The Illegal Source Financial Crimes Program recognizes that money gained through illegal sources, such as dollars obtained through illegal gambling operations, is part of the untaxed underground economy. This untaxed underground economy is a threat to our voluntary tax compliance system and undermines the overall public confidence in our tax system. Afterall, the Internal Revenue Code states that all income is taxable, from whatever source derived.

When money is derived through illegal sources, the primary concern for the criminal is to legitimize the dollars. This process of "cleaning" the illegally obtained dollars is termed "money laundering." Money laundering activity is considered to be "tax evasion in progress."

Historically, money launderers used legitimate businesses to "launder" their illegal proceeds. Now money launderers use various schemes and types of transactions to conceal their income and/or assets. Some of these schemes include the manipulation of numerous currency reporting requirements and the layering of transactions. The schemes are frequently international in scope.

The Illegal Source Financial Crimes Program encompasses all tax and tax-related violations, as well as money laundering and currency violations. In fact, money laundering and currency violations are often intertwined with tax violations. As part of the criminal charges against an individual, Criminal Investigation (CI) makes effective use of the forfeiture statutes. Forfeiture statutes deprive individuals and organizations of their illegally obtained cash and assets.

Annual Business Plan - FY 2008

Enforcement Strategy
Criminal Investigation (CI)