| HOME | NEWS RELEASES | SUBSCRIBERS ONLY AREA | HOW TO SUBSCRIBE | CONTACT US |  |
|
||||||
|
News Releases
12/15/2004 USA PATRIOT Act Monitor News Release: Unitary
Filing of Suspicious Activity and Blocking Reports Allowed by Interpretive Guidance
In interpretive guidance posted on FinCEN's website today (December 15, 2004),
FinCEN indicates that a blocked transaction report filed with the Office of
Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will, in certain circumstances, be deemed to satisfy
SAR filing requirements. Although FinCEN had previously indicated that there
was no unitary filing system, the agencies have reached an understanding whereby
OFAC will provide information from such filings to FinCEN for inclusion in the
latter's suspicious activity reporting database. FinCEN, in turn, will provide
potentially important information to law enforcement. To take advantage of this
unitary reporting, the blocked transaction report must involve a match with
a party on an OFAC list, and the financial institution must not be in possession
of additional information not included in the OFAC filing. The interpretive
guidance indicates that it does not apply to blocking reports filed to report
transactions and accounts involving persons owned by, or who are nationals of,
countries subject to OFAC-administered sanctions programs, which should be the
subject of SARs if reporting criteria are met. This interpretive guidance will
be discussed in the January issue of the Monitor and in the forthcoming revision
to Part II of Money Laundering, Terrorism and Financial Institutions.
USA PATRIOT ACT MONITOR is published by Civic Research Institute, Inc., 4478 U.S. Route 27, P.O. Box 585, Kingston, NJ 08528, 609-683-4450, info@civicresearchinstitute.com, as an update service for Money Laundering, Terrorism and Financial Institutions: Law · Regulation · Compliance · USA PATRIOT Act Monitor © 2004 Civic Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copying expressly prohibited. The information in this publication is not intended to replace the services of a trained legal professional. Neither the editors, nor the contributors, nor Civic Research Institute, Inc. are by this publication engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. The editors, contributors, and Civic Research Institute, Inc., specifically disclaim any liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use or application of the contents of this publication.