Aegis Capital

FINRA fined Aegis Capital Corporation $550,000 for failing to have adequate supervisory and AML programs tailored to detect "red flags" or suspicious activity connected to its sale of low-priced securities.

Even when the account is DVP (i.e. customers buy and sell securities that are not held at the brokerage firm executing the trades, and the purchases and sales of those shares are then effected through the brokerage firm), the firm holding the shares is responsible for monitoring or investigating the trading.

The firm is question liquidated billions of shares of low-priced securities on behalf of several customers were foreign financial institutions (FFIs) effecting transactions on behalf of their underlying customers, all of whom were unknown to the U.S. BD.

 The SEC fined the same firm $750,000 for failing to file SARs for the same activity.