On December 22, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a multifaceted data-driven operation to address potential money laundering, focused on more than 100 U.S. money services businesses (MSBs) operating along the southwest border. MSBs are non-bank financial institutions that provide certain financial services, including money transmission, check cashing, and foreign currency exchange. This operation will focus on MSBs’ potential non-compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and other regulations by examining Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) and Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), which MSBs and other financial institutions must submit under BSA regulations.  

Because MSBs operating along the southwest border face heightened risk of “cartel-related money laundering,” including the use of proceeds from drug trafficking, human smuggling, and terrorism, this operation is consistent with President Trump’s designation of certain international criminal cartels and organizations as foreign terrorist organizations.

As part of this first-of-its-kind, data-driven enforcement operation, FinCEN will use advanced technologies to analyze banking records and identify potential exploitation of the U.S. financial system in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Task Force, the IRS, and federal and state law enforcement and regulatory entities.

To date, FinCEN has analyzed millions of banking records, including CTRs and SARs, resulting in the issuance of notices of investigation, dozens of examination referrals to the IRS and over 50 compliance outreach letters to MSBs. Failure to comply with the BSA and other regulations can result in FinCEN enforcement actions, including warning letters, civil injunctive relief, civil money penalties, and referrals to federal and state criminal and regulatory authorities.

Given the heightened focus by FinCEN, the national security and public safety implications, and the consequences of potential scrutiny by FinCEN and federal and state law enforcement and regulators, covered organizations should ensure they:

  • Develop, implement, and maintain effective, risk-based anti-money laundering (AML)/countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) programs;
  • Verify and collect customer identification to comply with the BSA;
  • Monitor transactions and customer activity and, when required, file timely SARs;
  • File timely CTRs; and
  • Ensure adequate oversight of agents, branches, and third-party service providers, as applicable.

Now would be a good time to ensure MSBs, particularly those on the southern border, have adequately addressed concerns raised during regulatory examinations and/or independent examinations of BSA/AML programs.  McGuireWoods has experienced BSA/AML attorneys capable of assisting in such reviews.

For questions about these topics, contact the authors of this article or another member of the McGuireWoods’ Bank Secrecy Act & Anti-Money Laundering Counseling and Defense, Financial Services Litigation, Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation, or Securities Enforcement teams.