On August 21, 2019, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an advisory (FIN-2019-A006) to alert financial institutions to possible schemes related to the trafficking of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. FinCEN explains that this new advisory will assist financial institutions in detecting and reporting suspicious activity, ultimately making it harder and more costly for criminals to (i) commit crimes related to the trafficking of synthetic opioids; (ii) hide and use their illicit money; and (iii) continue fueling the opioid epidemic that is currently occurring in the United States.
Fin-2019-A006 highlights the primary typologies and red flags derived from sensitive financial reporting which are associated with (i) the sale of synthetic opioid drugs by Chinese, Mexican, or other foreign suppliers; (ii) methods used by Mexican and other TCOs to launder the proceeds of fentanyl trafficking; and (iii) financial methodologies associated with the sale and procurement of fentanyl over the Internet by purchasers located in the United States.
As you might expect, a deep-dive review of this advisory will be included in our 3Q 2019 Quarterly Compliance Update (to be released in October of 2019) and will be available in our store.
The full FinCEN advisory can be found here.
