Bulk Cash Smuggling

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Advisory is Accompanied by Related OFAC and DOJ Actions

On June 20, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a supplemental advisory to alert U.S. financial institutions about emerging trends in the illicit fentanyl supply chain. The supplemental advisory emphasized the increasing involvement of Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations (“TCOs”) in the procurement of fentanyl precursor chemicals and manufacturing equipment from suppliers in the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”).

The detailed supplemental advisory builds upon FinCEN’s 2019 advisory (see our blog post here) by introducing new typologies and red flags for financial institutions to try to identify and report suspicious transactions.  As we discuss, the supplemental advisory was accompanied by related actions by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) as part of an apparently coordinated effort by the federal government to combat this pernicious illicit industry.

Continue Reading  FinCEN Issues Supplemental Advisory on Fentanyl Distribution and Growing Role of Transnational Criminal Organizations

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued on January 13, 2023 an alert (the “Alert”) to financial institutions regarding the detection of financial activity related to human smuggling along the U.S. southwest border (“SW border”). The Alert builds upon FinCEN’s prior 2020 and 2014 human smuggling and human trafficking advisories in order to provide trends and typologies specifically related to human smuggling along the SW border. It also provides red flag indicators regarding transactions potentially related to human smuggling.

The Alert effectively lays out the breadth of the problem.  Effectively detecting and reporting human smuggling and trafficking, however, can be difficult, given the extensive use of cash.

Continue Reading  FinCEN Issues Alert on Human Smuggling and Trafficking Along the Southwest Border:  Methodologies, Typologies and Red Flags

On September 8, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) published an extension of its notice and request for comment (the “Notice”) in the Federal Register regarding changes to the OCC’s Money Laundering Risk System (the “MLR System”)  The Notice indicates that the OCC is inviting greater scrutiny of customers and transactions involving…

Last week, the Southern District of California partially unsealed a superseding indictment (the “Indictment”) revealing allegations against 29 alleged members of an international money laundering organization (“MLO”) tied to some of the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, and who allegedly laundered over $32 million in drug proceeds from the United States…

First in a Two-Post Series

The U.S. Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) has issued its 2020 National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing (“2020 Strategy”). This document sets forth the key priorities of the U.S. government regarding enforcement of the Bank Secretary Act (“BSA”), and the furthering of the government’s Anti-Money-Laundering (“AML”) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (“CFT”) goals in general. It is lengthy document addressing numerous issues – albeit in a relatively high-level fashion in regards to any specific issue.

In this post, we will summarize the findings and recommendations of the 2020 Strategy, and will highlight some topics this blog has followed closely – including calls for: increased transparency into beneficial ownership; strengthening international regulation and coordination, and modernization of the AML/BSA regime. Our next post will focus on the 2020 Strategy as it relates to combating money laundering relating to real estate transactions and “gatekeeper” professions, such as lawyers, real estate professionals and other financial professionals, including broker-dealers.

The 2020 Strategy also focuses on several other important issues which we will not discuss in this limited blog series, but on which we certainly have blogged before, including the role of money laundering in international trade, casinos, money services businesses and digital assets.
Continue Reading  Treasury Department’s 2020 National Illicit Finance Strategy: Aspirations for BSA/AML Modernization and the Combatting of Key Threats