New Guidance on SAR Filing Requirements

On January 19, FinCEN jointly with other banking regulators issued a FAQ document relating to the filing of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). The FAQs provide answers to the following questions:

1. Can a financial institution maintain an account or customer relationship for which it has received a written “keep open” request from law enforcement, even though the financial institution has identified suspicious or potentially illicit activity?

2. Should a financial institution file a SAR solely on the basis of receiving a grand jury subpoena or other law enforcement inquiries?

3. Is a financial institution required to terminate a customer relationship following the filing of a SAR or multiple SARs?

4. Is a financial institution required to file a SAR based solely on negative news?

5. If there are multiple negative news alerts based on the same event, is a financial institution expected to independently investigate each of those alerts?

You can access the FAQs here.