The Department of Justice still hasn’t implemented procedures for dealing with anonymous and confidential whistleblowers who report violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, despite being legally required to do so since 2021.
Since January 1, 2021 the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has been required, as a matter of law, to accept anonymous and confidential whistleblower disclosures concerning violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, including illegal money laundering and the use of crypto currency exchanges to facilitate violations of law.
In December 2022, this requirement was by law extended to whistleblowers, worldwide, who wish to report violations of sanctions covering Russia, Hamas, ISIS, and other covered entities.
In contempt of its legal requirements the Justice Department has ignored this law, and has failed to adopt regulations permitting anonymous whistleblowing. Congress did its job, Justice has dropped the ball. Congress must demand that the Attorney General fully implement the United States Anti-corruption Strategy as a critical national security measure. Ask Congress to contact the Department of Justice to remind them of their obligations to fully implement the law. We know that whistleblowers can be the best asset to the fight against corruption when given the proper protections and incentives, but they — and by extension, our democracy — are vulnerable when these protections are eroded.
Please see the letter sent by NWC Chairman Stephen Kohn to the Department of Justice and Department of Treasury here for specific details: https://kkc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/AML-Rules-Letter.pdf. See more information at https://www.whistleblowers.org/enact-aml-whistleblower-rules/.
Recognized by the National Whistleblower Center (NWC), Tracie Burke is Louisiana author of Motion to Quash. She can be reached at tracie@motiontoquash.org.Motion to Quash LLC successfully promoted legislation that supports the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act. Please Support journalism in the public interest by contributing today. Click here to donate Motion to Quash ISSN 2644-1594 is the copyrighted property of Motion to Quash LLC 2019. NWC’s mission is to support whistleblowers in their efforts to expose and help prosecute corruption and other wrongdoing around the world.
