Money services businesses (MSBs) operating along the southwest border of the country are the target of a new effort by the Treasury and its financial crimes enforcement unit to unearth alleged money laundering activity, the agencies said Monday.
The Treasury Department and its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said they were examining more than 100 MSBs operating around the southern border “for potential non-compliance with regulations designed to detect money laundering and combat illicit finance.”
The agency said FinCEN’s operation resulted in the issuance of six notices of investigation, dozens of examination referrals to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and more than 50 compliance outreach letters.
Treasury said FinCEN’s actions “are designed to address the money laundering vulnerabilities created by MSBs that appear to be non-compliant with the Bank Secrecy Act” (BSA). “MSBs on the receiving end of these actions are on notice that Treasury will not tolerate Bank Secrecy Act violations that could put Americans at risk.
The agency claimed that its “data-driven operation” is based on a review of more than 1 million Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) and 87,000 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). Financial institutions must submit the reports to FinCEN to provide highly useful data to law enforcement, the agency noted.
FinCEN Announces Data-Driven Border Operation to Address Potential Money Laundering
Leave a Reply