Armored car company and currency transporter Brink’s Global Services USA will pay $42 million to settle allegations from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Justice Department that it failed to register a money transmitting business and violated the Bank Secrecy Act.
The settlement, announced Thursday, follows BGS’ admission to willful BSA violations, including failure to implement an effective anti-money laundering program and failure to file suspicious activity reports.
BGS, a subsidiary of The Brink’s Company, will pay the amount over the next three years.
This is believed to be the first resolution with an armored car company related to BSA violations, the DOJ said.
According to FinCEN, BGS shipped hundreds of millions of dollars across the Mexican border on behalf of high-risk entities — including a Mexican currency exchanger that later pleaded guilty to BSA violations.
“For years, Brink’s moved large sums domestically and across the Southwest Border without required AML controls, exposing the U.S. financial system to a heightened risk of money laundering, including from narcotics trafficking and other illicit activity,” said FinCEN’s Director Andrea Gacki in a prepared statement.
BGS also transported more than $15 million from a money service business in San Diego to a separate money service business in Florida through 12 transactions in 2019 and 2020. BGS, however, failed to determine the final beneficiary of the transactions and the money was ultimately transmitted to “a third-party not identified by BGS.”
Brink’s President and CEO Mark Eubanks said in a prepared statement that the company conducted an internal review upon learning of the DOJ investigation in 2020.
The DOJ, which originally ordered the company to forfeit $50 million, forgave approximately half of the penalty because Brink’s beefed up its ethics and compliance program.
The company significantly increased its compliance staff and created new roles within the department, including a deputy chief ethics and compliance officer.
“Maintaining compliant operations for our global community of customers is a fundamental principle of our business and our Company values,” Eubanks said in a statement.
FinCEN imposed a civil monetary penalty of $37 million, but credited BGS $20 million for its payment to the DOJ.
