Banking Secrecy Act

Extracted Attributes

• Common Alias

  Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)

• Jurisdiction

  United States

• Official Name

  Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act

• Enactment Year

  1970

• Legal Codification

  31 U.S.C. 5311–5336; 12 U.S.C. 1829b; 12 U.S.C. 1951–1960

• CTR Reporting Threshold

  $10,000 (Daily aggregate cash transactions)

• Primary Regulatory Focus

  Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF)

• SAR Reporting Threshold (MSBs)

  $2,000 (For money services businesses)

• SAR Reporting Threshold (Banks)

  $5,000 (For transactions with identifiable suspects)

• Monetary Instrument Log Threshold

  $3,000 to $10,000 (Inclusive for cash purchases of bank checks/drafts)

Timeline

• The Bank Secrecy Act is signed into law to fight money laundering by requiring financial institutions to report large cash transactions. (Source: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/bank-secrecy-act)

  1970-10-26

• The Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act is passed, introducing Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) requirements and a gag order on tipping off customers. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_Secrecy_Act)

  1992-10-28

• The USA PATRIOT Act is enacted, amending the BSA to require financial institutions to establish formal AML programs and Customer Identification Programs (CIP). (Source: https://www.occ.treas.gov/topics/supervision-and-examination/bsa/bsa-related-regulations/index-bsa-and-related-regulations.html)

  2001-10-26

• The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 repeals certain whistleblower protections previously codified in the BSA. (Source: https://www.fincen.gov/resources/statutes-and-regulations/bank-secrecy-act)

  2021-01-01

• Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is sentenced to four months in a U.S. Federal Prison after pleading guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act through Binance's operations. (Source: Document c84b95ee-214b-4e24-b48a-09ad00fb592f)

  2024-04-30

Bank Secrecy Act

The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA), also known as the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, is a U.S. law requiring financial institutions in the United States to assist U.S. government agencies in detecting and preventing money laundering. Specifically, the act requires financial institutions to keep records of cash purchases of negotiable instruments, file reports if the daily aggregate exceeds $10,000, and report suspicious activity that may signify money laundering, tax evasion, or other criminal activities. The BSA is sometimes referred to as an anti-money laundering law (AML) or jointly as BSA/AML.

Web Search Results

• The Bank Secrecy Act

  The Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, its amendments, and the other statutes relating to the subject matter of that Act, have come to be referred to as the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The BSA authorizes the Department of the Treasury to impose reporting and other requirements on financial institutions and other businesses to help detect and prevent money laundering. Specifically, the regulations implementing the BSA require financial institutions to, among other things, keep records of cash purchases of negotiable instruments, file reports of cash transactions exceeding $10,000 (daily aggregate amount), and to report suspicious activity that might signify money laundering, tax evasion, or other criminal activities. The BSA is sometimes referred to as an "anti-money [...] 31 U.S.C. 5327 and 5328 have been repealed. Section 5327, relating to financial institutions reporting on customers, was repealed in 1996. Section 5328, relating to protections for whistleblowers, was repealed by the [National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.] [...] The BSA is sometimes referred to as an "anti-money laundering" (AML) law or jointly as “BSA/AML,” and is codified at 12 U.S.C. 1829b, 12 U.S.C. 1951-1960, 31 U.S.C. 5311-5314, 5316-5336, and includes notes thereto.

• Bank Secrecy Act | Internal Revenue Service

  Has no business or apparent lawful purpose or is not the sort in which the particular customer would normally be expected to engage, and the financial institution knows of no reasonable explanation for the transaction after examining the available facts, including the background and possible purpose of the transaction, or Involves the use of the financial institution to facilitate criminal activity (casinos do not have this requirement). [...] Congress passed the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) in 1970 as the first laws to fight money laundering in the United States. The BSA requires businesses to keep records and file reports that are determined to have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory investigations, risk assessments, or proceedings; or in intelligence or counterintelligence activities, including analysis, to protect against terrorism. The documents filed by businesses under the BSA requirements are heavily used by law enforcement agencies, both domestic and international to identify, detect and deter money laundering whether it is in furtherance of a criminal enterprise, terrorism, tax evasion or other unlawful activity. [...] A financial institution must verify and record the name and address of the individual conducting the transaction, as well as record the identity, account number, and the social security or taxpayer identification number of any person on whose behalf such transaction is to be effected prior to concluding the transaction. ## Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) A financial institution must file FinCEN Form 111, Suspicious Activity Report on any transaction if the transaction is conducted or attempted by, at, or through the financial institution and involves or aggregates at least $2,000 for a money services business and $5,000 for a bank, credit union, or casino, and the financial institution knows, suspects, or has reason to suspect that the transaction or pattern of transactions:

• Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) & Related Regulations

  This regulation requires every national bank to file a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) when they detect certain known or suspected violations of federal law or suspicious transactions related to a money laundering activity or a violation of the BSA. A SAR filing is required for any potential crimes: 1. involving insider abuse regardless of the dollar amount; 2. where there is an identifiable suspect and the transaction involves $5,000 or more; and 3. where there is no identifiable suspect and the transaction involves $25,000 or more. A SAR filing also is required in the case of suspicious activity that is indicative of potential money laundering or BSA violations and the transaction involves $5,000 or more. Institutions of Primary Laundering Concerns [...] Economics Laws & Regulations Charters & Licensing Consumers & Communities Home Topics Supervision & Examination Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) BSA & Related Regulations Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) & Related Regulations Share This Page: The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), 31 USC 5311 et seq establishes program, recordkeeping and reporting requirements for national banks, federal savings associations, federal branches and agencies of foreign banks. The OCC's implementing regulations are found at 12 CFR 21.11 and 12 CFR 21.21. The BSA was amended to incorporate the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act which requires every bank to adopt a customer identification program as part of its BSA compliance program. BSA and Related Statutes [...] 1. provide for a system of internal controls to assure ongoing compliance; 2. provide for independent testing for compliance; 3. designate an individual responsible for coordinating and monitoring day-to-day compliance; and 4. provide training for appropriate personnel. In addition, the implementing regulation for section 326 of the PATRIOT Act requires that every bank adopt a customer identification program as part of its BSA compliance program. Reports of Suspicious Activities - 12 CFR 21.11 and 12 CFR 163.180

• Bank Secrecy Act

  A suspicious activity report (SAR) must report any cash transaction where the customer seems to be trying to avoid BSA reporting requirements by not filing CTR or monetary instrument log (MIL), for example. A SAR must also be filed if the customer's actions suggest that they are laundering money or otherwise violating federal criminal laws and committing wire transfer fraud, check fraud, or mysterious disappearances. These reports are filed with FinCEN and are identified as Treasury Department Form 90-22.47 and OCC Form 8010-9, 8010-1. This requirement and its accompanying implied gag order was added by the Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act § 1517(b) (part of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, Pub. L. 102–550, 106 Stat. 3762, 4060). [...] U.S. citizens and residents with a financial interest in or authority over foreign bank accounts or "foreign financial accounts" with an aggregate value of $10,000 or more are required to file a Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR) with the U.S. Treasury by October 15 every year. It is identified as FinCEN Form 114 (formerly Treasury Department Form 90-22.1). Additionally, they must report the interest or dividend income from the accounts on Schedule B of the Form 1040 tax form and, if a higher threshold is exceeded, also report the amounts and interest on Form 8938. Proponents of FBAR argue that it helps the United States deter financial crimes and encourage whistle-blowing for financial crimes, while critics argue that FBAR wastes time and money, "perversely discouraging compliance" [...] The statute has been amended several times, including provisions in Title III of the USA PATRIOT Act, which amended the BSA to require financial institutions to establish anti-money-laundering programs by establishing internal policies, procedures, and controls, designating compliance officers, providing ongoing employee training, and testing their programs through independent audits. There was an attempt to include another amendment in 2018, called the Illicit Arts and Antiquities Trafficking Prevention Act (IAATP). As the name implies, its aim was to restrict illegal trafficking of art in the United States which has the highest rates of money laundering in the world. It was not passed in the United States House of Representatives. This was because the aim of the IAATP did not directly

• [PDF] 8.1 Bank Secrecy Act, Anti-Money Laundering, and Office ...

  filing of an SAR would be warranted. Confidentiality of Section 314(a) Requests BANK SECRECY ACT, ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING, AND OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL Section 8.1 DSC Risk Management Manual of Examination Policies 8.1-15 Bank Secrecy Act (10-2025) Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Financial institutions must protect the security of the Section 314(a) Requests, as they are confidential. As stated previously, a financial institution must not tip off a customer that he/she is the subject of a Section 314(a) Request. Similarly, a financial institution cannot disclose to any person or entity, other than to FinCEN, its primary Federal functional regulator, or the Federal law enforcement agency on whose behalf FinCEN is requesting information, the fact that FinCEN has requested or [...] 8.1-9 Bank Secrecy Act (10-2025) Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation • Providing evidence of loans made and repaid, or other services performed for the person over a period of time. These actions may not be sufficient for existing account holders deemed to be high risk. For example, in the situation of an import/export business where the identifying information on file only includes a number from a passport marked as a duplicate with no additional business information on file, the bank should follow all of the CIP requirements provided in 31 CFR 103.121 since it does not have sufficient information to show a “reasonable belief” of the true identity of the existing account holder. Account An account is defined as a formal, ongoing banking relationship established to provide or engage in [...] prohibits financial institutions from issuing or selling monetary instruments purchased with cash in amounts of $3,000 to $10,000, inclusive, unless it obtains and records certain identifying information on the purchaser and specific transaction information. Monetary instruments include bank checks, bank drafts, cashier’s checks, money orders, and traveler’s checks. Furthermore, the identifying information of all purchasers must be verified. The following information must be obtained from a purchaser who has a deposit account at the financial institution: • Purchaser’s name; • Date of purchase; • Type(s) of instrument(s) purchased; • Serial number(s) of each of the instrument(s) purchased; and • Amounts in dollars of each of the instrument(s) purchased. If the purchaser does not have a