Auditors must follow the protocol of their respective authorities if inappropriate disclosure of a RAS is detected. Auditors should also ensure that the bank has informed the relevant Bundesbank branch and FinCEN of the misdisclosure. The Bank should deploy adequate staff to identify, assess and report potentially suspicious activities, taking into account the bank`s overall risk profile and transaction volume. In addition, a bank should ensure that the affected staff have the necessary experience and are fully and continuously trained to maintain their expertise. Staff should also have sufficient internal and external tools to conduct appropriate research on activities and to formulate conclusions. Such filtering reports, whether implemented through the software system acquired by a provider or through requests from information service providers, significantly improve a bank`s ability to identify and evaluate unusual currency transactions. These software applications effectively monitor customer transactions on a daily basis and provide the bank administration with a “global picture” of the customer based on past transactions and a customer`s account profile. Transaction monitoring may include cash deposits and withdrawals, bank transfers, and ACH activities. In the banking sector, these applications are called “BSA software” or “anti-money laundering software”. Banks must retain copies of the SARs and supporting documents for five years from the date of submission of the RAD. The Bank may keep copies in paper or electronic form. In addition, banks must provide all documents supporting the filing of a SAR at the request of FinCEN or a competent federal banking or law enforcement authority.
“Supporting document” means any document or record that has assisted a bank in determining that a particular activity requires a SAR deposit. No legal proceedings are required for the disclosure of supporting documents to FinCEN or to a competent law enforcement authority or the Bundesbank. 77See supporting documents for suspicious activity report, 13 June 2007. A Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) must report any cash transaction where the client appears to be attempting to circumvent the BSA`s reporting obligations, for example by not submitting a CTR or Monetary Instrument Protocol (MIL). A SAR must also be filed if the customer`s actions indicate that the customer is laundering money or otherwise violating federal criminal laws and committing payout fraud, check fraud, or mysterious disappearance. These reports are filed with FinCEN and identified as The Treasury Department`s Form 90-22.47 and Form OCC 8010-9, 8010-1. [8] This requirement and the implied gag order associated with it were added by the Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act § 1517(b) (part of the Housing and Community Development Act 1992, Pub.L. 102-550, 106 Stat.
3762, 4060). In accordance with the SAR regulations of their bundesbank agency, banks are required to inform the board of directors or a committee of the corresponding board of directors that SARs have been submitted. However, the rules do not prescribe a specific reporting format and banks should be flexible in structuring their format. As a result, banks may, but are not required, to provide actual copies of SARs to the board of directors or a committee of the board of directors. Alternatively, banks may choose to provide summaries, tables of SAR submitted for certain types of offences or other forms of notification. Regardless of the notification format used by the bank, management should provide the board of directors or an appropriate committee with sufficient information about its SAR deposits to fulfil its fiduciary duties, taking into account the confidential nature of the RAD. 76As noted in The SAR Activity Review – Trends, Tips & Issues, Issue 2, June 2001 of the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group, “In the rare event that suspicious activity is associated with a person in the organization, such as the chairman or one of the members of the board of directors, the established policy that would require such a person to be notified of a SAR deposit should: are not tracked. Deviations from established policies and procedures to avoid notification of a SAR filing with a SAR subject should be documented and appropriate senior managers not involved should be notified accordingly. “31 U.S.C.
5316 – Reports on the Export and Import of Monetary Instruments 31 U.S.C. 5317 – Search and Expiration of Monetary Instruments 31 U.S.C. 5318 – Compliance, Exemptions and Assignment 31 U.S.C. 5318A – Special Measures for Jurisdictions, Financial Institutions, International Transactions or Account Types of Primary Money Laundering Matters 31 U.S.C. 5319 – Availability of Reports 31 U.S.C. 5320 – Injunctions 31 U.S.C. 5321 – Civil Penalties 31 U.S.C. 5322 – Criminal Sanctions 31 U.S.C. 5323 – Whistleblower Incentives and Protection 31 U.S.C. 5324 – Structuring Transactions to Circumvent the Reporting Requirement 31 U.S.C. 5325 – Identification Required for the Purchase of Certain Monetary Instruments 31 U.S.C.
5326 – Records of Certain Domestic Transactions §21.11 – Ensures that domestic banks file a suspicious activity report if they detect a known or suspected violation of federal law or a suspicious transaction related to money laundering activity or a violation of the BSA.
