Filing SARs on OFAC List or 314(a) Matches

A verified match with an entity on an OFAC list that involves funds in an amount above the applicable SAR filing threshold should trigger a SAR filing requirement. Any transaction with, by or for a person listed by OFAC is unlawful. Therefore, when a financial institution verifies that it has a match with the OFAC list, it always will have identified at least a potential violation of law. It is important, however, to verify ?hits? identified by a financial institution?s OFAC filters to ensure that there is a true match, looking not only at the full name, but the address and any other identifiers that have been provided by OFAC, to avoid false positives for common names, which, we are informed, has been most prevalent in the Kingpin sanctions program. If a financial institution has any questions about its OFAC obligations and responsibilities, it should call the OFAC Hotline at (800) 540-6322.

In contrast, a match with a named subject issued pursuant to the Section 314(a) process does not automatically require the filing of a SAR. Section 314(a) requests seek to identify assets associated with a particular suspect. There may be nothing about the particular account or transaction found in response to a Section 314(a) request that is inherently illegal. A financial institution should review the account activity or transaction(s) relating to the named subject for suspicious activity, and, if appropriate, file a SAR predicated upon the totality of the circumstances and the account activity, in addition to reporting the Section 314(a) match to FinCEN.

Excerpted from SAR Activity Review Issue 6, page 64