The
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, commonly known by the acronym
FinCEN, is a comprehensive database of financial records created in 1990 as an arm of the
United States'
Department of the Treasury to combat the complex problem of
Money Laundering. Their primary purpose is to gather information on the movement of large or suspicious amounts of money, and to increase the communication about that movement to various domestic and international law enforcement agencies, including the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; the
Drug Enforcement Administration; the
Federal Bureau of Investigation; the
Secret Service; the
Internal Revenue Service; the
Customs Service; and the the
U.S. Postal Inspection Service[?]. All banks, casinos, brokerage firms, or financial institutions that transfer money must notify FinCEN of any transaction over $10,000 in value, as well as any other suspicious activity.
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