SAR subpoened

If the bank is subpeoned for a SAR that has been filed, do we need to notify our federal banking agency (i.e., the FDIC)? If so, who/where do we send this notice to?

Perhaps, I am wrong, but I do not know of any requirements to notify your regulatory agency. Your requirements, generally, are to have a good program to identify suspicious activity and file SARs. However, the specifics of the case might require it such as if it involves an "incident" of your bank's customers' information being compromised.

There is a requirement in the BSA that you notify FinCEN and your regulatory agency if you are subpoena'd to produce a SAR.

I don't know that there's a specific address or contact identified for the notification, though. I'd send the FinCEN one to the attention of their Chief Counsel, and call your FDIC EIC and ask where to send that one.

Good luck and hang tough! Don't talk to anybody without your attorney standing next to you, and let your attorney do all the talking if at all possible!

On page 70 of the 2006 version of the BSA/AML manual, it says:

"No bank, and no director, officer, employee, or agent of a bank, that reports a suspicious transaction may notify any person involved in the transaction that the transaction has been reported. Thus, any person subpoenaed or otherwise requested to disclose a SAR or the information contained in a SAR, except when such disclosure is requested by FinCEN or an appropriate law enforcement or federal banking agency, shall decline to produce the SAR or to provide any information that would disclose that a SAR has been prepared or filed, citing 31 CFR 103.18(e) and 31 USC 5318(g)(2). FinCEN and the bank's federal banking agency should be notified of any such request and of the bank’s response. Furthermore, FinCEN and the federal banking agencies take the position that banks’ internal controls for the filing of SARs should minimize the risks of disclosure."

Call FINCEN and your lead examiner/main regulatory office immediately; do nothing until they have advised you to do so. Contact legal counsel immediately, notify senior management immediately. Do nothing without advice from legal and FINCEN and your regulator.

I totally agree with Kaybee..do not even admit you have one,until given a goahead from FinCEN, my guess is that you will not act based on FinCEN advise

One other question - Did you receive a Grand Jury subpoena or a garden-variety subpoena? I was at a bank that received a Grand Jury subpoena asking for copies of SAR's and all back up information. I immediately contacted our regulatory agency and FinCEN and received the same response - it's okay if its a Grand Jury Subpoena. What ticked me off was the attitude I got next...."why are you questioning a Grand Jury subpoena?"

So, if it's a Grand Jury subpoena, I would still go through with contacting your regulatory and FinCEN because until such time as the geniuses at the top publish an OFFICIAL guidance that says "Okay to send SARS for a Grand Jury subpoena", I would not feel comfortable without specific authorization from both FinCEN and my regulator.

I agree with Bonnie. Especially the way Grand Jury stuff gets leaked all the time to the press with people being quoted anonymously because they aren't allowed to talk about a Grand Jury process. Then don't talk!

Has anyone ever had a Search Warrant which requested copies of any SARs filed? I just received one and am not sure exactly how to proceed. The customer in question is a bad character and I certainly want to see him stopped, but don't want to put the bank in a bad spot either.

Are you sure it's a search warrant and not a subpoena? If it's not from law enforcement, see the quote from page 70 of the BSA Exam Manual above.

It's definitely a Search Warrant...from a local police department.

I have never had this happen, but wouldn't they (law enforcement) already have access to this data (the actual SAR) through the Gateway system (used to be called, not sure what the new web-based version will be called) or are they asking for the supporting documentation that you used for the filing?

I now have a similar situation. We just received a Grand Jury subpoena from our local District Attorney that asks for "all documents including ...'suspicious activity reports (and back-up files)'..." It so happens that there was a SAR filed on the customer in 2005. I know that we need to provide back-up files for SARs that have been filed when requested by Federal authorities who have access to SAR filing data, but in this case I am sure that the DA has no idea that there was a SAR filed and I am unsure if it would be covered in the subpoena. Should I provide the SAR and back-up files or not?

Thanks for your input.