US Treasury sets up website for whistleblower tips on fraud, money laundering

WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday announced a new website to accept whistleblower tips on fraud, money laundering and sanctions violations, on the heels of a scandal involving federal funds intended for social welfare programs in Minnesota.

In a statement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Treasury would offer rewards to whistleblowers if a tip resulted in a successful enforcement action.

“It’s going to be a great way to ferret out waste, fraud and abuse,” Bessent told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “We’re setting up a website and we will be giving rewards up to 10% to 30% of the fines that we levy.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has railed against Minnesota’s large community of Somali immigrants, invoking the Minnesota scandal as the rationale for sending thousands of immigration enforcement agents into the Midwest state.

INITIATIVES TO COMBAT FRAUD

The Trump administration has singled out Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and the state, including its 80,000-strong Somali community, over allegations of fraud dating to 2020 by some nonprofit groups backed by federal funding that administer the state’s childcare and other social services programs. 

Bessent visited Minnesota last month to unveil several initiatives to combat fraud, including probes of money services businesses, enhanced reporting and alerts to financial institutions.

The Internal Revenue Service will also launch a dedicated fraud task force focused on targeting the misuse of funding by 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entities.

Treasury said FinCEN’s Office of the Whistleblower will accept tips involving violations and conspiracies related to the Bank Secrecy Act, U.S. sanctions programs, and several other laws critical to safeguarding the U.S. financial system and national security. 

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by David Holmes)