Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes

Mission Statement

The Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes (TFFC) is responsible for formulating and coordinating comprehensive anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism, and countering the financing of proliferation (AML/CFT/CPF) policies and strategies that leverage the Treasury Department’s tools and authorities to target national security and foreign policy threats, safeguarding the U.S. and international financial systems from abuse, and leading foreign engagement for the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI).

Leadership

Recent Updates

  • Treasury issues 2024 National Illicit Finance Strategy. The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the 2024 National Illicit Finance Strategy for Combatting Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing, which lays forth a blueprint of the U.S. government’s goals, objectives, and priorities to disrupt and prevent illicit financial activities.

    The 2024 Strategy addresses key illicit finance threats including large scale fraud schemes, potent ransomware attacks, an opioid-driven overdose epidemic, foreign and domestic terrorist attacks, and corruption. The 2024 Strategy, along with the 2024 National Risk Assessments, aims to support the public and private sectors in effectively focusing resources against the most significant illicit finance risks to the U.S. financial system.

    The 2024 Strategy identifies four priority recommendations to guide U.S. government efforts:

    1.  Close legal and regulatory gaps in the U.S. AML/CFT framework that illicit actors exploit to access the U.S. financial system;
    2.  Promote an effective, risk-focused U.S. AML/CFT regulatory framework for financial institutions to make them more efficient and effective in preventing illicit finance;
    3.  Enhance the operational effectiveness of law enforcement, other U.S. government agencies, and international partnerships in combating illicit finance;
    4.  Support responsible technological innovation and harness technology to mitigate illicit finance risk.

     

  • Treasury publishes Illicit Finance Risk Assessment of Decentralized Finance. The U.S. Department of the Treasury published the 2023 DeFi Illicit Finance Risk Assessment, the first illicit finance risk assessment conducted on decentralized finance (DeFi) in the world. The assessment considers risks associated with what are commonly called DeFi services.  Actors like the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), cybercriminals, ransomware attackers, thieves, and scammers are using DeFi services to transfer and launder their illicit proceeds. They are able to exploit vulnerabilities, including the fact that many DeFi services that have anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) obligations fail to implement them.
    • The study also includes recommendations for U.S. government actions to mitigate the illicit finance risks associated with DeFi services. These include:
      • Strengthening U.S. AML/CFT regulatory supervision
      • Considering additional guidance for the private sector on DeFi services' AML/CFT obligations
      • Assessing enhancement to address any AML/CFT regulatory gaps related to DeFi services
  • FATF Releases new report on Countering Ransomware Financing. This FATF report analyzes the methods that criminals use to carry out their ransomware attacks and how payments are made and laundered.  Ransomware attacks target individuals, businesses, and government agencies, across the world.  The impact of these attacks can be devastating for victims and can even disrupt essential infrastructure and services. Ransomware criminals are almost exclusively using virtual assets to demand and launder their illicit proceeds, sometime using virtual asset service providers (VASP) in the process. The report proposes a number of actions that countries can take to more effectively disrupt ransomware-related money laundering, including implementing the FATF recommendations for virtual assets and VASPs, and provides a list of potential risk indicators that can help public and private sector entities identify suspicious activities related to ransomware.
  • Statement by Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen on Suspension of Russia from the Financial Action Task Force. Today, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the international standard-setting body on illicit finance, suspended the Russian Federation from its membership. This is the first time in the FATF’s 34-year history that the body has taken such unprecedented action, a step warranted by Russia’s unlawful, immoral, and unprovoked war against Ukraine.
  • Action Plan to Address Illicit Financing Risks of Digital Assets. Pursuant to Section 7(c) of Executive Order (E.O.) 14067, “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets,” TFFC, working with TFI and other Treasury and interagency partners, prepared a coordinated interagency Action Plan to mitigate the digital asset related illicit finance and national security risks as identified in the U.S. government’s National Risk Assessments and National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing.

Offices

Office of Strategic Policy (OSP)
Office of Global Affairs (OGA)
TFFC and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
Treasury’s Financial Attaché Program