Reported by: David Smagalla

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Wall Street’s self-regulator, has for the first time provided guidance to its member broker-dealers on the potential penalties it could impose for violating rules intended to prevent money laundering.

The guidelines from Finra, announced Thursday, could signify it plans to step up scrutiny of member firms’ anti-money-laundering efforts, observers said.

Under the new guidelines, Finra could impose a fine ranging from $10,000 to $310,000 for small firms that haven’t done a reasonable amount of monitoring work to report suspicious transactions, for example. Fines for the same violation that could be imposed on midsize and large firms start at $50,000 and have no upper limit, Finra said.

Beyond fines, Finra said it would also consider suspending or even expelling firms for certain wrongdoing.

Read full report: https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/finra-spells-out-penalties-for-anti-money-laundering-violations-11664488272