Treasury Warns Banks of ‘Red Flags’ Tied to Customers in the US Illegally

Treasury’s financial crimes arm wants banks to help identify payroll schemes tied to people living in the country illegally, as part of the Trump administration’s latest measure to clamp down on immigration.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network — also known a FinCEN — issued an advisory Friday to banks that tells them to watch out for identity theft, payroll tax fraud, and money laundering schemes tied to hiring unauthorized workers.

This comes after President Donald Trump in May signed an executive order that requires banks to take a closer look at the citizenship of their customers.

The order directs bank regulators and government departments to look for signs that people without legal status are opening accounts or obtaining loans or credit cards. However, the order is less aggressive than banks had previously expected, as earlier reports suggested the White House was drafting an order that would make collecting customers’ citizenship information mandatory.

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