The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has officially launched a new webpage on Friday dedicated to receiving confidential tips from whistleblowers regarding fraud, money laundering, and violations of sanctions. This move aims to combat the increasingly rampant misuse of federal funds, especially targeting the recent surge in social welfare fraud cases.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated in a press release that the Treasury Department will provide economic incentives to whistleblowers who provide effective leads and facilitate successful enforcement actions.
“President Trump has made it clear that the American people have the right to know that their tax dollars are not being diverted to fund global terrorist activities or to purchase luxury cars for scammers,” Bessent said. “We will offer rewards to individuals willing to provide us with detailed information on these fraudulent and money laundering activities, including personnel, content, time, location, and methods.”
In an interview with CNBC, Bessent further revealed that the rewards could amount to 10% to 30% of the total fines collected by the government.
“This will be an excellent way to combat waste, fraud, and abuse,” Bessent emphasized.
The establishment of the whistleblower website comes at a time when a massive government welfare fraud scandal has erupted in Minnesota. Bessent had visited the state last month, supporting President Trump’s efforts to combat illegal schemes that have cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
In a press release on Friday, Bessent stated that the Treasury Department has always adhered to the principle of “follow the money” in the pursuit of illicit funds. “We have done this with the Mafia, with drug trafficking groups, and now we are doing this with Somali fraudsters,” he said.
In addition to setting up the whistleblower website, the Treasury Department also announced a series of complementary initiatives, including:
Money Services Business (MSB) Investigations:
Focus on monitoring abnormal fund flows, especially remittances sent overseas.
Disrupting Fraud Networks:
Alerting financial institutions to cut off channels using child nutrition programs for money laundering.
Training Law Enforcement Officers:
Enhancing the ability to combat complex fraud schemes using financial data.
Furthermore, the federal government continues to monitor transnational money laundering threats. According to a consultation report previously released by FinCEN, Chinese Money Laundering Networks (CMLNs) pose a significant threat to the U.S. financial system. The report indicated that professional money launderers holding People’s Republic of China (PRC) passports are assisting Mexican drug cartels and other underground organizations in illicit fund transfers involving fraud, human trafficking, and drug trafficking.
Additionally, the Treasury Department has established an IRS task force – the Internal Revenue Service will launch a task force to conduct focused audits on the misuse of funds by 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entities.
The FinCEN Whistleblower Office has begun accepting comprehensive reports involving violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, U.S. sanctions programs, and other laws endangering national security. Officials encourage individuals with knowledge to promptly provide detailed documentation, which can be submitted through fincen.gov/whistleblower.