The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an advisory on June 5 to US banking institutions. The document aims to identify fraud schemes linked to workers without legal status. Secretary Scott Bessent stated that abuses will not be permitted.
FinCEN issued the advisory on Friday, June 5. It asks banks to monitor identity theft, tax fraud and money laundering related to the hiring of unauthorized workers. The advisory follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in May. The order directs regulators to look for signs that people without legal status are opening accounts or applying for loans. Scott Bessent stated that the government “will not allow illegal outsiders to abuse financial institutions to steal billions of dollars from hardworking American taxpayers”. He added that payment schemes for illegal workers often depend on access to the US financial system. The order proved less stringent than banks had expected, as it does not mandate collecting citizenship information from clients.
