Established in 2021, the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA) contains a whistleblower provision designed to incentivize individuals to report any money laundering scheme they come across to the Department of Treasury. This is done by awarding whistleblowers up to 30% of any money recovered from a successful enforcement action. Unfortunately, it does not have a minimum amount guaranteed to a whistleblower whose information leads to a successful enforcement action, unlike other whistleblower laws that usually have a minimum of 10% – 15%. This means that at the end of the day, if the Treasury Secretary decides that your award is 1% of the recovered amount, there is nothing you can do.
This is only one of the many criticisms AMLA has faced since it was implemented. Another has been the fact that it requires Congress to make appropriations to pay whistleblowers, which means that the budged approved for the AMLA Whistleblower Program does not include money to compensate the whistleblowers like other whistleblower laws do. Finally, the biggest criticism it has received is that it contains so many loopholes that the law will likely be ineffective in reducing money laundering schemes. Thankfully, whistleblower advocates and lawyers have been vocal enough to compel the US House Committee on Financial Services to finally address these issues with a markup session on June 22, 2022. Hopefully this session will lead to the improvement of AMLA, as in recent times, with the sanctions on Russia and other countries, it is imperative that we get a handle on exposing, prosecuting and eliminating money laundering schemes.
Do you have a valid claim?
If you witnessed any widespread suspicious activity within your workplace, you might have a chance of becoming a whistleblower by reporting an ongoing fraudulent scheme. However, to increase your chances of success, you must be sure to back up your claim with substantial evidence or privileged information.
A Quick Whistleblower Checklist
Is the fraudulent scheme widespread enough?
Has the fraud been perpetuated for years or involves large sums of money?
Do you possess any physical evidence of the fraud (documents, forged signatures)?
Do you have access to privileged information which may help our investigators?
Do you work as an insider within the company perpetrating the fraud?
Did you witness any ongoing illegal behavior within your workplace?
Have you been forced into taking part in any suspicious corporate activity?
