Maryland Legal Alert for Financial Services
FinCEN Proposes Rule to Expand Whistleblower Incentives and Protections
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) recently submitted to the Federal Register a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) intended to fully implement FinCEN’s whistleblower program by establishing a formal framework for offering financial incentives and protections to individuals who report certain financial crimes and sanctions violations.
According to FinCEN, the proposed rule is designed to encourage individuals to report violations involving the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), U.S. sanctions programs administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), and other laws intended to safeguard the U.S. financial system and national security.
Key Components of the Proposed Rule
- Procedures for whistleblowers to submit information and award applications in a timely and secure manner;
- Eligibility criteria and procedures for adjudicating award applications;
- Awards ranging from 10% to 30% of collected monetary penalties where a whistleblower’s information leads to a successful enforcement action by Treasury or the Department of Justice; and
- Protections for whistleblowers who provide information to FinCEN’s whistleblower program.
Although FinCEN’s whistleblower program was previously established under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and the Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Improvement Act of 2022, FinCEN stated that the proposed rule would fully implement those statutory provisions.
FinCEN also recently launched an online whistleblower portal intended to facilitate the submission of tips and supporting documentation.
Members of the public may submit comments regarding the NPRM within 60 days following publication in the Federal Register.
For more information concerning this topic, please contact Tamia J. Morris.
Tamia J. Morris
410-576-4021 • tmorris@gfrlaw.com
Christopher R. Rahl
410-576-4222 • crahl@gfrlaw.com