[1] The BuzzFeed News report concludes that the documents appear to show that both the banks that filed the SARs and FinCEN had this financial intelligence but did little to stop activities such as money laundering.
BuzzFeed News claimed the files "offer an unprecedented view of global financial corruption, the banks enabling it, and the government agencies that watch as it flourishes.
The BuzzFeed News report claims that besides filing a SAR when they suspect suspicious activity, banks are also required to take action themselves to deal with corruption or money laundering.
"[11] BuzzFeed News reported that records had been gathered both during the U.S. Congress investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and through requests from law enforcement agencies.
[10] Prominent individuals highlighted in the leaks include former Donald Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, Iranian-Turkish gold trader Reza Zarrab, Malaysian businessman Jho Low, and alleged Russian organised crime boss Semion Mogilevich.
All these transactions were processed through three American-based financial institutions, that filed SARs with FinCEN by the China Investment Corporation, The Bank of New York Mellon and Standard Chartered.
[26] It was also reported that overseas proceeds from a sextortion scheme that were sent by wire transfer into U.S. banks amounting to more than $400,000 into the accounts of a certain Philippine criminal syndicate led by Charvel Yap Rebagay.
[27] In Japan, the files also revealed a consulting firm for the Tokyo Olympic 2020 bid committee paid $370,000 to Papa Massata Diack, son of former International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Lamine Diack that were coursed through Black Tidings, a consulting firm based in Singapore, received a total of $2 million from the bid committee paid into a bank account in the city-state in July and October 2013 and later transferred to Diack's Citibank account.
[34] BuzzFeed News also reported that the files revealed Deutsche Bank was a major source of money laundering for organised crime, terrorists and drug traffickers.
[35] In Ireland, The Irish Times reported on a Dublin business called International Overseas Services Group (IOS), an international company services operation, whose office in Riga, Latvia, helped clients from Russia and the former Soviet Union establish secret accounts with Estonian and Latvian banks, with United Kingdom LLP shell companies formed back in the 1990s.
[37][38] A report by the BBC suggests that the FinCen Files reveal that the United Kingdom bank HSBC was involved in numerous illegal money transfers.
[39] At the time, HSBC was subject to a deferred prosecution agreement for the laundering of $881 million on behalf of the Sinaloa and Norte del Valle cartels.
[2] The files also describe how Barclays Bank laundered money on behalf of Arkady Rotenberg, a close associate of Vladimir Putin, who is under sanctions for his involvement in the Ukrainian crisis.
[40] The BBC further notes that the UK is judged a "higher risk jurisdiction" due to the number of the country's companies appearing in SARs.
"[13] They invested "$1 billion in improved controls, trainings and operational processes, and have increased our anti-financial crime team to over 1,500 people."
Senator Warren pushed for punishments when banks are caught breaking the law and called for the passage of her "Ending Too Big to Jail Act" bill.
"[50][51] Linda A. Lacewell the superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services, said in an opinion piece that "Individual bankers are rarely held accountable, so money laundering becomes a source of profits and bank fines become a cost of doing business, when the profits exceed the fines, the business choice is easily corrupted.
She was sentenced to six months in federal prison for leaking other SAR's documents, but maintained she did so as a whistle-blower to highlight alleged corruption in the government.