Golden Finance reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced charges against broker-dealer and investment adviser LPL Financial LLC for multiple violations of its anti-money laundering (AML) program. LPL agreed to pay an $18 million civil penalty and committed to improving its anti-money laundering policies and procedures. The SEC's order states that between May 2019 and December 2023, LPL made chronic lapses in its customer identification procedures, including failing to promptly close accounts that did not properly verify customer identities. Additionally, LPL failed to close or restrict thousands of high-risk accounts, such as cannabis-related and foreign accounts, in compliance with its anti-money laundering policies.