FinCEN Reminds Financial Institutions to Remain Vigilant to Environmental Crimes

April 22, 2024 / Source: FinCEN

WASHINGTON—As the nation reflects on the many ways to protect our environment this Earth Day, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) reminds financial institutions to remain vigilant in identifying and reporting suspicious activity related to environmental crimes. Environmental crimes frequently involve transnational criminal activity related to several of FinCEN’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) National Priorities, including corruption, fraud, human trafficking, and drug trafficking.

FinCEN has previously published resources to help stakeholders identify and combat environmental crimes and associated illicit financial activity. FinCEN’s December 2021 Financial Threat Analysis contains information on wildlife trafficking threat patterns and trend information identified in Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) data. FinCEN’s Notice FIN-2021-NTC4 provides financial institutions with specific Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) filing instructions and highlights illicit financial activity related to several types of environmental crimes such as wildlife trafficking and illegal logging, fishing, or mining. SAR filings, along with effective implementation of BSA compliance requirements, are crucial to identifying and stopping environmental crimes and related money laundering.

FinCEN Resources on Environmental Crimes

• Financial Threat Analysis: Illicit Finance Threat Involving Wildlife Trafficking and Related Trends in Bank Secrecy Act Data (December 2021)
• FIN-2021-NTC4: FinCEN Calls Attention to Environmental Crimes and Related Financial Activity (November 2021)

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