The IRS Criminal Investigation unit is ramping up its use of banking data to crack down on tax and financial fraud, launching a new initiative known as CI-FIRST (Feedback in Response to Strategic Threats), according to Accounting Today.

The program deepens collaboration with financial institutions, showing them how their suspicious activity reports (SARs) help IRS-CI investigated crimes under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

Between 2022 and 2024, 87.3% of criminal cases recommended for prosecution involved a primary subject with a related BSA filing. Convictions in adjudicated cases reached 97.3%, with average prison sentences of 37 months. IRS-CI also traced $21.1 billion in fraud and secured $1.4 billion in restitution for victims. 

As part of CI-FIRST, IRS-CI will offer feedback to banks and streamline subpoena requests, aiming to improve SAR quality and strengthen public-private partnerships. IRS-CI Chief Ficco emphasized that the program will “promote information-sharing, streamline processes and demonstrate how valuable BSA data is to criminal investigations.” 

Despite this enforcement ramp-up, the broader IRS is undergoing dramatic cuts. As reported by FedScoop around 50 senior IT executives were recently placed on administrative leave, part of a wider effort by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

These cuts follow the layoffs of 7,000 probationary employees in February, with internal discussions hinting at reduction of up to 50% of the agency’s workforce.

Critics warn these moves could erode critical institutional knowledge and threaten the technological backbone supporting the IRS’s enforcement and taxpayer services.