Andrea Gacki, who currently heads the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), is joining Citigroup as the bank’s risk management team according to Reuters.

Currently the director of FinCEN, Gacki is expected to become Citigroup’s global head of sanctions after serving out her remaining weeks and leading the handover process for her successor.

Gacki has worked in the US Treasury for 25 years and has led FinCEN since 2023.

Both Gacki and Treasury officials declined to comment when asked about the move by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a US non-governmental organization that supports investigative journalism and specialises in covering organised crime and corruption.

In Gacki’s absence Jenna Casanova, senior advisor to the undersecretary of terrorism and financial intelligence and former senior enforcement officer at FinCEN, will become acting director of the bureau.

In a statement Brent Mcintosh, chief legal officer and corporate secretary at CitiGroup, said: "Andrea is respected equally across the banking industry and throughout the U.S. government as a thoughtful leader who has positively influenced and shaped U.S. sanctions and anti-money laundering policy for many years."

Gacki recently submitted testimony to the bipartisan House Financial Services Committee and was asked questions including when a final ruling can be expected from FinCEN on the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting exemption for US entities under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).

Republican representative Warren Davidson, who chairs the House subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions, also questioned Gacki on the suspicious activity report (SAR) regime, in which banks report clients for potentially illicit activity such as money laundering.

Davidson dubbed the Bank Secrecy Act, which introduced anti-money laundering mechanisms and compelled banks to help the government fight financial crimes, a “bloated surveillance apparatus”.

Congresswoman Joyce Beatty also flagged the potential regulatory burden of SARs on banks and credit unions. In response, Gacki said FinCEN is “working hard to strike the right balance between burden and benefit” for SARs.

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