Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury. FinCEN was established in 1990 to safeguard financial systems from abuse by promoting transparency in the U.S. and international financial systems. In 1994, FinCEN's responsibilities were broadened to include the facilitation of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) of 1970 – the country's most comprehensive anti-money laundering (AML) legislation.
In order to uncover and prevent money laundering, FinCEN, under the auspices of the BSA, requires financial institutions to record and report suspicious activity that might signify money laundering and fraud. FinCEN also acts as an intelligence liaison for law enforcement by combining information reported under the BSA with information from a variety of other public and governmental sources. Reports filed with FinCEN must follow the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) format.