AnnaLou Tirol, deputy director of money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), on Thursday (March 3) told attendees at AML Intelligence’s Women in FinCrime event that the group is making progress on curbing money laundering.
Congress passed the Anti-Money Laundering Act in January 2021, and Tirol said in her presentation at the event that the “landmark piece of legislation…will bolster the United States’ national security and help better protect our communities and people.
“It represents the greatest transformation of the United States’ AML-CFT regime since the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001,” she said, with CFT referring to combating the financing of terrorism. “For FinCEN, this is a remarkable time in FinCEN’s history, as the AML Act has endowed us with a leading role in strengthening our AML-CFT architecture.”
FinCEN, buttressed by the AML Act, will establish national AML-CFT priorities, issuing regulations to implement those priorities and ensuring enforcement of and compliance with the new requirements, said Tirol.
The AML Act also dictates creating an annual Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) training program for all federal examiners; enhancing whistleblower provisions and adding anti-retaliation protections; and establishing an Office of Domestic Liaison with regional representatives across the country.
Other parts of the legislation include establishing a network of overseas financial intelligence liaisons; reviewing Currency Transaction Report and Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) requirements; and expanding BSA requirements and obligations to people engaged in the trade of antiquities.
Finally, the AML Act advocates hosting a Financial Crimes Tech Symposium, enhancing the FinCEN Exchange and establishing subcommittees in innovation and technology and information security within the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group; working on feedback regarding BSA data; formalizing a pilot program to allow financial institutions to share SARs with their foreign branches, subsidiaries and affiliates; and conducting a formal review of regulations and guidance implementing the BSA.
FinCEN published the national AML-CFT Priorities last June, an advance notice of proposed rulemaking regarding antiquities last September, a proposed rulemaking regarding SAR sharing pilots in January and a request for information regarding ways to streamline, modernize and update the AML-CFT regime in December, said Tirol.
Related: FinCEN: Wildlife Trafficking Is on the Rise
In December, FinCEN reported wildlife trafficking threats are on the rise as part of its Financial Threat Analysis. The report was based on BSA data, which tracks movement of criminal proceeds, estimated at as much as $23 billion annually and comprising 25% of all wildlife trade.
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