Blog

An Indian-American man pleaded guilty to illegally funnelling more than $1 billion in high-risk transactions through small financial institutions on Wednesday (January 31).

In violation of the Bank Secrecy Act, Gyanendra Asre, 56, admitted to his involvement in a scheme targeting a small, unsophisticated credit union, said the US Department of Justice.

The plea was made in federal court in Brooklyn before United States District Judge Diane Gujarati.

As part of the plan, Asre orchestrated a high-risk international financial business, totalling over $1 billion. When sentenced, Asre, “an experienced anti-money laundering specialist” could face up to 10 years in prison, according to the US Attorney press release.

“Asre was an experienced anti-money laundering specialist well-versed in the Bank Secrecy Act’s provisions and deliberately ignored these protections, exposing financial institutions to the risk of illicit criminal activity,” said Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

“Gyanendra Asre was specifically trained in proper banking protocols and procedures. Yet, instead of following the necessary steps, the defendant took advantage of a small New York financial institution, which primarily served state employees, to the tune of $1 billion,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan.

Court filings revealed that Asre devised a scheme from 2014 to 2016 to introduce lucrative and high-risk international financial business to small, unsophisticated financial institutions.

Despite being trained in anti-money laundering compliance and procedures, Asre misled financial institutions by assuring them of his understanding of associated risks and commitment to appropriate oversight.

Asre’s actions “were a major contributing factor to the dissolution” of the credit union, the consent order said.

The New York State Employees Federal Credit Union (NYSEFCU), a small institution serving state employees, allowed Asre to conduct high-risk transactions based on his representations.

Asre willfully failed to implement and maintain necessary anti-money laundering programs during his tenure on the NYSEFCU’s supervisory board.

This failure led to the processing of over $1 billion in high-risk transactions without filing a single Suspicious Activity Report, as required by law.

The sentencing is scheduled for May 3, where the federal district court judge will determine Asre’s fate, taking into account the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section, in collaboration with the Office’s Bank Integrity Task Force.

The investigation is being conducted by HSI’s El Dorado Task Force in New York.