FinCEN Issues Notice on the Threat of Human Trafficking During the 2026 FIFA World Cup

WASHINGTON-Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a Notice urging increased vigilance by financial institutions located in and around cities hosting the 2026 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup.

While human trafficking is an ever-present threat in the United States, major events can create a concentrated demand for licit and illicit services. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is expected to draw millions of foreign and domestic visitors, and individuals visiting or residing near host cities may be vulnerable to sex or labor trafficking by perpetrators seeking to exploit the surge in economic activity. Financial institutions should exercise vigilance to detect and report suspicious activity connected to potential human trafficking.

"Financial institutions are essential partners in the fight to counter human trafficking," said FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki. "Timely reporting on suspicious activity potentially connected to human trafficking, regardless of threshold, is crucial in helping law enforcement aid possible victims and prosecute their traffickers."

Financial Institutions are Key Partners in Combating Human Trafficking

• FinCEN strongly encourages financial institutions to notify law enforcement of suspected human trafficking-related activity via the National Human Trafficking Hotline, in addition to filing Suspicious Activity Reports regarding potential human trafficking activity related to the FIFA World Cup as soon as possible regardless of threshold.
• FinCEN also encourages voluntary information sharing by financial institutions and associations of financial institutions under applicable law to help identify, report, and prevent possible terrorist activity or money laundering related to human trafficking.
• In accordance with FinCEN guidance, FinCEN also strongly encourages appropriate voluntary cross-border information sharing between and among financial institutions, including appropriate foreign financial institutions.
• It is critical that customer-facing financial institution staff are aware of transactional and behavioral indicators that may indicate human trafficking, as victims may have no contact with people outside of their traffickers other than when visiting financial institutions. This Notice identifies transactional and behavioral red flags, in addition to those identified in FinCEN Advisory products issued in 2014 and 2020.

Sex Trafficking During Major Events

• Victims may be forced to travel frequently to meet clients for commercial sex acts within short timeframes, and victims or their traffickers may have unusually large travel-related transactions.
• Victims often receive payment for commercial sex acts in cash but may also receive payments via peer-to-peer transfers, credit card transactions, digital assets, and prepaid access cards.
• Victims are often instructed to deposit cash received in exchange for commercial sex acts into easily accessible ATMs and then transfer these funds to another account.

Labor Trafficking During Major Events

• Seemingly legitimate businesses in major event locations may use exploitative employment of victims to meet the increased demand for labor and services during these events.
• A victim's wages may be withheld entirely or partially by their traffickers, indicated by an absence or deviation of expected payroll expenses, or wages may be transferred from a victim's account to their trafficker's account.
• Victims of trafficking may also have minimal or no transactions associated with maintaining essential needs, given a trafficker's financial control over a victim.

FinCEN is committed to countering human trafficking in all its forms. Today's Notice aims to aid in the dismantling of cross-border human trafficking networks, an objective of Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.

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