U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

News

Members of the media may email inquiries or interview requests to press@fincen.gov.

If you are not a member of the media, please visit the FinCEN contact page.

GUIDANCE ON INTERPRETING FINANCIAL INSTITUTION POLICIES IN RELATION TO RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS UNDER 31 C.F.R. §103.29

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) receives numerous questions concerning compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) recordkeeping requirement found in 31 C.F.R. §103.29. This section requires financial institutions to verify a customer’s identity and retain…

IRS Offshore Voluntary Compliance Initiative – FinCEN Waiver from Civil Money Penalties for Failure to Timely File Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (Form TD F 90-22.1)

This serves notice that the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has granted a waiver from civil money penalties for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, 31 U.S.C. 5314, and its implementing regulation, 31 C.F.R. Part 103.24, to persons who enter into settlement and…

Notice of Availability of Regulatory Impact Assessment and Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Regarding the Customer Due Diligence Requirements for Financial Institutions
Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 Reporting Requirements Under Section 104(e)
Local Municipality Case Example (Illegal Exports)

In early 2012, FinCEN conducted outreach to all of its state and local law enforcement partners, and asked for cases where FinCEN data played a useful role in their investigations. Below, in their own words, is an example of how FinCEN's stakeholders use FinCEN data. It has been edited only for…

Bank Secrecy Act Records Link Gambling Ring to Structuring at Casinos

Arrests of more than two dozen people associated with an organized crime-controlled sports-betting ring was made possible, in part, because law enforcement officials were able to track some of the subjects’ suspicious financial transactions through review of BSA data. According to police, the…

Organized Crime Network Attacked With the Help of SARs

The U.S. Customs Service in Chicago conducted an investigation of a Russian and Lithuanian organized crime group that was heavily involved in the smuggling of stolen luxury vehicles out of the U.S. into Europe. Independent analysis of a SAR filing showed suspicious behavior that related to the…

SAR Leads to Guilty Plea of Money Laundering

A SAR filed by a bank revealed that an individual had deposited over $44,000 to and withdrawn over $31,000 from his account in a one-month period. Subpoenaed bank records revealed that this individual had deposited over $103,000 in a nine-month period from late 1999 to mid-2000. The individual…

Suspicious Activity Reports Aid Conviction of Drug Dealers

In 2003, two defendants plead guilty to multiple drug-related and money laundering charges. A third subject pled guilty to an additional charge of Dealing in Unlawful Proceeds.

Narcotics agents with a State Attorney General’s Office initiated the investigation as an interdiction case. The…

SARs Aid Investigators in Case Where an Auto Dealer Laundered Drug Proceeds

SARs provided helpful information to investigators in making a case against an auto dealer and several associates involved in a drug trafficking and money laundering organization. During a 5-month investigation, Federal agents uncovered a scheme that involved cash purchases at the dealership of…