InfoBytes Blog
FinCEN issues environmental crimes notice
On November 18, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a notice calling attention to the increase of environmental crimes and associated illicit financial activity. FinCEN emphasized that this trend is due to: (i) its strong association with corruption and transnational criminal organizations, two of FinCEN’s national anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism priorities; (ii) a need to enhance reporting and analysis of related illicit financial flows; and (iii) environmental crimes’ contribution to the climate crisis, including threatening ecosystems, decreasing biodiversity, and increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The notice also provided financial institutions with specific suspicious activity report filing instructions and outlined the likelihood of illicit financial activity associated with several types of environmental crimes.