7 March 2023. At the end of last year, President Biden signed the Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Improvement Act into law, allowing whistleblowers to earn rewards for reporting violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, and the Trading with the Enemy Act. This law (2022 AML Whistleblower Improvement Act) builds upon the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and gives whistleblowers a minimum incentive of 10% of the government’s recovery to help government agencies uncover financial crimes. It also provides resources and guidelines to ensure whistleblowers can report suspicious activity safely and anonymously.
The new whistleblower improvement act provides an incentive for individuals to report suspicious activity related to money laundering and sanctions violations. Under the law, whistleblowers with original information can receive financial rewards for reporting violations that result in penalties imposed by the U.S. government. The amount of these rewards is determined by a number of factors, including the significance of the violation and the whistleblower’s role in uncovering it. The 2022 AML Whistleblower Act sets a floor for rewards at 10% of the penalty the government collects. Furthermore, whistleblowers will be paid from the Financial Integrity Fund, established by the U.S. Treasury, which is funded by sanctions collected from AML violators. Of particular note is the potential for whistleblowers to report and be rewarded for reporting violations of U.S. sanctions against Russia, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
By providing incentives and resources to help whistleblowers report suspicious activity related to money laundering and sanctions violations, the whistleblower improvement act has the potential to benefit society as a whole. By uncovering and prosecuting financial crimes, the law helps to protect national security, foreign policy, and the U.S. economy from threats posed by those engaging in criminal activity. Furthermore, whistleblower rewards can encourage individuals to come forward with information that could help to prevent future financial losses or other damage caused by money laundering or sanctions violations. The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is the office for whistleblowers to report violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and related laws.
If you would like to report banking, securities, or other financial fraud, you can contact attorneys at Tycko & Zavareei LLP. Eva Gunasekera and Renée Brooker are former officials of the United States Department of Justice and prosecuted whistleblower cases under the False Claims Act. Renée served as Assistant Director at the United States Department of Justice, the office that supervises False Claims Act cases in all 94 United States District Courts. Eva was the Senior Counsel for Health Care Fraud. Eva and Renée now represent whistleblowers. For a free consultation, you can contact Renée at [email protected] (tel.: 202-417-3664) or contact Eva Gunasekera at [email protected]. You can also go to Tycko & Zavareei LLP’s website for whistleblowers to learn more at https://www.fraudfighters.net/.