The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) announced charges against broker-dealer and investment advisor LPL Financial LLC for multiple violations of its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program. LPL agreed to pay a $18 million civil penalty and promised to improve its anti-money laundering policies and procedures. The SEC order notes that LPL suffered from chronic failures in customer identification procedures from May 2019 to December 2023, including failure to close accounts without proper verification of customer identities in a timely manner. In addition, LPL failed to close or restrict thousands of high-risk accounts, such as marijuana-related and foreign accounts, in accordance with its anti-money laundering policies.