The Bush Administration today announced that it will propose a 12.7% increase in the budget of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to further strengthen its hand in the financial war on terror and other efforts against financial crime.

FinCEN, a bureau of the United States Treasury, plays a key role in the administration’s broad effort to stop financial crimes and the flow of money to terrorist organizations. FinCEN works with the financial community to support local, state, and federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to help prevent the abuse of the U.S. financial system by criminals and terrorists.

*”FinCEN is on the front lines every day, tracking down those who attempt to use the U.S. and global financial system to plot, fund, and perpetrate acts of terrorism around the world. By proposing to substantially increase FinCEN’s resources, President Bush has reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to aggressively fight terrorism on every front,”* said Secretary of the Treasury John W. Snow.