Question & Answer

Question: I know I don't have to fill out a CTR for less than $10,000, but can I? When someone comes in three or four times in one day and deposits several thousand dollars during the course of the day, I want to report it.

Answer: NO! You cannot file a CTR for less than a $10,000 cash transaction! We are required to file for over $10,000 - that's $10,000.01 and over. The Bank Secrecy Act is very clear about that. Keep in mind that the CTR is filed with the U.S. Government. Under the Right To Financial Privacy Act, we may not report our customer's transactions to the government unless we are required to do so - in some cases by law, and in other cases by means of a summons, subpoena, or search warrant.

However, we are also required to report suspicious transactions when we feel there is reason to believe the financial institution is being used as a "conduit." That is to say, your bank is being used to launder money that has been obtained illegally.

Under the circumstances you described to me, there is every reason for you to file a Suspicious Activity Report on the activity. At the very least, your depositor is structuring, which is a reportable activity.
You have safe harbor protecting you from your customer bringing action against you in a civil suit because you filed the SAR. There was a very important case just decided by the courts in favor of the banks reinforcing that protection, that we will report on very soon. And remember, you are also under a non-disclosure. You must not tell your depositor that you filed the SAR.

Copyright © 1999 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 9, No. 3, 3/99