On May 19, 2023, FinCEN and U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a joint alert urging financial institutions to be vigilant against efforts by individuals and entities to evade BIS export controls implemented in connection with Russia's further invasion of Ukraine. The supplemental joint alert provides financial institutions additional information regarding new BIS export control restrictions related to Russia, as well as reinforces ongoing U.S. Government engagements and initiatives designed to further constrain and prevent Russia from accessing needed technology and goods to supply and replenish its military and defense industrial base.

On April 25, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the 2023 De-risking Strategy, as mandated by Congress in the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020. The Strategy examines the phenomenon of financial institutions de-risking and its causes, and it identifies those greatest impacted. In addition, it offers recommended policy options to combat it.

On April 25, 2023, FinCEN published its FinCEN Year in Review for FY 2022. The Year in Review is intended to help stakeholders gain insight into both FinCEN’s efforts to support law enforcement and national security agencies, and how financial information is used.

On April 21, 2023, FinCEN announced the renewal and expansion of its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) that require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used in all-cash purchases of residential real estate. The terms of the GTOs are effective beginning April 25, 2023, and ending on October 21, 2023.

On March 30, 2023, FinCEN published a Financial Trend Analysis on patterns and trends identified in Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) data relating to business email compromise (BEC) in the real estate sector in 2020 and 2021. The report contains relevant information for the public, particularly individual homebuyers and the multiple entities involved in real estate transactions.

On March 3, 2023, the IRS issued a consumer alert to warn taxpayers of new scams that urge people to use wage information on a tax return to claim false credits in hopes of getting a big refund. According to the agency, the scheme encourages people to use tax software to manually fill out Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, and include false income information to get substantial refunds based on the large amount of withholding.

On March 2, 2023, the Department of Commerce, Department of the Treasury, and Department of Justice issued a Tri-Seal Compliance to constrain the use of third-party intermediaries or transshipment points to circumvent restrictions, disguise the involvement of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDNs) or parties on the Entity List in transactions, and obscure the true identities of Russian end users. The Compliance Note highlights several of these tactics to assist the private sector in identifying warning signs and implementing appropriate compliance measures.