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Bank Secrecy

If you own a business that receives cash payments over $10,000 you should be aware of the Bank Secrecy Act provisions that require the filing of a Form 8300 to the IRS and FinCEN. 

 

If you or your company are the subject of an IRS Bank Secrecy Examination or Criminal Investigation my office can assist you through this process.

Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business – IRS Form 8300

Who needs to file an 8300?

Each person engaged in a trade or business who, in the course of that trade or business, receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or in two or more related transactions, must file Form 8300. Any transactions conducted between a payer (or its agent) and the recipient in a 24-hour period are related transactions. Transactions are considered related even if they occur over a period of more than 24 hours if the recipient knows, or has reason to know, that each transaction is one of a series of connected transactions.

IRS Enforcement

The IRS maintains a group of examiners who specialize in Bank Secrecy Act examinations.  IRS Criminal Investigators conduct criminal investigations into violation of the BSA.

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  1. The purpose of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) examination is to:

    • Determine a financial institution’s compliance with the Federal government’s anti-money laundering (AML) statutes and regulations, with an emphasis on AML program requirements;

    • Examine financial institutions for BSA compliance, with an emphasis on conducting a risk-based analysis of the entity under examination, and on examining the AML compliance program within the financial institution as well as selective transaction-based testing, to determine if the financial institution has the appropriate internal controls in place to enforce BSA compliance in a consistent and effective manner; and,

    • Identify areas of noncompliance with the BSA as manifest in AML program operations and in business operations (including trends, patterns, or schemes designed to evade the filing of any required reports or recordkeeping).

  2. The BSA examiner is responsible for:

    1. Identifying non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) and forwarding the information to the Workload Selection Unit (WSU).

    2. Examining financial institutions for BSA compliance. Civil and criminal penalties may be applicable for those that are noncompliant.

    3. Advising financial institutions under IRS jurisdiction of their BSA responsibilities in connection with a BSA examination.

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