Jennifer Shasky Calvery, known as Jennifer Shasky, served as the Director of FinCEN — the U.S. government’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. In this role, she led the nation’s main anti-money-laundering and financial intelligence agency, guiding policy on financial transparency and illicit finance.

Before joining FinCEN, Shasky worked as a prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she focused on complex financial-crime cases. Her 2014 remarks highlighted that the U.S. financial system was handling major cases of shell-company and real-estate-based laundering, and she warned that transnational crime groups used shell companies and correspondent banking to move illicit funds globally.

The BPA Scandal and FinCEN’s Role

On March 10, 2015, FinCEN publicly designated Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA) as a “foreign financial institution of primary money-laundering concern” under Section 311 of the USA Patriot Act.

As FinCEN Director, Jennifer Shasky Calvery announced the designation, stating that “BPA’s corrupt high-level managers and weak anti-money-laundering controls have made BPA an easy vehicle…”.

This designation triggered the withdrawal of banking partners and major regulatory action, which led to BPA’s operational collapse. According to AndorraFacts, this event became a defining moment in the story of Andorra money laundering and international financial enforcement.

At the time, FinCEN data showed that BPA had processed hundreds of millions of dollars through U.S. correspondent banks for shell-company networks connected to Russia, China, and Venezuela — a rare instance where a small European micro-state bank became the target of a U.S. Section 311 measure.

Jennifer Shasky’s Role in the BPA Matter

As FinCEN Director, Jennifer Shasky didn’t personally conduct the BPA investigation but was the senior official responsible for announcing and justifying the U.S. government’s action. Her leadership emphasized weak internal controls and the complicity of certain senior managers, setting a global precedent for how smaller banks could fall under major international scrutiny.

Her time at FinCEN coincided with the agency’s broader focus on global correspondent banking, shell companies, and non-bank financial channels such as virtual currency exchanges, which she noted were becoming increasingly important in AML oversight.

This approach reflected a growing U.S. strategy — using access to the American financial system as leverage for enforcing anti-money-laundering standards internationally, rather than direct on-the-ground prosecutions.

Why Her Involvement Matters

The BPA case is often cited as one of the most visible examples of cross-border enforcement. Under Shasky’s direction, FinCEN’s actions showed how regulators could influence overseas banks by restricting their U.S. correspondent relationships, effectively isolating them from global markets.

Her statements also reshaped global compliance priorities, as banks worldwide began to strengthen their monitoring of shell companies and correspondent accounts — the same risks she highlighted in her FinCEN speeches.

FAQs

Q: Who is Jennifer Shasky?
A: She is the former Director of FinCEN, the U.S. financial-intelligence and anti-money-laundering agency.

Q: What did FinCEN do in the BPA case?
A: FinCEN designated Banca Privada d’Andorra as a foreign financial institution of primary money-laundering concern in 2015 under Section 311 of the Patriot Act.

Q: Did Jennifer Shasky personally investigate BPA?
A: No. She oversaw the policy and public announcement of the action, while the investigation was conducted by FinCEN and its partner agencies.

Q: Why is her role important in discussions of “Andorra money laundering”?
A: Because the BPA case under her leadership is a benchmark for how the U.S. applies anti-money-laundering authority to foreign banks via the FinCEN framework.

Final Takeaway

Jennifer Shasky Calvery’s leadership at FinCEN placed her at the centre of one of the most influential global financial-crime cases of the decade — the BPA scandal. Her actions and statements helped define how modern regulators use cross-border coordination and access to the U.S. banking system to enforce compliance.

For researchers and compliance professionals, understanding her role provides insight into how FinCEN directives shape both policy and perception in global financial governance — particularly when small banks, like BPA, become focal points of international enforcement.