Interactive Brokers reaches $38M settlements on anti-money laundering compliance charges

Greenwich-based Interactive Brokers LLC has reached settlements totaling $38 million to resolve charges over alleged failures to report suspicious activity and comply with anti-money laundering requirements.

interactive brokers The company will pay an $11.5 million penalty for charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it repeatedly failed to file Suspicious Activity Reports for U.S. microcap securities trades it executed on behalf of its customers.

Separately, Interactive Brokers reached a $15 million settlement with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority related to charges of supervisory failures that allowed for transactions that suggested the presence of insider trading, manipulative microcap securities trading and other wire transfer irregularities.

The company also reached $11.5 million settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for supervisory failure on the handling of several commodity trading accounts and for inadequate procedure for detecting and reporting suspicious transactions as required under federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations.

An Interactive Brokers spokesperson issued a statement to Reuters that said, “We cooperated fully with our regulators in these inquiries, and the significant steps that we have taken to expand and enhance our program were taken into account in today”™s settlements.”