Financial professionals must act in the best interest of their customers. However, what if a representative believes a customer may be engaging in illegal activity? In that situation, the representative’s responsibility is to recognize suspicious activity and follow the firm’s reporting procedures.
The term money laundering dates back to the Al Capone era. During Prohibition, Capone made significant amounts of money selling alcohol on the black market. The mob used laundromats to make “dirty” cash look legitimate. Because laundromats are cash-intensive businesses, Capone and his crew could mix illegal cash with real business revenue and deposit it as if it were ordinary income. This helped hide the source of the funds and made the money appear “clean.”
Money laundering still happens today, but it’s often more sophisticated. Criminals may use investment accounts to hide the source of illegally obtained funds. After terrorists in the 9/11 attacks used financial accounts to fund their operations, the Patriot Act was signed into law and the Bank Secrecy Act was amended. Together, these laws require financial firms to identify and report money laundering. Under the Bank Secrecy Act, firms must create and maintain anti-money laundering (AML) programs, designed to help representatives recognize and report money laundering.
Money laundering involves three stages:
Placement is the process of funneling illegal money into the financial system. For example, assume Bob sells illegal drugs and receives $100,000 in cash. He needs to get that cash into the financial system, so he starts depositing it into his bank account. That step - getting the cash into the system - is placement. Bob also wants to avoid triggering reporting requirements.
Currency transaction reports (CTRs) help the government track the movement of large amounts of cash. When a customer deposits or receives more than $10,000* in currency, the financial firm must report** it to the federal government (specifically to FinCEN, discussed below) within 15 days. If Bob wants to avoid being reported, he might try to make several smaller deposits just under $10,000 - for example, depositing $9,900 each week. Breaking up transactions to avoid a CTR is illegal and is known as structuring.
*Multiple transactions performed by an individual within a short period are combined for CTR reporting purposes. For example, assume a person deposits $4,000 in cash in the morning and $7,000 in the afternoon into an investment account. The two transactions would be considered one total $11,000 transaction and would be reported by CTR.
**The official name of a CTR report is Form 112.
Not every unusual action is illegal, but some behavior can still be suspicious. For example, a customer is allowed to ask about CTRs, but it may raise concern if they ask highly detailed questions about the firm’s reporting thresholds, timing, or internal procedures.
When suspicious activity is identified, financial professionals must report it to their supervisors. If warranted, the firm must file a suspicious activity report (SAR) with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a division of the U.S. Treasury Department. SARs must be filed within 30 days of the suspicious activity. The firm is prohibited from notifying the customer that a SAR has been filed (to avoid tipping off a potential criminal).
Only transactions aggregating at least $5,000 are eligible for SARs. Therefore, suspicious actions involving less than $5,000 are not reportable. FinCEN specifically outlines the following circumstances as warranting the filing of a SAR (assuming at least $5,000 is involved):
After Bob places his “dirty” funds into the system, the next step is layering. Bob conducts dozens of transactions after the funds enter his account. This can include moving money between accounts that appear unrelated, including accounts in the U.S. and in foreign countries. Even if the accounts look unconnected, Bob controls them all. The goal is to create a complex paper trail that makes it harder for authorities to trace the money back to its source.
The final step is integration, where the layered funds are moved into legitimate-looking sources. For example, Bob might start a real estate business and purchase properties using the layered funds. Once the money is invested in those properties, it appears to be legitimate business or investment activity.
Member firms must train representatives to detect and report potential money laundering. Firms must also designate an employee as the AML (anti-money laundering) compliance officer, who is responsible for creating and implementing systems to detect red flags, such as:
If a representative identifies any of these red flags, they must escalate the issue to a supervisor. From there, the appropriate parties at the firm investigate and, if necessary, report to the relevant authorities.
When a customer opens an account, the firm must check the Specifically Designated Nationals (SDN) list. This list includes individuals controlled by or acting on behalf of hostile nations, as well as known terrorists and drug traffickers. If a customer’s name appears on the SDN list, the firm must freeze the account and stop doing business with the customer. The account assets are reported and may be seized by the U.S. Government.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), also part of the U.S. Treasury Department, maintains and oversees the SDN list. OFAC also controls which countries financial firms are allowed to do business with.
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