How BSA/AML Help With Fighting Financial Crimes in 2026?

Fostering a globally stable financial ecosystem where the delicate balance of technological innovation to screen out corrupt actors and regulatory reforms, the Bank Secrecy Act/ Anti-Money Laundering offers immunity to the financial institutions against the laundering of illicit money collected through organized crimes and ensures effective BSA compliance.

Endorsement of the BSA/AML compliance is not just restricted to businesses, but the associated individuals are required to follow the same rules.

Consented to pay $100,000 in Jan 2024, a former BSA Officer at NYSEFCU (New York Federal Employees Federal Credit Union), Gyanendra Kumar Asre, was imposed with a civil money penalty (CMP) for violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and regulations. Absence of efficient AML compliance measures leads to the dissolution of NYSEFCU, which leaves a reminder for institutions to conduct effective BSA/AML risk assessment for compliance.

Another case happened in July 2025, when BitMEX, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, acknowledged that it fell short of having a proper anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) program as mandated by law. Regulators discovered that BitMEX allowed users to trade without verifying their identities, leaving the financial system vulnerable to illicit activities.

This article will explore how the BSA/AML program can be deployed to ensure compliance while overcoming possible challenges. Let’s dive into navigating the web of regulations and building resilience against emerging financial crimes.

When did Money Laundering Become a Federal Crime?

The so-called and infamous term of money laundering was derived from the phenomenon of turning illicit proceeds into clean assets and allowing the gold-washed assets to push into established financial flow with minimal to no clue left for crime fighters, leaving a blind spot of suspicion.

Typically executed in a well-structured way, laundering the dirty money involves its placement into a clean financial system, an illusory movement of the proceeds is created to blind the tracking, usually dubbed as layering, and followed by the integration into a legitimate financial system until the money appears clean while the illusionist performs the dazzles with hand sleights.

The deteriorating nature of money laundering not only facilitates the organized and united crime actors in accessing their drug and terror-related money but also sustains the globally declining economy. The nature of events to launder money can be visualized in the display below.

With the evolution of civilizations and businesses across the globe, the tracking of complex transactional web and laundering networks has become more challenging for the regulatory gatekeepers and business owners.

The growing concern of money laundering gave birth to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), followed by the Money Laundering Control Act in 1986, while establishing money laundering as a federal crime. If you are wondering what BSA/AML is, let’s get right to that.

What is BSA/AML?

Currently governed by the Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the BSA/AML was passed in 1970 with a mission to protect institutions from money laundering and associated predicate crimes such as terrorist financing and proliferation funding.

The Bank Secrecy Act, which is also referred to as the anti-money laundering (AML) law, and the Currency and Foreign Transaction Reporting Act advise the following:

• A clear recordkeeping and reporting of suspicious activities by the financial institutions and associated individuals.
• Identification of the source, nature, and route of the transactions or monetary proceeds happening in the U.S.
• Submission of the Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) when the threshold of cash transfer exceeds $10,000, and Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) are to be reported by the financial institutions.

To support the effective combating of money laundering and financial illicit activities under the umbrella of BSA/AML regulation, numerous other statutes and laws were enacted by the institutions to meet the AML regulatory requirements.

BSA/AML Related Regulations You Should Be Aware of

After the enactment of BSA/AML to meet record-keeping and reporting requirements, several amendments to the act were made to empower its guidelines and implementation. The general guidelines and enforcement of the related laws have been demonstrated below.

What Does the Future of BSA/AML Amendments Look Like?

After the passage of one of the course-changing developments in the regulatory environment, the AMLA (Anti-Money Laundering Act), ENABLERS (Establishing New Authorities for Businesses Laundering and Enabling Risks to Security) proposes more stringent compliance measures.

It redefines the definition of financial institutions that are required to implement BSA in their compliance framework, which includes lawyers, accountants, art and antique dealers, financial advisors, and third-party payment service providers. However, the final form of the act will decide the exclusion or inclusion of businesses to be obliged under the act.

It is equally important to understand if your business comes under the obligation to the BSA/AML policy.

Who Comes Under the BSA/AML Obligations?

The BSA/AML risks require individuals, financial institutions (banks), and non-bank financial institutions in the United States and members of its jurisdictions to adopt effective processes and tools to combat financial crimes and meet the AML compliance demands. The Department of the Treasury (FinCEN) classifies the general types of businesses that cover the category of non-bank financial institutions, which are:

• Currency dealers or exchangers
• Check cashers
• Issuers and sellers of money orders or travelers’ checks
• Money transmitters

While no one is above the board when it comes to meeting the compliance requirements, the violations of BSA/AML compliance cost hefty monetary (civil money penalties) and reputational damages. The absence of effective AML measures indifferently facilitates the corrupt doers in rusting the global economy through illicit financial activities, and loss of business integrity comes as a cherry on the top. It is crucial to align your business compliance with the all rounder BSA/AML guidelines to prevent the legal and monetary consequences, as shown in the below visual.

Best Practices for BSA/AML Compliance

The pillars of BSA/AML form the foundation of an effective compliance program, including policies & procedures, internal controls, customer due diligence, ongoing monitoring, and evaluation. Let’s dig into the consolidated and imperative compliance measures that require an intricate alignment with the Bank Secrecy Act.

Establishment of Policies & Procedures

The record-keeping and reporting requirements of the BSA/AML act must be established through outlining well-written policies and procedures approved by the higher authority, for instance, the board of directors. The policies and processes are required to be outlined in a way that they must address the evolving AML risks associated with the business.

Internal Control & Ongoing Monitoring

The BSA regulatory expectations must be met through the implementation of internal controls and ongoing monitoring of high-risk profiles, along with conducting customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, and effective AML case management.

To keep pace with the evolving regulatory demands and stem advanced money laundering ways, the businesses are required to ensure regular and ongoing monitoring by means of integrating technology into compliance tools and training of compliance forces.

Customer Screening & Assessment

The development of a customer identification program (CIP) coupled with the risk-based approach to screen and monitor your customers or business partners is certain to meet the BSA/AML requirements. Endorsing the enhanced due diligence and FinCEN requirement to obtain beneficial ownership information, businesses are advised to verify and screen their customers.

It also requires the assessment of their affiliation with entities that are more likely to abuse the financial system. Various screening tools, such as adverse media screening, politically exposed persons check, and sanctions check, enable the institutions to do the needful.

Evaluation of Program & Information Sharing

The established policies and procedures are required to be evaluated by the determined examination authority to check if the existing measures meet the evolving demands of BSA/AML risks.

These findings should then be communicated to the relevant bank management in the form of a report of examination (ROE). Based on the assessment, the required adjustments to the existing compliance program need to be documented and supported.

Is it Possible to Find a Consolidated Solution to Meet BSA/AML Requirements?

It’s undeniable how the regulatory requirements of the BSA/AML are changing to stem the illicit financial activities. Where the unforgiving regulatory environment shows no mercy, the question arises: Is it possible to adopt a consolidated and automated solution that not only aligns with the evolving regulations but also creates resilience against the launderers to infiltrate the financial system?

A perfect blend of human and artificial intelligence can create such a wonder where compliance is driven by research and innovation. AML Watcher brings you the ease of regulatory burden while the screening of your new clients and monitoring of existing clients is easier than ever.

Staying compliant is not a piece of cake, but the right decisions at the right time create an everlasting impact. Explore AML Watcher’s live screening tool and stay ahead of the compliance ambiguities.