https://www.cutoday.info/Fresh-Today/Treasury-Seeks-Expanded-FinCEN-Powers-In-Major-Overhaul-Of-Anti-Money-Laundering-Oversight

WASHINGTON— The U.S. Treasury is seeking a more centralized role in enforcing anti–money laundering requirements as part of a broader overhaul of how regulators detect illicit transactions tied to drug trafficking, the Wall Street Journal reported.

According to a draft term sheet circulated to federal banking regulators, the plan would give the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network new authority to veto another regulator’s determination that a bank violated the Bank Secrecy Act, effectively elevating FinCEN’s oversight power within the supervisory framework.

Under the proposal, the Treasury could allow banks in some cases to avoid being penalized by regulators for what the Treasury views as mere technical violations of their anti-money-laundering systems, Reuters said.

In October, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said federal bank regulators and the department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network were developing new rules to strengthen anti–money laundering compliance programs.

The Trump administration has simultaneously moved to loosen other oversight requirements, with all three federal banking regulators announcing this year that they will no longer enforce “reputational risk” standards—policies that previously allowed supervisors to sanction banks for activities that were legally permissible but carried potential for negative publicity or litigation exposure, Reuters added.