Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)

Rule Changes

Implementing and enforcing new reporting requirements

For decades, anyone with enough cash and a shell company could buy a house in America without telling the federal government who they were. That changed on March 1, 2026, when a new rule from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) took effect requiring closing agents to report the true owners behind any legal entity or trust purchasing residential property without traditional bank financing. The rule applies nationwide, to every price point, closing a gap the Treasury Department has called one of the most significant vulnerabilities in the country's anti-money laundering defenses.

Updated Mar 1

Rule Changes

Enforcing revised rule against foreign companies only

Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act in 2021 to crack down on anonymous shell companies used for money laundering and terrorist financing. The law required 33 million U.S. businesses to report their true owners to FinCEN. Then courts in Alabama and Texas declared it likely unconstitutional. The Supreme Court stepped in. Within hours, a second Texas judge issued a new nationwide injunction.

Updated Jan 7

Rule Changes

Reviewing investment adviser AML rule during two-year delay

FinCEN just delayed anti-money laundering rules for investment advisers by two years, pushing compliance from January 2026 to January 2028. It's the fourth time since 2002 that federal regulators have tried—and struggled—to close what transparency advocates call a $125 trillion loophole that sanctioned Russian oligarchs, corrupt foreign officials, and fraudsters exploit to access U.S. markets. The rule would force 15,000 advisory firms to implement the same suspicious activity reporting that banks face.

Updated Jan 2

Rule Changes

Pushing banks to spot cartel-linked oil and money laundering patterns

After Treasury sanctioned the Cartel de Santa Rosa de Lima (CSRL) and its jailed leader José Antonio Yépez Ortiz (“El Marro”) on December 17, 2025, Washington’s campaign against huachicol money moved quickly toward the infrastructure that can make stolen hydrocarbons tradable: shipping, routing, and due diligence.

Updated Dec 20, 2025