In February, FinCEN published a Fact Sheet and Advisory on its Rapid Response Program (RRP). This outlines the steps necessary to activate the program as well as a reminder of the SAR Filing Obligations in light of cyber-enabled financial crimes, including the compromise of business e-mail.
The RRP partners FinCEN with law enforcement, homeland security, the United States Postal Inspection Service and foreign partner agencies that also serve as financial intelligence units. This partnership allows information to be shared rapidly and has helped recover over $1.1 billion. To activate the RRP, victims of cyber-enabled crime or their financial institution must file a complaint with law enforcement (i.e., the FBI or the closest Secret Service field office). At the same time, victims filing the complaint should also alert their financial institutions. Information that should be provided to activate the RRP is provided within the Advisory, as well as additional useful information.
The Advisory reminds institutions that SAR filing requirements apply to attempted transactions, even if they are not successful.
Contacting law enforcement does not relieve an institution of any SAR filing obligation. Even when a SAR is not required, institutions may do so voluntarily to help prevent future crime. The information required to activate the RRP and additional cyber-related information, as applicable, should all be included in the SAR. If FinCEN’s RRP is activated, institutions should reference that in the SAR, along with any case number. Previous SAR filing instructions continue to apply as well.
In addition, a reminder on 314(b) sharing was given. If registered, institutions may share information related to transactions believed to involve funds from a number of fraudulent or other criminal activities…
it is sufficient for the financial institution to have reasonable basis to suspect that the information being shared may involve money laundering or terrorist activity, and is sharing for the purpose of identifying and, where appropriate, reporting possible money laundering or terrorist activity.
Ready to learn more related to BSA/AML compliance?
We have webinars on a wide variety of BSA/AML topics that can help get you on the right track. Be sure to check our store which includes our entire library of both upcoming webinars and those available now OnDemand. A few that may be of interest include:
- BSA/AML: Crypto/Virtual Currency
- BSA/AML: Just for Lenders
- All About Suspicious Activity Monitoring & Reporting
