Treasury Accepting Whistleblower Tips on Fraud, Money Laundering, Sanctions Violations

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) launched a new dedicated webpage to confidentially accept whistleblower tips on fraud, money laundering, and sanctions violations. While in Minnesota last month in support of President Trump’s efforts to stop the rampant government benefits fraud schemes, which have cost taxpayers billions of dollars, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent announced that Treasury would provide financial rewards for eligible whistleblower tips. In Minnesota, Secretary Bessent also unveiled a series of initiatives Treasury is undertaking to combat fraud, including investigating Money Services Businesses, enhancing reporting to accelerate prosecutions and recover laundered funds, alerting financial institutions to help disrupt fraud rings exploiting child nutrition programs, and training law enforcement to better leverage financial data to combat complex fraud schemes. In addition, the IRS will launch a dedicated fraud task force focused on targeting the misuse of funding by 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entities. “President Trump has been clear that Americans have a right to know that their tax dollars are not being diverted to fund acts of global terror or to fund luxury cars for fraudsters. At Treasury, we follow the money. We did it with the mafia, we have done it with the cartels, and we’re doing it with the Somali fraudsters,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “We are going to offer whistleblower payments to anyone who wants to tell us the who, what, when, where, and how this fraud and money laundering has occurred.” FinCEN’s Office of the Whistleblower is accepting tips involving violations and conspiracies related to the Bank Secrecy Act, U.S. sanctions programs, and several other laws critical to safeguarding the U.S. financial system and national security. Individuals who provide information may be eligible for awards if their tip leads to a successful enforcement action. Whistleblowers are encouraged to submit information as soon as possible and to provide detailed, specific documentation to support their claims. For more information on FinCEN’s whistleblower program and how to submit tips, visit fincen.gov/whistleblower.