 Financial Database Records
by
Alan R. Graham
Senior Investigative Auditor
U.S. Treasury Department
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN): provides multiple
source of databases from different credit bureaus for both businesses and
individuals. It will provide credit card companies and numbers along with
other pertinent financial data. You must contact your appointed State representative
in order to process your request.
[interFIRE VR note: the following FinCEN information is from FinCEN literature]
What are FinCEN's information sources? FinCEN's information sources fall
into three broad categories: Financial, Law Enforcement and Commercial Databases.
Financial Database: The financial database consists of reports that are
required to be filed under the BSA and include the Currency Transaction
Report (CTR); Report of the International Transportation of Currency or
Monetary Instruments (CMIR); Currency Transaction Report by Casinos (CTRC);
Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR); and Suspicious Activity
Report (SAR).
Law Enforcement Databases: Through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU),
a written agreement outlining the details of database access, dissemination
authority, etc., FinCEN is able to access individual law enforcement databases
maintained by agencies such as the Treasury Bureaus, Drug Enforcement Administration,
Department of Defense, and the Postal Inspection Service. FinCEN currently
maintains MOUs with a wide range of federal and regulatory agencies, all
50 states and the District of Columbia.
Commercial Databases: FinCEN procures access to a variety of commercially
maintained databases which are valuable in loating individuals, determining
asset ownership and establishing links between individuals, busineses and
assets. These commercial sources of information, coupled with the data from
the law enforcement and financial databases, form the foundation of informatin
sources for FinCEN analysis.
FinCEN produces tacktcal support products and strategic analysis. Procedures
for accessing FinCEN vary among federal agencies. Federal agency personnel
may wish to first contact their Headquarters component to determine whether
or not a procedure for submission of FinCEN requests ahs been established
by their agency. State and local agencies need to submit their requests
through their designated FinCEN State Coordinator. To determine your State
Coordinator, please contanct FinCEN's Gateway Project Office at 1800-SOS-BUCK.
Credit Bureaus: sources such as TRW, etc., summarize financial
information for both businesses and individuals in a useful format for the
investigative team. These credit reports provide leads such as outstanding
mortgages, credit card information (type of card, account number, outstanding
balance and payment history), bank account data, etc. In addition, any other
inquiries appear as "hits" on these reports and indicate other
sources of banks, etc. that are also inquiring into credit data.
Internet: This is another possible investigative tool that may
provide valuable information and data to the investigative team. The term
"searching the web" allows the team to research numerous web sites
for information that may impact the investigation. One pertinent web site
is FINCEN at http://www.ustreas.gov/treasury/bureau/fincen
Utility Records
Billings Statements: are monthly statements which provide basic
data as to quantitative usage and applicable dollar value. Monthly usage
aspects may be in the form of gas thermal units, kilowatt-hours, etc., that
may be used for comparative purposes.
 reprinted by permission
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