Subpoena/summons investigations results and SAR filing

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Question:

Our BSA Officer manages our bank’s filing of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) with FinCEN. She has asked to include in our policy for managing summonses, subpoenas and similar legal documents a requirement that she be notified of any suspect activity that might be turned up in searches in response to those documents. Is that allowed?

Answer:

Absolutely yes. Even National Security Letters should be included under this policy provision. Any suspicious activity identified in searches made under summonses, subpoenas or similar legal documents should be shared with whoever in your institution determines whether to file SARs. The regulatory agencies, in assessing your institution’s BSA/AML/CFT program, will ask for information on criminal subpoenas received since your last exam and copies of “policies, procedures and processes used to comply with all criminal subpoenas, including National Security Letters (NSL), related to BSA.” [from Appendix H – Request Letter Items, FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual,
https://bsaaml.ffiec.gov/manual/Appendices/09, viewed 3/20/2024.

The implication is obvious that regulators will be checking to see whether your procedures for handling such legal requests for customer information include procedures for filing SARs on any suspicious activity uncovered when searching for
information to comply with legal documents compelling your institution to provide customer information.