FBME Bank Ltd. continues to contest FinCEN's rulemaking that prohibits U.S. financial institutions from opening or maintaining a correspondent banking relationship with FBME. This is the second time FinCEN has issued a final rule designating FBME a financial institution of primary money laundering concern pursuant to Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act, finding that FBME used inadequate compliance procedures to identify illicit activities, facilitated sanctions evasion and financed terrorism and transnational organized crime. Last year FBME successfully challenged FinCEN's first final rule by obtaining a preliminary injunction in the District Court for the District of Columbia to prevent FinCEN's rulemaking from taking effect. The court granted FinCEN's request to revise the rulemaking, and on March 25, 2016, FinCEN published a similar rule imposing the same penalties.

FBME said that it would seek an injunction against the new rule as well and claimed that FinCEN had failed to redress the evidentiary and procedural issues previously identified.

For additional information, see coverage in The Wall Street Journal.

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