US Treasury Orders Banks to Report Undocumented Worker Finances

(MENAFN) The US Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on Friday issued an advisory urging financial institutions to sharpen their defenses against fraud schemes tied to the unlawful employment of undocumented workers, warning that such activity funnels billions of dollars away from American taxpayers and into criminal networks.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent drew a hard line on the issue. "This Administration will not allow illegal aliens to abuse financial institutions to steal billions of dollars from hardworking American taxpayers," Bessent said.

The advisory called on banks and financial institutions to detect and report illicit activity connected to the unlawful employment of undocumented individuals. Bessent further alleged that employers who hire and exploit undocumented workers gain an unfair competitive edge over law-abiding US businesses, suppress wages, enable identity theft, and drain tax revenues.

FinCEN warned that wages unlawfully obtained through such schemes frequently serve as a financial lifeline for transnational criminal organizations, supporting enterprises engaged in drug and human trafficking on a global scale.

The advisory included a case study illustrating the scale of the threat: two foreign nationals operated a fraudulent payroll scheme over several years that relied on undocumented workers and inflicted more than $38 million in losses on the United States.

The guidance marks the latest step by the Trump administration to enlist the financial sector in its broader crackdown on illegal immigration and associated criminal activity.

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