Category Archives: Geographic Targeting Orders

Geographic Targeting Orders

09.07.15
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August 7, 2015: FinCEN renews California bulk cash GTO and extends it to Texas border areas

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today renewed a Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) currently in place for armored cars and other common carriers of currency at two border crossings in Southern California and issued a new, similar, GTO applicable to carriers crossing the border at eight major ports of entry in Texas. The GTOs’ reporting and recordkeeping requirements are designed to enhance the transparency of cross-border money movements and prevent the attempted exploitation of reporting exemptions by some carriers suspected of moving dirty cash for Mexican drug trafficking organizations.

Link:

FinCEN press release

 

04.27.15
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April 21, 2015: FinCEN issue South Florida GTO

Last Tuesday, FinCEN issued a Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) for about 700 electronics exporters in 5 zip codes (33122, 33126, 33166, 33172, 33178) in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The purpose is to help identify and deter ongoing trade-based money laundering that has been linked to drug cartels (the news release they issued mentions the Sinaloa and Los Zetas cartels) that run through these firms.

The GTO, which lasts for 180 days, lowers the reporting threshold for currency transactions (cash, travelers checks, bank checks and the like) to anything $3,000 from just over $10,000. Businesses, when filling out their FinCEN Form 8300s (like the Currency Transaction Report), are supposed to use the code “DoralGTO1” – because those five zip codes are those for the city of Doral (although some of the covered area is outside the town limits).

Links:

FinCEN News Release

Geographic Targeting Order