August 2016

This Advisory warns financial institutions about the potential for fraudulent transactions involving hurricane relief monies. To assist law enforcement, we request that financial institutions include key terms in the narrative portions of all Suspicious Activity Reports filed relating to possible hurricane relief fraud schemes.

The deadline to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts form ("FBAR") with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, in accordance with 31 CFR 103.24, for each calendar year is on or before June 30th of the following year. Thus, the deadline to file the FBAR for calendar year 2001 is June 30, 2002.

My money services business understands that Bank Secrecy Act regulations (31 C.F.R. Part 103) require, among other things, implementing a written anti-money laundering program and maintaining records of certain transactions. Because of the nature of my business, I would prefer to fulfill these requirements using a language other than English. Does the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network require money services businesses to use the English language for their anti-money laundering programs and Bank Secrecy Act records?Answer:

Banks, thrift institutions, bank holding companies and non-bank subsidiaries, credit unions, the U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks, and certain other financial institutions are required to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) pursuant to regulations issued by the five federal financial institutions supervisory agencies and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is issuing this guidance to clarify the obligations of futures commission merchants subject to the final due diligence rules implementing section 312 of the USA PATRIOT Act (the “section 312 rules”).¹ Specifically, this guidance addresses (1) how accounts introduced by introducing brokers in commodities to futures commission merchants should be treated for the purposes of complying with the due diligence rule for correspondent accounts for foreign financial institutions² (the “correspondent account rule”) and the due diligence r

1. Is a business that cashes a check with a face value of over $1,000 by providing the customer with $999 in currency and the balance in money orders or a wire transfer a “check casher” for Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) purposes?

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is issuing this guidance to clarify the due diligence obligations of mutual funds under the regulations implementing section 312 of the USA PATRIOT Act (“section 312”).¹ Specifically, this guidance addresses the issue of for whom a mutual fund establishes, maintains, administers, or manages an account when its shares are purchased or redeemed by a U.S. financial institution through the Fund/SERV system of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) on behalf of a foreign financial institution.

FinCEN has extended for another two years a conditional exception to the strict operation of the "Travel Rule" (31 CFR 103.33(g)). The Travel Rule requires a financial institution to include certain information in transmittal orders relating to transmittals of funds of 3,000 or more.

FinCEN has updated the Magnetic Media Filing Specifications "ZIP Code Validation List" for the Mag Specs for the four SAR forms, the CTR and CTR-C. The updated files are available on the FinCEN website at www.fincen.gov/resources/filing-information. Click on the specific form needed. The changes are effective February 1, 2005.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is issuing this advisory to U.S. financial institutions so that they may guard against a potential money laundering threat involving Belarusian government senior regime elements (including senior executives in state-owned enterprises), acting individually or through government agencies and associated front companies, seeking to move misappropriated Belarusian state assets as well as proceeds from illicit arms sales to or through the U.S. financial system.