Bloomberg reported that signature bank was the subject of a US criminal investigation prior to its closure. Specifically, the financial institution was under investigation by both the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Justice Department for its anti-money laundering lawsuits.
Signature Bank was closed last Sunday after the Federal Reserve announcement for support for depositors affected by the Silicon Valley Bank failure. Conversely, the US criminal investigation into Signature Bank specifically related to its dealings with crypto clients.
Signature bank examined prior to closure
This past week saw some of the biggest meltdowns the financial industry has seen in years. In particular, the closure of Silicon Valley Bank spawned two of the largest bank failures since the 2008 financial crisis. Now news has come to light that one of those banks was the subject of a criminal investigation.
Bloomberg has reported that Signature Bank was the subject of a US criminal investigation prior to its closure. In addition, the Justice Department and the SEC were investigating “whether New York Bank has taken sufficient steps to detect potential customer money laundering,” the report said.
Signature Bank’s closure came as a surprise to many in the industry. Arriving at the announcement that Silicon Valley Bank depositors would be aided by the Federal Reserve, the closing of the signature by New York regulators was something not many expected.
Conversely, it is interesting to note that the research focused on the bank’s deals with its crypto clients. As a result, one of the board members of banksBarney Frank, noted that they felt the closure sent clear “anti-crypto messages” to the industry.