FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions on July 21, 2026. Her testimony provides a clear picture of FinCEN’s priorities and the direction of U.S. AML/CFT regulation.

Key Takeaways for Financial Institutions

1. Fraud is now a top national priority
FinCEN emphasized that fraud, including investment scams, romance scams, business email compromise (BEC), elder financial exploitation, and cyber-enabled fraud, has become one of the largest drivers of suspicious activity and illicit finance. The agency is encouraging financial institutions to strengthen fraud detection and information sharing.

2. Modernizing the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)
Director Gacki acknowledged that the current AML framework can impose significant compliance burdens. FinCEN is continuing efforts to modernize the BSA so that reporting requirements become more risk-focused and intelligence-driven rather than purely volume-based.

3. Better Use of Artificial Intelligence
FinCEN supports the responsible use of AI and advanced analytics to improve transaction monitoring, detect emerging typologies, and reduce false positives. However, institutions remain responsible for governance, oversight, and regulatory compliance.

4. Public-Private Information Sharing
A recurring theme was strengthening collaboration among:

• FinCEN
• Financial institutions
• Law enforcement
• International partners

Programs such as information sharing under Section 314(b) continue to be viewed as important tools for disrupting illicit finance.

5. Focus on National Security
FinCEN highlighted the importance of combating:

• Terrorist financing
• Sanctions evasion
• Transnational organized crime
• Drug trafficking
• Human trafficking
• Cybercrime
• Cryptocurrency-enabled financial crime

These areas remain high supervisory and enforcement priorities.

6. Beneficial Ownership
Director Gacki reaffirmed the importance of beneficial ownership transparency and the Corporate Transparency Act framework as tools to prevent criminals from hiding behind anonymous legal entities.

7. Digital Assets
FinCEN confirmed that virtual assets and cryptocurrency remain a significant focus. The agency continues to work with industry and international partners on issues such as:

• Money laundering
• Terrorist financing
• Sanctions compliance
• Blockchain analytics
• Illicit finance involving virtual assets.

Practical Implications for Compliance Teams

Compliance leaders should consider the testimony as reinforcing several priorities:

• Enhance fraud detection capabilities alongside traditional AML monitoring.
• Use AI and machine learning responsibly, with strong governance and model oversight.
• Continuously update risk assessments to address evolving fraud, cybercrime, and digital asset risks.
• Improve the quality—not just the quantity—of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs).
• Strengthen customer due diligence, including beneficial ownership verification.
• Expand staff training on emerging typologies such as AI-enabled fraud, deepfakes, investment scams, and sanctions evasion.
• Increase participation in public-private information-sharing initiatives where appropriate.