The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) United States Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network – Home | FinCEN.gov is a Treasury Dept. agency responsible for safeguarding the financial system from illicit activity, countering money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and promoting national security through strategic use of financial authorities and collecting, analyzing, and disseminating financial intelligence.   

It enforces numerous money laundering laws beginning with the 1970  Bank Secrecy Act History of Anti-Money Laundering Laws | FinCEN.gov.  Its legal authorities are begin at31 USC 310 31 U.S. Code § 310 – Financial Crimes Enforcement Network | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute and its regulatory authority  begin at 31 CFR 1000  eCFR :: 31 CFR Chapter X — Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Department of the Treasury.   

Examples of publications it produces include Chinese Money Laundering Networks:  2020-2024 Threat Pattern and Trend Information FinCEN FTA CMLN  and Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR) SAR Stats | FinCEN.gov which can be searched by variables such as industry type, date, suspicious activity category including fraud, gaming, money laundering, mortgage fraud, terrorist financing etc., geographic categories, and product type including credit and debit cards.  FINCEN’s Fiscal Year 2026 congressional budget submission is FinCEN FY 2026 CJ and it requests nearly $300 million in funding and approximately 609 employees.

This blog post was submitted by Bert Chapman, Purdue University.