How to Submit a FinCEN Whistleblower Program Tip
If you work in financial services, banking, accounting, real estate, or a related field and have witnessed apparent financial crime, you may be able to report that information to federal authorities. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network operates a whistleblower program designed to receive tips from people with first-hand knowledge of potential violations of U.S. financial laws. This guide explains what the program covers, how to prepare and submit a tip, and what to expect afterward.
What Is FinCEN?
FinCEN, which stands for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, is a bureau within the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Its core mission is to protect the financial system from illicit use, combat money laundering, and support national security efforts through the collection, analysis, and dissemination of financial intelligence.
Financial institutions across the country, including banks, credit unions, broker-dealers, money services businesses, and other covered entities, are required by federal law to file reports with FinCEN when they detect suspicious financial activity. These reports are called Suspicious Activity Reports, commonly known as SARs. They form a significant part of the information FinCEN uses in its analytical and enforcement work.
FinCEN’s authority comes primarily from the Bank Secrecy Act, a cornerstone of U.S. banking law, which requires financial institutions to maintain programs to detect and report money laundering and related crimes. When institutions or individuals fail to meet these obligations or actively participate in financial crimes, FinCEN has enforcement authority and works alongside the Department of Justice, the IRS Criminal Investigation division, and other agencies to investigate and prosecute violations.
Types of Violations You Can Report
The FinCEN whistleblower program accepts tips related to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and related federal statutes. Reportable conduct covers a wide range of financial crimes and compliance failures.
Money laundering involves processing proceeds of illegal activity through financial accounts to disguise their origin. Common examples include structuring transactions below reporting thresholds to avoid required disclosures (sometimes called “smurfing”) and using shell companies or layered transactions to conceal the movement of funds.
Sanctions evasion refers to helping individuals, entities, or governments subject to U.S. sanctions access the financial system. FinCEN coordinates with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on enforcement in this area.
BSA compliance failures by financial institutions are reportable on their own. Banks and other covered institutions that knowingly fail to file required Suspicious Activity Reports or maintain deficient anti-money laundering programs may be liable for BSA violations regardless of whether employees were personally involved in underlying criminal activity.
Corruption-related financial crimes, including bribery and embezzlement where financial transactions are used to move or conceal corrupt proceeds, fall within the program’s scope when those transactions pass through U.S. institutions or involve U.S. persons.
Bank fraud and wire fraud that use banking systems or electronic payment infrastructure to execute or conceal fraudulent activity may also qualify as reportable violations.
If you are uncertain whether what you observed qualifies, speaking with a legal professional before submitting can help you evaluate your options and understand what your information may be worth to regulators.
How to Prepare Your Tip
Taking time to organize your information before submitting increases the chances that investigators can act on what you provide. A well-prepared submission is easier to evaluate and more likely to move forward efficiently.
Write down what you know. Describe what you observed, including dates, locations, names of the individuals or entities involved, and relevant financial figures or transaction details. Be factual and specific, and distinguish between what you witnessed yourself and what you heard from others.
Gather and preserve supporting materials. If you have access to documents, records, emails, or internal reports that support your account, identify and secure them. You do not need to include everything in your initial submission, but accurately describing what you have will help investigators understand the scope of what you can provide.
Understand the original information standard. Under 31 U.S.C. § 5323, as amended by the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and the Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Improvement Act of 2022, monetary awards are available only to individuals whose submissions provide original information, meaning information not already known to regulators from other sources. Tips grounded in your own direct observations from your work or professional role are far more likely to meet this standard than tips based entirely on public reporting or news coverage.
Think carefully about anonymity. You may submit anonymously, but doing so through an attorney preserves the most flexibility, and the statute requires anonymous whistleblowers to be represented by counsel to claim an award. An attorney can file on your behalf without initially disclosing your identity while still allowing investigators to follow up with you through counsel if they need additional information.
The Submission Process
FinCEN accepts whistleblower tips through its designated submission process, and both online and written submission options exist. Because administrative procedures have been updated since the 2022 legislative reforms, you should consult the current guidance on FinCEN’s whistleblower program page for the most accurate instructions before you submit.
Regardless of the specific submission method, your tip should include:
- A clear description of the violation and an identification of the law or regulation you believe was broken.
- The identities of the individuals or entities involved, to the extent you know them.
- Specific details about the nature, timing, and location of the financial activity.
- A description of the evidence you have and how it was obtained or observed.
- Your contact information, unless you are submitting anonymously through legal counsel.
Working with an attorney can substantially improve your submission. Attorneys experienced in representing FinCEN whistleblowers can help you structure your information to meet the program’s eligibility standards, protect your identity, and preserve your right to an award if the investigation results in a qualifying enforcement action.
What Happens After You Submit
Once FinCEN receives your tip, analysts will review it for credibility and relevance and assess whether it meets the standard for original information. FinCEN may cross-reference your submission against existing investigations and evaluate whether your information adds meaningfully to what regulators already know before determining whether a formal investigation is warranted.
If your tip leads to a successful enforcement action in which the government collects sanctions exceeding $1 million, you may be eligible for a monetary award of between 10 and 30 percent of the collected amount, as provided under the statute. FinCEN has said it will begin paying awards once it finalizes the program’s implementing rule; it published a proposed rule on April 1, 2026.
Timeline Expectations
Financial crimes investigations are complex and can span several years from submission to a final enforcement outcome and award determination. You may not receive prompt confirmation or status updates, and extended silence does not necessarily mean your tip was dismissed. Keeping clear records of what you submitted and when will prove useful if investigators follow up at a later stage.
Anonymity Options and Legal Protections
The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and the 2022 AML Whistleblower Improvement Act strengthened both the anonymity options and the legal protections available to BSA whistleblowers. Anti-retaliation provisions prohibit employers from terminating, demoting, suspending, or otherwise discriminating against employees because they made a protected disclosure. If you face adverse employment action after reporting a suspected violation, you may have a federal cause of action against your employer, and these claims are a growing part of BSA whistleblower litigation.
You do not need certainty that a crime occurred before submitting. Submitting a credible tip in good faith is a protected activity under the statute even if an investigation does not ultimately result in an enforcement action.
The Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, whose professional education and compliance resources are available at acams.org, provides training materials and guidance on AML compliance obligations that can help financial industry workers understand what standards regulated institutions are expected to meet. That context can help you assess whether what you observed represents a genuine departure from required conduct.
If you believe you have information about financial crimes or BSA violations, the FinCEN whistleblower program offers a structured, protected way to bring that information to the attention of federal authorities.
