumstances evidence.

Capability 03

Crypto investigation

response to wallet exposure involving attribution, hosted and unhosted wallets, customer records, source of funds and cross-border process.

Services are tailored to the facts, governing law, forum and agency process. No description of a capability or prior experience guarantees a particular outcome.

Related lawyers

Senior lawyers connected to the work.

The lawyers below bring complementary experience in litigation, transactions, financial crime, regulation, technology and government. Individual phone numbers are not published; all engagement inquiries are handled through the firm’s central intake.

Bring structure to the first critical decisions.

For urgent investigations, sanctions restrictions, cyber incidents, subpoenas or cross-border enforcement, contact the Washington team. Do not send privileged, classified or sensitive financial records before an engagement is confirmed.

Request a confidential consultation