Trump Weighs Removing FinCEN Guidance On Pot Biz Accounts Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 9:37 AM

According to CU Today, the Trump administration is considering removing Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) guidance that has allowed financial institutions to open accounts for marijuana businesses without running afoul of federal regulators.  Last month U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded a broader policy that generally cleared the way for states to implement their own cannabis laws without Justice Department interference.

Now, the federal government may move to make it harder for cannabis industry operators who comply with state laws to store their profits with financial institutions. Credit unions that serve the marijuana industry in states where cannabis is legal have been walking very fine lines between state laws that permit marijuana and federal law, which does not. With Sessions saying the Justice Department’s new position will be to allow federal prosecutors to decide how aggressively to enforce federal law, an already murky area has become murkier—and potentially more threatening—for credit unions serving the cannabis industry. The previous poli
cy generally barred federal law enforcement officials from interfering with marijuana sales in states where the drug is legal.

Read the entire article on CU Today.