FinCEN Warns of Human Trafficking Risks During 2026 FIFA World Cup

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued Notice FIN-2026-NTC1, which urges financial institutions in and around 2026 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup host cities to increase monitoring for suspicious activity tied to human trafficking.

The World Cup, which the United States, Canada, and Mexico will host from June 11 to July 19, 2026, is expected to draw millions of visitors and create heightened demand for services that traffickers may exploit. The agency warned that individuals near host cities could face increased risks of sex trafficking and labor trafficking as perpetrators seek to profit from the surge in economic activity.

FinCEN directed financial institutions to detect and report suspicious activity connected to potential human trafficking, including through suspicious activity reports (SARs), regardless of reporting threshold. FinCEN also encouraged institutions to notify law enforcement through the National Human Trafficking Hotline when they suspect trafficking-related activity.

The alert highlights sex trafficking indicators involving unusually large travel expenses, frequent hotel or rideshare payments, late-night or early-morning transactions, peer-to-peer transfers, credit card payments, digital assets, prepaid access cards, and cash deposits at automated teller machines. The agency noted that traffickers may instruct victims to deposit cash and quickly transfer funds to other accounts.

FinCEN also identified labor trafficking risks involving businesses that appear legitimate but exploit workers to meet increased demand during major events. Warning signs may include missing or unusually low payroll expenses, wages transferred from workers to another account, or accounts showing few transactions for basic needs, as traffickers may control victims' finances.

FinCEN also urged financial institutions to train customer-facing staff to recognize behavioral indicators and encouraged voluntary information sharing among financial institutions, including cross-border sharing where appropriate.

FinCEN asked financial institutions filing SARs related to human trafficking associated with the 2026 World Cup to include the key term "FIN-2026-HTWORLDCUP" and select the human trafficking category.

• Topics: Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Finance of Terrorism, Modern Slavery, Transaction Monitoring, Other Predicate Crimes, Financial Crime Controls, World Cup, ACAMS Initiatives
• Source: U.S.: FinCEN
• Document Type: Alert
• Document Date: May 11, 2026