PANews reported on January 16 that according to the joint enforcement of financial regulators in 48 states in the United States, Block was fined $80 million for violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations. Block agreed to pay the fine and hire an independent consultant to review the effectiveness of its BSA/AML program, submit a report within 9 months and rectify the problem within 12 months. Violations may cause its services to be used for illegal activities such as money laundering and terrorist financing. The action was led by California, Texas and other states, and Block cooperated with the investigation throughout the process.