Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Improvement Act Strengthens Whistleblower Program
As part of the 2022 omnibus spending bill, Congress has passed significant improvements to the Treasury Department’s anti-money laundering whistleblower program. Congress initially created the anti-money-laundering whistleblower program to encourage tipsters to come forward with information about money laundering violations.
The changes made by the recent legislation improve the program in multiple ways. First, it requires a minimum potential award of 10% for successful tipsters (the amendments did not change the maximum 30% available for whistleblower awards). Second, the amendments expanded the program such that it will now accept tips on sanctions-evasion violations. Third, whistleblowers reporting possible violations of money-laundering and sanctions law are now protected from retaliation. Finally, the spending bill increased funding to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the division within the Treasury Department that administers the anti-money-laundering whistleblower program, and the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, which oversees Treasury’s economic and financial sanctions programs.
Read more about the amendments here.