The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) issued a consent order against Sigue Corporation, a US-based international money transfer company that operates remittance corridors primarily serving customers sending funds to Latin America and other markets, on 20 March 2025, finding that the firm had failed to meet its obligations under New York money transmitter regulations, with deficiencies identified in its anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) programme posing the central basis for the enforcement action.
The action against Sigue reflects the NYDFS's sustained and active use of its supervisory authority over licensed money transmitters operating in New York to enforce compliance standards and deter institutions from treating AML obligations as a secondary operational concern. The consent order imposes specific remedial requirements on the company and subjects it to an elevated level of regulatory scrutiny as it works to address the identified weaknesses in its compliance framework.
AML DEFICIENCIES AT THE CORE
The consent order identified deficiencies in Sigue Corporation's AML/CFT programme as the central basis for the enforcement action. Effective AML compliance in the money transfer sector requires firms to maintain robust customer due diligence processes, monitor transaction patterns for suspicious or unusual activity, file timely suspicious activity reports with the appropriate authorities, and ensure that know-your-customer (KYC) procedures can reliably identify the beneficial owners and purposes behind the transfers being facilitated. The NYDFS found that Sigue's programme fell short of the required standard across these dimensions.
For a company operating in the high-volume, lower-margin remittance market serving corridors to Latin America, the compliance challenge is substantial. Those corridors can involve countries with varying levels of financial system development and differing exposure to organised crime, corruption, and informal economic activity — factors that elevate the money laundering and financial crime risk inherent in cross-border fund flows and demand correspondingly rigorous and dynamic controls that can adapt to changing risk conditions in specific markets and customer segments.
Under the terms of the consent order, Sigue is required to implement enhanced AML controls, materially improve its KYC procedures, and submit compliance plans to the NYDFS demonstrating how it intends to address the weaknesses identified during the department's examination. The NYDFS will monitor compliance with those commitments over the period specified in the order, and the consent order framework gives the department the authority to escalate its response if the firm fails to meet the required milestones within the agreed timeframe.
NYDFS PATTERN OF TRANSMITTER ENFORCEMENT
The action against Sigue is consistent with a broader pattern of NYDFS enforcement activity directed at money transmitters that has developed over 2024 and into 2025, with prior actions involving firms including Wise, Nordea, and Paxos. The department has used its authority over licensed New York money transmitters to set clear expectations for compliance programme quality across the sector, and the Sigue consent order reinforces the message that deficiencies in AML/CFT frameworks will result in formal supervisory consequences regardless of the size or business model of the institution involved.
The money transmitter sector plays a vital role in the global financial system, providing accessible and low-cost cross-border payment services to millions of customers — many of whom are migrant workers sending remittances to family members in their countries of origin. The NYDFS's enforcement activity aims to ensure that the convenience and affordability of those services are not compromised by inadequate safeguards against financial crime. Sigue will be expected to demonstrate through its compliance submissions that its remediation programme is substantive, comprehensive, and capable of delivering durable improvement rather than merely procedural compliance with the letter of the consent order.