ANALYSIS: The FinCEN Files — Third Leak in Three Years

The leak of the FinCEN Files— more than 2,100 suspicious activity reports (SARs) from the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) report database of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) — has proved a bounteous source for media reporting on money laundering. Less examined so far is the FinCEN Files’ relationship to other recent high-profile SAR leaks.

Media interest in SARs has resulted in a series of breaches of SAR confidentiality since 2017, creating problems for the U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) regime that could undermine the very anti-corruption efforts that the FinCEN Files leakers profess to champion.

SAR Leaks in 2017–2020 ...