Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering
History of Anti-Money Laundering Legislation
1970 Bank Secrecy Act
- Required banks to report cash transactions over $10,000
via the Currency Transaction Report (“CTR”).
1986 Money Laundering Control Act
- Criminalized the act of money laundering;
- Prohibited structuring transactions to evade CTR filings; and
- Introduced civil and criminal forfeiture for BSA violations.
1988 Money Laundering Prosecution Improvement Act
- Expanded the definition of financial institution to
include businesses such as car dealers and real estate closing personnel
and required them to file reports on large currency transactions; and
- Required the verification of identity of purchasers
of monetary instruments over $3,000.
1990 Bank Fraud Prosecution and Taxpayer Recovery Act of 1990 (Crime Control Act)
- Updated the FDIC
Statement of Policy issued pursuant to Section 19 of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Act that prohibits, without the prior written consent of the
FDIC, any person from participating in banking who has been convicted of a
crime of dishonesty or breach of trust or money laundering, or who has
entered a pretrial diversion in connection with such an offense.
1992 Annunzio-Wylie Money Laundering Suppression
Act
- Added Sections 18(w) to FDI Act which provides for
the revocation of federal deposit insurance of institutions convicted of
certain money laundering crimes;
- Required Suspicious Activity Reports and eliminated
criminal referrals; and
- Required Verification and recordkeeping for wire
transfers.
1994 Money Laundering Suppression Act
- Required banking agencies to develop anti-money
laundering examination procedures; and
- Streamlined CTR exemption process.
1998 Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Strategy
Act
- Required banking agencies to develop anti-money
laundering training for examiners;
- Required Treasury and other agencies to develop a
National Money Laundering Strategy; and
- Created the High Intensity Money Laundering and
Related Financial Crime Area ("HIFCA") Task Forces.
2001 Uniting and Strengthening America by
Providing Appropriate Tools to Restrict, Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism
Act (USA PATRIOT Act)
- Required government-institution information sharing
and voluntary information among financial institutions;
- Required verification of customer identity program;
- Required enhanced due diligence programs, and
- Required anti-money laundering programs across the
financial services industry.