10/01/2007
A federal judge has ordered more than 24 years of prison time for a former loan officer who was found guilty on all eight counts of an indictment charging conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and mo
10/01/2007
A man accused of managing an international theft ring involving more than $1 million has been indicted and faces charges including fraud and money laundering.
10/01/2007
A random sample of 1,745 (11.78%) narratives were analyzed to provide a statistical representation of the total SARs filed by depository institutions.
10/01/2007
Understanding the Suspicious Activity Categories
09/24/2007
I’m new to banking and I think one of our customers is a check kiter. What do we need to do to catch the suspected check kiter? Do we have to catch the kiter or do we just fill out a SAR on the customer even though we don’t have “proof” of kiting on a suspicion?
09/10/2007
I am an internal auditor and currently reviewing our bank's procedures related to the Bank Secrecy Act. I have two questions concerning structuring of deposits. <ol><li>Assume structuring of deposits is identified and known structuring is occurring. My understanding is that a SAR would always be completed, but our compliance officer is indicating a SAR may or may not be filed. If he or she is correct, please explain why we would not file a SAR if structuring is identified. <li>My understanding is that known structuring requires a SAR and, therefore, the Board (in our case the Board includes management personnel) would be informed. Our compliance officer is indicating that structuring would only be reported to management and the Board if a SAR was filed. Doesn't structuring always require a SAR and, therefore, Board notification? </ol>
08/27/2007
If I suspect money laundering in a commercial loan account, to the point where I am going to submit a SAR, what options do I have for closing that account? Assume that I strongly suspect money laundering, but cannot prove it definitively.
08/20/2007
If I suspect money laundering in a commercial loan account, to the point where I am going to submit a SAR, what options do I have for closing that account? Assume that I strongly suspect money laundering, but cannot prove it definitively.
08/13/2007
Should SARs be filed for construction businesses with significant cash withdrawals that do not appear to have any business or apparent lawful purpose? We suspect the cash withdrawals are being used for payroll purposes, but without directly asking the company representatives, how would we know?
07/30/2007
We have reason to believe that a member of the law enforcement community (IRS CID) informed a customer of a SAR which we filed. Is law enforcement prohibited from disclosing the existence of the SAR?