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FinCEN clarifies SAR confidentiality rules, allowing banks to discuss suspicious transactions, fraud concerns and a/c closures with customers, provided they do not reveal that a SAR was filed

September 2, 2026

FinCEN and US banking regulators have issued a joint statement clarifying that SAR confidentiality requirements do not prevent banks and credit unions communicating with customers about the underlying facts, transactions and documents behind suspected fraud or other suspicious activity. Firms can request CDD information, question the purpose or source of funds, explain restrictions or account closures and warn customers about fraud…

FinCEN imposes new GTO requiring certain southwest-border MSBs to report and retain records on $1,000–$10,000 cash transactions, strengthening controls against ML and cartel-linked illicit finance

September 2, 2026

The reissued Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) requires certain MSBs in designated ZIP codes across eight counties in Texas and New Mexico to file Currency Transaction Reports for cash transactions between $1,000 and $10,000. Effective for 180 days following publication in the Federal Register, the measure is intended to increase visibility of cash flows linked to Mexico-based cartels, drug trafficking and associated laundering…

U.S. DOJ with the FBI, seize over $560K in cryptocurrency and Hamas-linked websites and servers used to solicit terrorist financing, disrupting online fundraising networks

September 1, 2026

The FBI traced crypto donations through rotating wallet addresses promoted on encrypted messaging channels and seized the funds through court-authorised warrants issued in March, June and October 2025. The operation also provided information on thousands of individuals who contacted Hamas online to donate or attempted to donate using crypto and traditional payment methods…

FinCEN permanently exempts U.S. companies and persons from BO reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act, and will delete previously reported U.S. person data from its BOI database

August 11, 2026

The final changes significantly narrow the Corporate Transparency Act framework by exempting domestic companies that had previously been expected to submit beneficial-ownership information. The move reduces the pool of ownership data available to law-enforcement and financial-intelligence authorities and marks a substantial reversal of the previous US transparency regime…

FinCEN extends targeted reporting requirements in Minnesota, requiring FIs to report certain international transfers of $3,000+ to help trace and disrupt proceeds linked to govt-benefit fraud

August 7, 2026

The Geographic Targeting Order requires banks and money transmitters in two Minnesota counties to report certain international funds transfers of $3,000 or more. The renewed measure, which took effect on 11 August for a further 180 days, is intended to help authorities trace proceeds linked to suspected large-scale diversion of state and federal benefit payments…

FinCEN issues an alert urging FIs to strengthen detection and reporting of fraud targeting U.S. federal student aid programmes, warning of identity theft, “ghost” students, synthetic identities

July 24, 2026

The alert says criminals exploit open-admission and online courses to enrol fictitious or complicit students, keep them nominally active and divert financial-aid refunds into accounts unrelated to the intended recipients. The proceeds may then be moved through money mules, shell companies, peer-to-peer transfers and digital assets, while identity-theft victims can be left with fraudulent debts or lose their own eligibility for student support…

FinCEN outlines plans to modernise the U.S. AML/CFT framework, highlighting nearly US$2B recovered for cyber fraud victims and disrupted the Huione Group’s alleged US$4B ML operation

July 21, 2026

Director Andrea Gacki told Congress that the programme has helped recover stolen funds for 5,790 US individuals and businesses since 2015. Her testimony also highlighted FinCEN’s action against Huione Group and successor entities, which the agency says were connected to laundering at least $4 billion, alongside efforts to modernise the Bank Secrecy Act regime around current illicit-finance risks…

U.S. Federal Reserve proposes enhanced risk-based AML/CFT requirements for banks, aligning programmes with FinCEN priorities and strengthening illicit finance controls

July 9, 2026

The proposal aims to align banking requirements with broader AML reforms under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and FinCEN’s proposed updates, while improving the quality of information shared with law enforcement and national security agencies. The reforms would require banks to better integrate FinCEN’s AML/CFT priorities into risk assessments, focus resources on higher-risk activities…

FinCEN warns Mexican cartels are increasingly using fuel smuggling as a TBML scheme, exploiting shell companies and fake invoices to evade taxes and launder illicit profits

June 30, 2026

Mexican cartels are increasingly smuggling fuel (gasoline, diesel, etc.) from the U.S. into Mexico. They evade Mexican fuel taxes and sell the fuel illegally in Mexico at large profit margins. The schemes are linked to major groups like the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and other Mexico-based criminal networks. Criminals use fake invoices, shell companies, and complicit traders on both sides of the border to disguise the origin of fuel…

U.S. authorities secured a guilty plea from a Brazilian national in a $30M drug money laundering scheme that used cash couriers and structured transfers to evade detection

June 24, 2026

The defendants admitted conspiring to launder drug trafficking proceeds through a U.S.-based courier network that collected bulk cash in cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Rochester and Tampa before depositing funds across the banking system. DOJ says the organisation used WhatsApp chains to coordinate couriers and facilitators and return profits to drug supply sources outside the United States, with each defendant…

White House launches a national transition to post-quantum cryptography to protect federal systems and critical infrastructure from quantum-enabled cyber threats, including “harvest now, decrypt later” risks

June 22, 2026

Executive Order 14412 requires agencies to appoint migration leads, review high-value systems and move key establishment and digital signatures to NIST-approved post-quantum standards by 2030 and 2031. While not a financial crime measure, the order is relevant to digital resilience because quantum-capable attacks could eventually compromise payments, identity systems, sensitive financial data, secure communications and…

FinCEN and U.S. regulators propose a rule under the GENIUS Act establishing a Customer Identification Program (CIP) for permitted payment stablecoin issuers, requiring bank-like KYC standards under the BSA

June 18, 2026

The proposed rule would require permitted payment stablecoin issuers to establish written Customer Identification Programs that collect and verify identifying information, maintain records, and check customers against government lists. It forms part of wider GENIUS Act implementation for payment stablecoins, alongside separate AML/CFT and sanctions compliance proposals, with the agencies seeking public comment before finalising…

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