USA Patriot ACT

USA PATRIOT Act

Uniting and strengthening America by providing the appropriate tools required to intercept and obstruct terrorism act of 2001.

Title III

International money laundering abatement and anti-terrorist financing act of 2001.

FINCEN

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, responsible for overseeing money laundering and terrorist financing regulations.

Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)

Legislation aimed at preventing money laundering and enhancing the reporting of financial crimes.

Money Laundering

The filtering of ill-gotten gains through a series of transactions to prevent the tracing of funds to the original source.

Consumer Identification Program (CIP)

Program requiring verification of consumer identities; includes collecting personal identification information.

Suspicious Activity Report (SAR)

Document filed by financial institutions if there is evidence of illegal activities, must be filed within 30 days.

Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Program

A written program necessary for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing that includes compliance measures.

Records Retention Requirement

Records related to SARs must be kept for 5 years from the filing date.

Currency Transaction Report (CTR)

Required report for individual transactions exceeding $10,000.

Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

Compiles the terrorist watch list used to cross-check consumer identities.

Compliance Officer

An appointed individual responsible for overseeing and implementing an institution's AML program.

Prohibited Practices

Actions such as opening new accounts without verifying identity and informing a suspect of a filed SAR.

Independent Auditing

Requirement for financial institutions to conduct impartial reviews of their AML program compliance.

Criminal Offenses Reporting

Financial institutions must report known or suspected criminal offenses involving transactions of $5,000 or more.

Insider Trading

A form of market manipulation that must be reported under BSA/AML regulations.

E-filing Requirement

Mandate for financial institutions to file reports electronically unless they are unable to do so.

RMLOs

Residential Mortgage Lenders and Originators collectively referred to under the law.

Terrorist Watch List

A list compiled by the OFAC used to verify identities against known or suspected terrorists.