From: tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May)
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 1995 03:42:06 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: US government department for crime enforcement!
Message-ID: <acbcf81e00021004a02a@[205.199.118.202]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At 2:40 PM 11/1/95, anonymous-remailer@shell.portal.com wrote:
>It's come to my attention that the US government has a group
>called the 'Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes
>Enforcement Network' in Vienna, Virginia.
>
>I know that burocrats like to keep themselves busy, but even
>I didn't think they would go so far as to enforce crimes to
>keep the law enforcement people busy.
>
>What a curious way to spend the taxpayers money.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FinCEN, is well known to readers
of this list. If you grep for it in my Cyphernomicon FAQ, you should find
references in several places. I first learned of it in 1990, and have
followed it as best I can since. Not too much has been published about it.

It's an interagency working group, with participation by Treasury, State,
FBI, CIA, IRS, Justice, etc.

A good overview of it was in an early issue of "Wired," and is likely
available at the HotWired Web site.

FinCEN's Web page is:

http://www.ustreas.gov/treasury/bureaus/fincen/fincen.html


--Tim May

Views here are not the views of my Internet Service Provider or Government.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
Corralitos, CA              | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^756839      | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."