Page 19 - ACAMS-Today-V20N3

The world of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) seems to get busier and more intense each year. If BSA was busy and intense before COVID-19, the money from the coronavirus relief bill and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans has everyone piled up
with work and putting in even longer hours. However, how would BSA officers feel if all their time and effort spent monitoring customer’s accounts and reporting suspicious activity was wasted?
They may say: “Wasted? What I do is not wasted. We do very well in our BSA audits and exams and maintain a strong BSA program. That means what I do isn’t wasted.” That is right, it takes a lot of energy and work to maintain a strong BSA program approved by auditors and examiners. So, congratulations on achieving that! On the other hand, is it not a big responsibility of BSA officers to report suspicious activity with the intent of stopping money laundering, terrorist financing, human trafficking, elder abuse, fraud and other financial crimes? If so, then writing suspicious activity reports (SARs) that enable law enforcement to initiate an investigation or move ahead on an investigation they already have in place is the other side of the coin for maintaining an effective BSA program and accomplishing this mission.
In fact, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA), states several goals such as:
• Facilitating communication and information sharing between the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), national security agencies, law enforcement and financial institutions (FIs) through the establishment of new programs and reporting mechanisms.
• Requiring law enforcement agencies and regulators to formally review regulations within the BSA to ensure regulations, guidance, reports and records are highly useful in countering financial crime.
• Requiring streamlined data and real-time reporting of suspicious activity reports and requiring law enforcement to coordinate with financial regulators to provide periodic feedback to FIs on their suspicious activity reporting.
• Prioritizing the protection of personally identifying information while establishing a clear path for FIs to share anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) information for the purpose of identifying suspicious activity.1
The entire purpose of the AMLA is to ensure the effectiveness of the BSA in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. The April 20202 and February 20213 updates in the “Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Examination Manual” from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council are both focused on money laundering and terrorist financing and how they tie into risk assessments. Even though FinCEN has several years to implement all the policies and procedures needed for the law, the push to make things “more effective” has begun.
So how can a BSA program be made truly effective? Begin by understanding that all the work completed is not just to create a robust BSA program to please bosses, auditors and regulators. It is also important to consider partnering with law enforcement by filing SARs that enable them to prosecute criminals effectively.
Effective SAR reporting begins with robust processes and systems that can identify suspicious activity
Addressing SAR questions
Effective SAR reporting begins with robust processes and systems that can identify suspicious activity. Whether there is a totally manual process and/or an automated system for assistance, both must be tailored to the FI’s money laundering, terrorist financing and other illicit financial activity risks to ensure there are alerts for all possible suspicious activities within the FI. When those processes and systems produce an alert, the BSA officer’s job is to investigate it further to determine if it is truly suspicious.
However, is just filing a SAR all that a BSA officer needs to do? What if there is something that may potentially lead to a terrorist attack? It should be reported immediately. BSA officers can call the FinCEN Financial Institutions Hotline’s toll-free number at (866) 556-3974 (seven days a week, 24 hours a day) to facilitate the immediate transmittal of relevant information to the appropriate authorities or contact the closest FBI field office.4
[ AML CHALLENGES ]
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