The news organization's report, issued last week, cited unnamed sources. This publication has contacted Morgan Stanley for comment. FINRA declined to comment.

The US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, aka FINRA, is investigating Morgan Stanley to find out whether it checked clients for money laundering risks, the Wall Street Journal has reported. 

Morgan Stanley and FINRA declined to comment to Family Wealth Report publication about the matter. 

The WSJ quoted a Morgan Stanley spokesperson as saying that it has invested substantially in its anti-money-laundering and other client-vetting programs over the past several years that are benefiting its business.

The news organization said that a probe by FINRA focused on the firms' clients, risk ranking and other practices from October 2021 through September 2024. The WSJ quoted unnamed sources. The report said that Morgan Stanley could face more fines adding to those it already contemplates due to federal investigations into its anti-money-laundering practices.

FINRA has been asking for information on US and international clients in Morgan Stanley’s wealth-management business and the division that houses its trading desks, the WSJ said. 

One of the regulator's requests has been for information on politically exposed clients, including senior foreign political figures, their relatives or close associates, and the Morgan Stanley representatives who were assigned to those accounts.