Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (or FinCEN) is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat money laundering, terrorist financiers, and other financial crimes.

As reflected in its name, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a network, a means of bringing people and information together to fight the complex problem of money laundering. Since its creation in 1990, FinCEN has worked to maximize information sharing among law enforcement agencies and its other partners in the regulatory and financial communities. Working together is critical in succeeding against today's criminals. No organization, no agency, no financial institution can do it alone. Through cooperation and partnerships, FinCEN's network approach encourages cost-effective and efficient measures to combat money laundering domestically and internationally.

The mission of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is to safeguard the financial system from the abuses of financial crime, including terrorist financing, money laundering, and other illicit activity

FinCEN organization chart

It was established by order of the Secretary of the Treasury (Treasury Order Numbered 105–08) on April 25, 1990. In May 1994, its mission was broadened to include regulatory responsibilities and the Treasury Department's Office of Financial Enforcement (OFE) was merged with FinCEN in October 1994. On September 26, 2002, after Title III of the USA PATRIOT Act was passed, Treasury Order 180-01 [1] made it an official bureau in the Department of the Treasury.

314 Program

The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, §314(a) requires the Secretary of the Treasury to create a secure network for the transmission of information to enforce the relevant regulations.

FinCEN’s regulations under Section 314(a) enable federal law enforcement agencies, through FinCEN, to reach out to more than 45,000 points of contact at more than 27,000 financial institutions to locate accounts and transactions of persons that may be involved in terrorist financing and/or money laundering. This cooperative partnership between the financial community and law enforcement allows disparate bits of information to be identified, centralized, and rapidly evaluated.

This web interface allows the person(s) designated in §314(a)(3)(A) to register and transmit information to FinCEN.

See also

• Currency Transaction Report
• Suspicious Activity Report

External links

• 31 U.S.C. § 310 - Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
• Official FinCEN website
• FinCEN website for Money Services Businesses
• Privacy Information

External sources

• Hawala. An Informal Payment System and Its Use to Finance Terrorism by Sebastian R. Müller, Dec. 2006, VDM Verlag, ISBN: ISBN-10: 3865506569, ISBN-13: 978-3865506566

Agencies under the United States Department of the Treasury

Secretary of the Treasury Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau • Bureau of the Public Debt • Community Development Financial Institution Fund • Financial Management Service • Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration • Internal Revenue Service • Office of the Comptroller of the Currency • Office of Thrift Supervision • Office of Tax Policy Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs Office of East Asia • Office of South and Southeast Asia Nations • Office of Europe & Eurasia • Office of the Western Hemisphere • Office of International Monetary Policy • Office of Banking and Securities • Office of International Debt Policy • Office of Development Policy • Office of Financing Operations • Office of African Nations • Office of the Middle East & North Africa • Office of International Trade • Office of International Investment • Office of Trade Finance • Office of Technical Assistance • Office of Risk & Research Analysis Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance Office of Financial Institutions • Office of Financial Markets • Office of Fiscal Service Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Office of Terrorist Finance and Financial Crime • Office of Intelligence and Analysis • Office of Foreign Assets Control • Financial Crimes Enforcement Network • Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture Treasurer of the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing • United States Mint

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