'FinCEN Files' leak reveals banks flagged >$2T in suspicious transactions; U.S. warns SAR disclosures are unlawful

The ICIJ/BuzzFeed ‘FinCEN Files’ exposed a massive global banking corruption investigation, revealing over $2 trillion in suspicious financial transactions across 200+ banks between 1999-2017. The leaked 2,657 documents, including 2,121 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), showed systemic money laundering and financial crimes, with Deutsche Bank alone accounting for 62% of the leaked suspicious transactions totaling $1.3 trillion. FinCEN warned that the leak of these confidential documents was itself a criminal act, referring the matter to the Department of Justice and Treasury Office of the Inspector General.