The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced an operation targeting more than 100 money services businesses operating along the southwest border. These businesses are under investigation for “potential non-compliance with regulations designed to detect money laundering and combat illicit finance,” the Treasury Department explained.
Announcing the effort in a video statement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained the “data-driven border operation” will “help root out potential cartel-related money laundering from the U.S. financial system.”
“Treasury will continue to use, expand, and advance technology—and every resource at its disposal—to combat money laundering and make America safe again,” he added.
The probe has already led to six formal notices of investigation, dozens of referrals to the IRS, and more than 50 compliance outreach letters. According to the Treasury, the investigation was launched following a review of more than one million Currency Transaction Reports and 87,000 Suspicious Activity Reports.
The operation aligns with President Trump’s directive to combat cartels operating along the southern border. “It is the policy of the United States to ensure the total elimination of these organizations’ presence in the United States and their ability to threaten the territory, safety, and security of the United States through their extraterritorial command-and-control structures, thereby protecting the American people and the territorial integrity of the United States,” the directive read.
Similarly, the Treasury has taken action against cartel activities by sanctioning entities connected to the Sinaloa Cartel, fentanyl networks, and a gang leader connected to Tren de Aragua.
