June 2016

PDF Download : Issue 21-story7.pdf

Suspicious Activity Reports, filed by a credit union and money transmitter, led to the investigation of a retired officer who began accepting bribes while still in military service. The defendant orchestrated a scheme to ensure specific entities were awarded contracts for services related to the construction and maintenance of facilities for U.S. armed forces overseas. An alert depository institution recognized unusual transactions by the defendant and filed the SARs.

PDF Download : Issue 19-story2.pdf

A U.S. military officer used his official position to steal currency designated for war use, transferred the funds to the United States, and then spent that money on personal items. When the defendant conducted transactions with the stolen currency at financial institutions, those transactions triggered anti-money laundering detection protocols. The resulting SAR led to a quick arrest and recovery of the stolen currency.

PDF Download : Issue 21-story2.pdf

A Federal judge sentenced the owners of a tribal tobacco shop to probation and community service, and ordered to them pay almost $10,000,000 in restitution, for conspiring to traffic in contraband cigarettes and for structuring currency transactions. The defendants earlier pleaded guilty in Federal court to illegally purchasing, receiving, and selling untaxed cigarettes, thereby depriving the state millions of dollars in tax revenue.

PDF Download : May2015_Case4.pdf

PDF Download : Issue 18-story 1.pdf

A jury found the defendant guilty of structuring after a pattern of transactions designed to evade currency transaction reporting requirements was identified. Prosecutors did not allege that the structured funds were derived from criminal activity.

PDF Download : Issue 18-story 3.pdf

In a case where Federal prosecutors stepped in to help local law enforcement, BSA records identified millions of dollars generated through an illegal gambling operation. State authorities had few tools to punish the defendants because the state charges were only misdemeanors. To shut down the large operation, federal authorities brought charges, including money laundering, which could result in longer sentences.

PDF Download : Issue 19-story7.pdf

PDF Download : msbsarfs.pdf

The Treasury Department is issuing today a final rule concerning the application of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to certain non-bank financial institutions called "money services businesses" (MSBs). The rule would extend to the MSB industry the requirement to report suspicious activity under the BSA.

Since its creation in 1990, FinCEN has played a critical role in enhancing U.S. national security and combating financial crimes, through its efforts to deter and detect criminal activity and safeguard financial systems from abuse by promoting transparency in the U.S. and international financial systems.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is aware of a fraudulent email notification received by financial institutions from Noreply@fincen.gov regarding an “Important Notice for your Financial Institution.” This email references an EFT/wire transfer Suspicious Activity  Report, and contains attachments and possibly  viruses that may harm your computer.  The email address “Noreply@fincen.gov” is not legitimate, and is not utilized by FinCEN for sending notification