On September 11, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued an administrative cease-and-desist order against Haywood Securities (USA) Inc., a Canada-based broker-dealer registered with the Commission since 1997 and a wholly owned subsidiary of Haywood Securities Inc. According to the Order, the SEC found that from at least May 2021 through January 2026, Haywood USA willfully violated Section 17(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 17a-8 by failing to file Suspicious Activity Reports (“SARs”) with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as required under the Bank Secrecy Act. As part of a settlement, the firm was censured and ordered to pay a civil money penalty of $750,000.
The SEC’s findings detail a pattern of anti-money laundering (“AML”) compliance breakdowns at Haywood USA, including the firm’s failure to adequately implement its own AML policies and procedures for identifying, reviewing, and investigating red flags of suspicious activity. The cited examples include the firm’s failure to file SARs in connection with accounts linked to a publicly known convicted criminal; an account associated with a foreign national whose bank accounts had been frozen amid a fraud investigation; and multiple customers engaged in suspicious deposit-and-liquidation schemes involving low-priced securities. The Commission also found that Haywood USA failed to adequately investigate or file SARs after identifying significant red flags during an onboarding process that ultimately led the firm to decline to open the account. In determining the sanctions, the SEC noted that Haywood USA had undertaken remedial efforts, including revisions to its AML policies and procedures, increased compliance staffing, and the retention of a third-party consultant to enhance its AML program.