Block (formerly Square)—Block paid $80M to 48 state regulators for anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance failures
Block settled with 48 US state regulators for $80 million over Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering law violations at Cash App and Square. The settlement required Block to hire an independent consultant to review the effectiveness of its compliance programs. Investigations revealed Square processed thousands of transactions involving sanctioned countries (Cuba, Iran, Russia, Venezuela) as recently as 2023, and processed cryptocurrency transactions for terrorist groups without filing required reports.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Governance | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Corporate Transparency | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.429 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.57)× agency (negligent ×0.5)
Evidence (1 signal)
48 state regulators fined Block $80M for BSA and AML violations at Cash App and Square
State regulators ordered Block to pay $80 million for Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering law violations, requiring the company to hire a consultant to review the effectiveness of its compliance programs.