FinCEN’s mission is to safeguard the financial system from illicit use and combat money laundering and promote national security through the collection,
analysis, and dissemination of financial intelligence and strategic use of financial authorities.
Financial data that FinCEN collects from financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) has proven to be of considerable value in investigations of financial crime. When combined with other data collected by law enforcement, FinCEN data assists investigators in connecting the dots by allowing for a more complete identification of subjects with previously unknown information.