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The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions to combat domestic and international money laundering,terrorist financing,and other financial crimes.
The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA),also known as the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act,is a U.S. law requiring financial institutions in the United States to assist U.S. government agencies in detecting and preventing money laundering. Specifically,the act requires financial institutions to keep records of cash purchases of negotiable instruments,file reports if the daily aggregate exceeds $10,000,and report suspicious activity that may signify money laundering,tax evasion,or other criminal activities.
In financial regulation,a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) or Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) is a report made by a financial institution about suspicious or potentially suspicious activity as required under laws designed to counter money laundering,financing of terrorism and other financial crimes. The criteria to decide when a report must be made varies from country to country,but generally is any financial transaction that either a) does not make sense to the financial institution;b) is unusual for that particular client;or c) appears to be done only for the purpose of hiding or obfuscating another,separate transaction. The report is filed with that country's Financial Intelligence Unit,which is typically a specialist agency designed to collect and analyse transactions and then report these to relevant law enforcement teams.
The Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA) is a component of the United States Department of the Treasury responsible for the receipt,analysis,collation,and dissemination of foreign intelligence and counterintelligence information related to the operation and responsibilities of the Treasury Department.
The USA PATRIOT Act was passed by the United States Congress in 2001 as a response to the September 11 attacks in 2001. It has ten titles,with the third title written to prevent,detect,and prosecute international money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence is a position within the United States Department of the Treasury responsible for directing the Treasury's efforts to cut the lines of financial support for terrorists,fight financial crime,enforce economic sanctions against rogue nations,and combat the financial support of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The Under Secretary is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
Operation Green Quest was a U.S. interagency investigative unit formed in October 2001 after the September 11 attacks. Sponsored by the United States Customs Service,it was concerned with the surveillance and interdiction of terrorist financing sources. It was disbanded in June 2003 pursuant to an agreement between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice.
ABLV Bank was one of the largest private banks in the Baltic States,headquartered in Riga,Latvia with representative offices abroad from 1993 to 2018.
First Merchant Bank OSH Ltd (FMB) was an offshore bank of Northern Cyprus established in 1993. As an offshore bank it was not regulated by the Central Bank of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,and not allowed to trade with Northern Cyprus residents. In August 2004 the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) designated it "a financial institution of primary money laundering concern" under Section 311 of the Patriot Act. The Northern Cyprus Ministry of Finance withdrew FMB's banking license in February 2007,and by April 2008 the bank's Ireland-registered major shareholder and its subsidiaries appeared defunct.
The Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act,better known as the Kingpin Act,is landmark federal legislation in the United States intended to address international narcotics trafficking by imposing United States sanctions on foreign persons and entities involved in the drug trade.
The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List,also known as the SDN List,is a United States government sanctions/embargo measure targeting U.S.-designated terrorists,officials and beneficiaries of certain authoritarian regimes,and international criminals. The list is managed by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). When individuals are added to the list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN),their U.S. assets are blocked. Moreover,their names are added to automated screening systems used by banks in the United States and many foreign countries,making it difficult for them to open or hold accounts,transfer money,or transact properties internationally. Any individual or entity that provides support related to terrorism,drug trafficking or unauthorized military use to any person or entity appearing on the SDN list risks being penalized under the USA PATRIOT Act.
David Aufhauser,American lawyer,served as the General Counsel of the United States Treasury Department from 2001 to 2004. After 9/11,Aufhauser was a key player in disrupting and freezing further terrorist activity against the United States. He is best known for running the federal government's programs to go after terrorist financing,a major strategy in the war on terror. He ran the National Security Council Committee on Terrorist Financing;oversaw the legal departments of important agencies and divisions within the U.S. Treasury Department including International Banking,Domestic Banking,the U.S. Customs Service,IRS criminal and civil divisions,ATF,Financial Crimes and Money Laundering,and United States Secret Service;and supervised the federal government's multi-agency antiterrorism task force. In his numerous briefings before the House and Senate,he emphasized the importance of teaching tolerance and respect,often making clear distinctions between the vast majority of peaceful people in the Middle East and the practitioners of “counterfeit religion”who preyed on hopelessness to recruit terrorists.
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James H. Freis Jr. is an American lawyer and financial industry executive who from 2007 to 2012 served as the United States Department of the Treasury's 6th Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN),where he expanded the scope of the anti-money laundering regulations and became known for spearheading efforts to combat fraud and implementing modern data analysis. He was an attorney and central banker at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Bank for International Settlements.
The United States government applies economic sanctions against certain institutions and key members of the Chinese government and its ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP),certain companies linked to the People's Liberation Army (PLA),and other affiliates that the US government has accused of aiding in human rights abuses. The US maintained embargoes against China from the inception of the People's Republic of China in 1949 until 1972. An embargo was reimposed by the US following the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. From 2020 onward,the US imposed sanctions and visa restrictions against several Chinese government officials and companies,in response to the persecution of Uyghurs in China,human rights abuses in Hong Kong and Tibet,military-civil fusion,support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine,and fentanyl production.
The FinCEN Files are documents from the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN),that have been leaked to BuzzFeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ),and published globally on 20 September 2020. The 2,657 leaked documents include 2,121 suspicious activity reports (SARs) covering over 200,000 suspicious financial transactions between 1999 and 2017 valued at over US$2 trillion by multiple global financial institutions.
Task Force KleptoCapture is a United States Department of Justice unit established in March 2022 with the goal of enforcing sanctions on Russian oligarchs in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The United States has supported Ukraine during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. After it began on 24 February 2022,President Joe Biden condemned the invasion,provided military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine,and sanctioned Russia and Belarus,the two countries most involved in invading Ukraine.
The Anti-Money Laundering Improvement Act (AML) is a collection of regulations and laws in the United States aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The act builds upon the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA),the first anti-money laundering enforcement law.
References
- ↑ "The Treasury Department Announces Andrea Gacki as the New Director of FinCEN". FinCEN.gov. 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
- ↑ PYMNTS (2023-07-13). "Department of the Treasury Names New FinCEN Director" . Retrieved 2024-01-01.
- 1 2 Rappeport, Alan (2023-07-13). "Treasury Taps Sanctions Architect to Lead Financial Crimes Team". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-01-01.
- ↑ Brasseur, Kyle. "OFAC head Andrea Gacki shifted to lead FinCEN". Compliance Week. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
- ↑ "Andrea Gacki". Practicing Law Institute. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
- 1 2 "24 people who will change banking in 2024". American Banker. 2023-12-22. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
- ↑ Tokar, Dylan (2023-07-13). "Treasury's Sanctions Chief Is Appointed Director of Financial Crimes Bureau". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660 . Retrieved 2024-01-01.