Report: Crypto Firm Anchorage Digital Bank Investigated by Homeland Security

Crypto company Anchorage Digital Bank is reportedly being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The nature of the investigation is not known, but the DHS organization that is running it — the El Dorado Task Force — is dedicated to combating money laundering and other financial crimes, Barron’s reported Monday (April 14), citing unnamed sources.

As part of its investigation, the task force has contacted former Anchorage Digital Bank employees and asked about the firm’s practices and policies, according to the report.

Neither Anchorage Digital Bank nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately replied to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

Anchorage Digital Bank offers asset safeguarding and trading services to financial institutions and governments, according to the Barron’s report.

The bank was flagged by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in April 2022 for failing to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) mandates and violating rules for monitoring suspicious activity.

The OCC said at the time that Anchorage Digital Bank failed to adopt a compliance program that met Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and AML protocols after being granted a conditional charter in January 2021.

“The OCC holds all nationally chartered banks to the same high standards, whether they engage in traditional or novel activities,” then-Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said in an April 2022 press release. “When institutions fall short, we will take action and hold them accountable to ensure compliance with federal laws and regulations.”

Anchorage Digital Bank, which didn’t admit or deny the OCC’s findings, agreed to correct the issues, the OCC said at the time.

In a January 2023 press release, the Anchorage Digital Bank said it had strengthened its team and revamped its BSA/AML and compliance programs.

“We’ve also taken specific steps to enhance technology capabilities to enable monitoring transactions in a programmatic, scalable way,” the release said. “With our new technology platform, these hires and our continuous investment in staff, we will ensure that our institutional platform continues to maintain the security-first approach that has differentiated us from the beginning.”

On Tuesday (April 8), Anchorage Digital Bank said it deepened its relationship with BlackRock to provide digital custody, becoming an additional custodian eligible to support spot crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) and other BlackRock funds providing exposure to crypto.