IRS-CI Used Bank Secrecy Act Data in 94% of Cases [US]
IRS Criminal Investigation released FY2025 metrics showing Bank Secrecy Act filings now appear in 94% of its cases. The unit conducted 3.9 million searches of BSA data last fiscal year, up from already high levels in prior periods.
Under the BSA (enacted 1970), financial institutions lodge suspicious activity reports (SARs) when they spot potential money laundering or tax evasion. Currency transaction reports (CTRs) flag cash transactions over $10,000. Federal agencies, including IRS-CI, use this data to build criminal cases.
The new numbers show 89% of investigations had BSA filings linked to the primary subject. Notably, 80% involved SARs and 67% involved CTRs. About 12% of investigations originated directly from a BSA filing.
"BSA data is often the first signal that something isn't right," IRS-CI Chief Guy Ficco said. The filings help investigators identify patterns and follow financial trails across refund fraud, employment tax evasion, money laundering, and cybercrime cases.
From FY2023 to FY2025, IRS-CI investigated 1,394 refund fraud cases (alleged fraud totalling $2.9 billion). Ninety-nine percent had BSA filings attached. Employment tax evasion cases numbered 1,006 over the same period ($1.4 billion alleged fraud), with 63% involving BSA data.
The conviction rate for BSA-linked cases reached 98%, with average prison sentences of 42 months. Asset forfeitures exceeded $450 million. Restitution to victims approached $500 million.
For context, IRS-CI identified $10.59 billion in financial crimes overall in FY2025, up 15.7% from FY2024. Tax fraud alone jumped 111.8% to $4.5 billion.
Financial institutions lodge a CTR when cash transactions exceed $10,000 in a single business day, even if aggregated across times, locations, or accounts. In FY2025, about 67% of IRS-CI investigations involved subjects with CTR filings.
TD Bank's $1.8 billion penalty for BSA/AML failures (allowing $670 million in illicit funds from 2019 to 2023) underscores the compliance stakes. The bank's failures let criminal networks move money undetected for years.
IRS-CI operates with roughly 3,000 staff and initiated 541 BSA investigations in FY2025. Search warrants rose 25% year-on-year. Digital data seized hit 2.35 petabytes, a 60% increase.
For CFOs and accountants, the message is clear: robust BSA/AML procedures matter. The digital trails are only getting longer.