Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Blanco. Photo credit: Alan Diaz/AP.

The U.S. Department of Treasury's financial crimes unit just added a big gun to head its investigations—longtime prosecutor Kenneth Blanco.

The Treasury announced Wednesday that Blanco, now acting assistant attorney general of the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division, will lead its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network starting “in the next month.” FinCEN is part of the Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) and targets financial crimes, including money laundering and terrorist financing.

“Ken Blanco is an important addition at Treasury, and will focus on combating money laundering and illicit threats by those who seek to abuse our financial system,” said a statement from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “His extensive background in law enforcement will be a strong asset to our TFI team.”