Bradley Partner Whitt Steineker Quoted in Mississippi Business Journal on Risks for Banks Servicing Medical Marijuana Market

Bradley attorney Whitt Steineker was quoted in the Mississippi Business Journal on the risks associated with banks servicing cannabis companies.  There are rewards available for Mississippi bankers in medical marijuana markets, but the potential for a shift in the U.S. Treasury Department policy leaves bankers and their institutions at high risk for harm.

Steineker said he advises banking clients to weigh whether profits from marijuana are worth taking on “serious bank secrecy and money-laundering concerns.”

Steineker said the problem is that banks servicing marijuana entities must risk the fickleness of Treasury Department policy instead of the firmness of federal law. “You’re relying on law enforcement and take your compliance with these guidelines as being sufficient when there is a possibility you will be subject to enforcement action,” he added.

The original article, “Medical Cannabis Could be Opportunity for Bankers – but a Risky One” first appeared in the Mississippi Business Journal on January 23, 2020.