Deborah L. Connor, former chief of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), is a partner in MoFo’s Investigations + White Collar Defense Group. With more than 25 years of service at DOJ, most recently leading its anti-money laundering (AML)/Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) enforcement, Deborah is a leading authority in criminal AML/BSA matters. Drawing upon her unmatched experience in criminal investigations, litigation, and enforcement, Deborah focuses on guiding financial institutions, multinational companies, and individuals through cross-border internal investigations, regulatory enforcement defense, white collar criminal defense, and compliance counseling involving legal issues pertaining to sanctions, anti-corruption, AML/BSA, and cryptocurrency, among others.
As chief and principal deputy chief of MLARS, Deborah supervised investigations and prosecutions of numerous high-profile cases involving allegations of corporate and financial misconduct and resolutions involving deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements in relation to financial institutions and emerging technologies in the financial services markets, as well as blockchain-based digital assets. As chief, she exercised supervisory authority over the DOJ’s AML program, specifically any charges involving violations of BSA statutes. Deborah has worked with domestic regulators, including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control, as well as enforcement officials throughout the federal government, including the Departments of State, Commerce, and Treasury. She was also responsible for helping to oversee the Department’s Asset Forfeiture Program. Deborah also served as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division.