FinCEN Issues Notice: Financially Motivated Sextortion Classified as Bribery

The US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a Notice classifying financially motivated sextortion as a form of bribery, highlighting the urgent need for vigilance across the financial sector. The crime involves perpetrators coercing victims to provide sexually explicit material, then demanding payment to prevent disclosure – a clear abuse of financial leverage that constitutes bribery.

FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki stressed the seriousness of the threat:

These schemes can target anyone and often exploit feelings of fear and helplessness for financial gain. Suspicious Activity Reports are essential to disrupt these actors and protect the integrity of the US financial system.

Sextortion as Bribery: A Growing Financial Crime Typology

In 2024, the FBI received nearly 55,000 sextortion-related reports, with losses exceeding 33.5 million dollars – a 59 per cent increase from 2023. Minors, particularly boys aged 14 to 17, are the most at risk. Authorities warn that many victims are driven to suicide by the unbearable pressure of financial blackmail.

This pattern is now recognised as bribery, since criminals are conditioning payment on the concealment of damaging information. The dynamic mirrors traditional bribery offences, where money is exchanged to influence or suppress actions.

Use of AI Deepfakes to Facilitate Bribery Through Sextortion

The spread of generative AI has fuelled this criminal enterprise. Offenders are producing convincing deepfake sexual images and videos, often using innocent content lifted from social media, to coerce payments. Transactions are frequently routed through convertible virtual currencies and prepaid cards, making detection harder and heightening the need for financial sector intervention.

Financial Institutions on the Frontline of Bribery Prevention

The FinCEN Notice sets out red flag indicators to help banks and financial institutions detect sextortion-related bribery schemes. By filing Suspicious Activity Reports, institutions can play a decisive role in disrupting criminal networks and protecting vulnerable victims.

The Notice, published as FIN-2025-NTC2, reinforces that sextortion is not only a devastating form of abuse but also a bribery offence that corrupts the financial system.

Read the press release here.