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Agency Budget Summary
Department of the Treasury
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
I. Resource Summary
II. Methodology
- The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) drug control budget proceeds from an estimate of support it will provide to HIDTA, Interagency Crime and Drug Enforcement task forces, OCDETF, and in support of narcotics-related investigations by law enforcement agencies at several echelons. The current specification of FinCEN's mission supports an equal split of resources between drug and non-drug investigative activities.
III. Program Summary
- The mission of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is to support and strengthen domestic and international anti-money laundering efforts, and to foster inter-agency and global cooperation to that end, through information collection, analysis, and sharing, technological assistance, and innovative and cost-effective implementation of Treasury authorities. FinCEN's drug control activities support Goal 2, "Increase the safety of America's citizens by substantially reducing drug-related crime and violence," and Goal 5, "Break foreign and domestic drug sources of supply," of the Strategy.
- Authorities worldwide have come to agree that money laundering is not merely incidental to drug trafficking. Given the high profits of drug production and distribution, and the criticality of disposing of those profits, money laundering must be considered an integral partof the crime. It is thus appropriate for all counter-narcotics efforts -- from the passage of criminal laws and enabling legislation, to the development of enforcement programs, and the implementation of specific police actions -- to include considerations of the financial part of the criminal cycle. FinCEN is uniquely competent to guide attention to that need.
- FinCEN is the United States' central point for broad-based financial intelligence, analysis, and information sharing. This service is provided to federal, state, local and international law enforcement agencies to assist them in building investigations, preparing prosecutions, and developing and implementing strategies to combat narcotics-related money laundering.
- As its name states, FinCEN is a network -- a link between law enforcement, financial and regulatory communities on the international, federal, state and local level.
- Because the changing financial world creates vast opportunities for criminals to hide illicit proceeds, FinCEN works with its domestic and international partners to maximize the information sharing network and find new ways to create cost-effective measures to prevent and detect money laundering by major trafficking organizations.
- FinCEN administers the Bank Secrecy Act, which is a key component of Treasury's efforts to combat money laundering.
- FinCEN's goal is to provide law enforcement support through information analysis and the creation of new information resources for the prevention, detection, and prosecution of money laundering. Primary strategies include using state-of-the-art technology for information sharing to law enforcement; building new law enforcement resources through the use of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and analysis of money laundering trends and patterns; and strengthening anti-money laundering efforts internationally.
- To use state-of-the-art technology for information sharing and analysis: FinCEN uses technology to exploit information collected in its databases to provide quality and timely information to law enforcement investigations of financial criminals. A secure Internet web allows information to be shared in a secure environment.
- To build new law enforcement resources through effective use of the Bank Secrecy Act: FinCEN monitors and adjusts BSA rules to meet the evolving needs for information by law enforcement and regulatory agencies. FinCEN is emphasizing the reporting of suspicious activity by the entire financial industry to include casinos, securities' dealers, and money service businesses. FinCEN is studying emerging technologies to determine the vulnerability of those systems to money laundering and reviews mechanisms for anti-money laundering safeguards to minimize abuse.
- To build new law enforcement resources through focused and sophisticated analysis of the elements of major cases and of trends and patterns of money laundering and related financial crimes: FinCEN brings together various law enforcement, regulatory, and banking components in order to focus on and discuss problematic topics of mutual concern. These partnership meetings are an effective and efficient way to address emerging and existing trends and methods of money laundering and financial crime. FinCEN issues advisories andtrend reports to inform its partners and highlight current financial crime schemes and trends.
- To challenge the financial criminal on all fronts, FinCEN recognizes that it must bring together government agencies and the private sector to address the massive problem of money laundering. FinCEN's approach is to build on common areas of interest when developing actions to significantly reduce its customers' burdens without compromising the needs of law enforcement. Through continuing outreach to the law enforcement community nationwide, and by way of meetings, conferences, speaking engagements, and other information-sharing forums, FinCEN builds partnerships while educating and informing its customers.
- To strengthen anti-money laundering efforts internationally: Efforts to reduce money laundering in the U.S. have forced drug traffickers to turn to other countries to cover their illicit profits. FinCEN assists its federal law enforcement counterparts in following the trail of the multinational money launderer by strengthening its partnership with the international community. Through linkages with multinational arrangements, FinCEN shares ideas and information generated throughout the law enforcement community. FinCEN is encouraging the establishment of task forces by language, or common interest, as an effective way to encourage and assist member countries to bring their financial policies into conformity with international money laundering standards.
IV. Budget Summary
1999 Program
Goal 2 Increase the safety of America's citizens by substantially reducing drug-related crime and violence and Goal 5 Break foreign and domestic drug sources of supply.
- FinCEN's 1999 program includes $12.7 million and 82 FTEs which support domestic and international anti-narcotics related money laundering efforts by providing support through collection, analysis, and sharing of information, and providing technological assistance. This includes $0.7 million from the Violent Crime Trust Fund to support international efforts against money laundering and establish a secure web for sharing information.
2000 Request
Goal 2 Increase the safety of America's citizens by substantially reducing drug-related crime and violence and Goal 5 Break foreign and domestic drug sources of supply.
- In FY 2000, FinCEN is requesting $14.8 million and 92 FTEs in support of Goal 2 and Goal 5 activities. FinCEN's request represents a net increase of $2.1 million over the FY 1999 level. No new initiatives are associated with this increase.
V. Program Accomplishments
Law Enforcement:
- FinCEN continued to support federal, state, local and international law enforcement entities as they investigated and prosecuted individuals, businesses and organizations involved in money laundering and other financial crimes. Support was provided through identification of financial activities and holdings of suspect enterprises.
- FinCEN established a platform program to aid federal agencies, that allows agency representatives to utilize FinCEN's data sources and research tools to assist in their investigations. FinCEN exceeded its performance goal and tripled the number of participants over the previous year with over seventy-three participants from thirty-two federal agencies.
- The number of interagency alerts issued through the Gateway system has increased beyond expectation. This is attributed to an enhancement of the system which includes the addition of TECS & NADDIS (law enforcement databases) as alert sources.
- FinCEN has adapted its response to law enforcement, conducting more tailored intelligence analysis projects. FinCEN also conducted training on the Suspicious Activity Report Query System (SQS). This user-friendly search engine was designed and developed at FinCEN to seek information from key portions of the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR). The SQS has enhanced the ability of the user to query and analyze data from the SARs.
Regulatory:
- FinCEN is in the last stages of finalizing new rules permitting banks to unilaterally exempt, from routine currency reporting, a large percentage of business accounts in which (1) the business has been established and has been a bank customer for a reasonable period of time; (2) the bank has agreed to monitor these accounts for potentially suspicious activity or abuses of the exemption process; and (3) the bank agrees to periodically certify that it has an operating system to comply with these requirements.
International:
- FinCEN developed and maintained the secure Web site for the Egmont Group. This Group, which was just an "idea" two years ago, has progressed into an international organization for financial intelligence units (FIUs) today. The Web site, which currently has seventeen countries participating, was designed to support the FIUs in the area of information-sharing but has expanded its base and is utilized as a means of communication.
- FinCEN has worked closely with other members of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in negotiating an agreed upon strategy for the future of the organization. FATF focused on expanding membership and supporting the establishment of regional "FATF-type" organizations to create a global anti-money laundering network.
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