FinCEN analysis of fentanyl-related threat patterns and trends

Today, FinCEN issued a Financial Trend Analysis focused on patterns and trends identified in Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) data linked to fentanyl-related illicit finance. Between January and December 2024, financial institutions filed 1,246 BSA reports that identified suspected fentanyl-related activity amounting to approximately $1.4 billion in suspicious transactions. The reported financial activity highlighted various aspects of the illicit fentanyl supply chain—including precursor chemical procurement, fentanyl trafficking, and fentanyl-linked money laundering—that have touchpoints across the U.S. financial sector.

Illicit fentanyl is primarily synthesized, trafficked, and smuggled into the United States by Mexican cartels. The Sinaloa Cartel and the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion—which are Foreign Terrorist Organizations, Specially Designated Global Terrorists, and Drug Trafficking Organizations—largely control the fentanyl supply chain from Mexico and use precursor chemicals and manufacturing equipment primarily sourced from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to synthesize illicit fentanyl in clandestine laboratories. FinCEN analysis identified Mexico and the PRC as the top two foreign countries listed in subject address fields of fentanyl-related BSA reports filed in 2024.

FinCEN continues to encourage financial institutions to carefully review its August 2019 and June 2024 advisories on the trafficking of fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and other synthetic opioids and the precursor chemicals and associated manufacturing equipment needed to synthesize these deadly drugs.