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Difficulty: Very hardAnti-Money Laundering (AML), KYC, and Sanctions Compliance

A compliance officer at a member broker-dealer is conducting a transaction review and identifies two separate physical currency deposits made by a retail customer into their brokerage account on the same business day: a 4,500cashdepositat9:15AMatonebranch,anda4,500 cash deposit at 9:15 AM at one branch, and a 6,000 cash deposit at 2:30 PM at a secondary branch. Internal notes show the customer explicitly requested that neither single deposit exceed $10,000 to avoid government reporting. Based on federal Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regulations, which of the following actions is the broker-dealer required to take?

  1. File both a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) within 15 calendar days due to aggregate daily cash exceeding $10,000, and a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) within 30 calendar days due to potential structuring, without informing the customer.Answer
  2. B
    File only a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) within 30 calendar days, because neither single cash deposit individually exceeded the $10,000 threshold required to trigger a Currency Transaction Report (CTR).
  3. C
    File only a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) within 15 calendar days, because a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) is required only for transactions exceeding $10,000.
  4. D
    File a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) within 30 calendar days and provide written notification to the customer explaining why the account is under compliance review.

Answer

The broker-dealer must file both a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) within 15 calendar days because the total physical currency deposited in a single business day exceeds 10,000,andaSuspiciousActivityReport(SAR)within30calendardaysbecausethecustomerengagedinpotentialstructuring(anillegalactivityinvolvingatleast10,000, and a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) within 30 calendar days because the customer engaged in potential structuring (an illegal activity involving at least 5,000), without disclosing the filing to the customer.
The correct option identifies both mandatory regulatory filings. Under FinCEN and FINRA regulations, physical currency deposits made on the same business day must be aggregated; because 4,500plus4,500 plus 6,000 equals 10,500(exceeding10,500 (exceeding 10,000), a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) must be filed within 15 calendar days. Additionally, attempting to split cash deposits to avoid CTR reporting constitutes illegal structuring, which meets the $5,000 suspicious activity threshold requiring a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) within 30 calendar days. SAR reports must remain strictly confidential.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Calculate the aggregate daily cash deposits to evaluate Currency Transaction Report (CTR) filing requirements.
The total physical cash deposited in one business day is 4,500+4,500 + 6,000 = $10,500.
Under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), broker-dealers must aggregate all cash deposits made by a customer on the same business day. Since 10,500exceedsthe10,500 exceeds the 10,000 threshold, a CTR must be filed with FinCEN within 15 calendar days.
2
Evaluate customer intent and behavior for potential Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) filing requirements.
The customer requested that deposits remain under $10,000 to evade government reporting, which constitutes potential currency structuring.
Structuring cash transactions to avoid BSA reporting is illegal. Broker-dealers must file a SAR for any suspicious transaction or pattern of transactions involving $5,000 or more within 30 calendar days of detection.
3
Apply confidentiality requirements regarding AML filings.
The firm must keep SAR filings confidential and must never disclose the report or investigation to the client.
Federal law strictly prohibits informing any subject of a SAR that the activity has been reported to law enforcement or FinCEN.

Key Concept

Dual AML Filing Requirements (CTR vs SAR) and Confidentiality
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Topics

Anti-Money Laundering (AML), KYC, and Sanctions Compliance