The Department of Justice of the US state of California has launched legal action against The Bicycle Hotel & Casino for violations of the AML obligations of the US Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The company admitted wrongdoing as part of a non-prosecution agreement, after which the state authorities filed an administrative accusation with the California Gambling Control Commission.
A 2017 investigation had revealed that Bicycle’s BSA violations, after which the US Department of Justice began preparing to launch its legal action. The authorities have accused Bicycle of overlooking, neglecting or willfully ignoring the actions taken against other casinos for BSA violations. Bicycle also did not maintain adequate AML policies and procedures.
The BSA makes it mandatory for casinos to maintain adequate AML policies, including reporting of suspicious activity. Not filing accurate currency transaction reports is one such suspicious activity. During its period of non-compliance with the BSA, Bicycle filed many false currency transaction reports related to transactions of over $100 million involving a single gambler.