Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal; Comment Request; Renewal Without Change of Bank Secrecy Act Regulations Requiring Reports of Certain Domestic Transactions, 13802-13804 [2024-03681]
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ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
13802
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 2024 / Notices
Development Entities (CDEs) and
substantially all of the QEI proceeds
must, in turn, be used by the CDE to
provide investments in businesses and
real estate developments in low-income
communities and other purposes
authorized under the statute.
The tax credit provided to the
investor totals 39 percent of the amount
of the investment and is claimed over a
seven-year period. In each of the first
three years, the investor receives a
credit equal to five percent of the total
amount paid for the stock or capital
interest at the time of purchase. For the
final four years, the value of the credit
is six percent annually. Investors may
not redeem their investments in CDEs
prior to the conclusion of the seven-year
period without forfeiting any credit
amounts they have received.
The CDFI Fund is responsible for
certifying organizations as CDEs and
administering the competitive allocation
of tax credit authority to CDEs, which it
does through annual allocation rounds.
As part of the award selection process,
CDEs will be required to prepare and
submit an Allocation Application,
which consists of five sections: Business
Strategy; Community Outcomes;
Organization Capacity; Capitalization
Strategy; and Previous Allocations and
Awards.
Current Actions: Extension with
significant changes from currently
approved collection.
Type of Review: Regular.
Affected Public: CDEs applying for
NMTC Allocations.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
201.
Estimated Annual Time per
Respondent: 307.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 61,876 hours.
Requests for Comments: Comments
submitted in response to this notice will
be summarized and/or included in the
request for Office of Management and
Budget approval. All comments will
become a matter of public record and
may be published at www.reginfo.gov.
The CDFI Fund is seeking input on the
NMTC Application. The Application
may be obtained on the NMTC Program
web page of the CDFI Fund’s website at
https://www.cdfifund.gov/requests-forcomments. Revisions to the NMTC
Allocation Application will be
highlighted in yellow.
Comments concerning the
Application are invited on: (a) whether
the collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
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17:19 Feb 22, 2024
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collection of information; (c) ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information to be collected; (d)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on
respondents, including through the use
of technology; (e) estimates of capital or
start-up costs and costs of operation,
maintenance, and purchase of services
required to provide information; and (f)
whether any additional questions or
factors should be considered as part of
the NMTC Application and/or review
process with regards to the Business
Strategy section.
(Authority: 26 U.S.C. 45D; 26 CFR 1.45D–1)
Marcia Sigal,
Acting Director, Community Development
Financial Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. 2024–03707 Filed 2–22–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810–70–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Proposed Renewal;
Comment Request; Renewal Without
Change of Bank Secrecy Act
Regulations Requiring Reports of
Certain Domestic Transactions
Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network (FinCEN), Treasury.
AGENCY:
Notice and request for
comments.
ACTION:
As part of its continuing effort
to reduce paperwork and respondent
burden, FinCEN invites comments on
the proposed renewal, without change,
of an existing information collection
relating to records of certain domestic
transactions. Specifically, if the
Secretary of the Treasury finds that
reasonable grounds exist for concluding
that additional recordkeeping and/or
reporting requirements are necessary to
carry out the purposes of the Bank
Secrecy Act, or to prevent evasions
thereof, the Secretary may issue an
order that imposes certain additional
recordkeeping and reporting
requirements on one or more domestic
financial institutions or nonfinancial
trades or businesses in a geographic
area. These orders are commonly
referred to as geographic targeting
orders (GTOs). This request for
comments is made pursuant to the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA).
SUMMARY:
Written comments are welcome
and must be received on or before April
23, 2024.
DATES:
PO 00000
Frm 00124
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Comments may be
submitted by any of the following
methods:
• Federal E-rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Refer to Docket Number FINCEN–2024–
0007 and Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) control number 1506–
0056.
• Mail: Policy Division, Financial
Crimes Enforcement Network, P.O. Box
39, Vienna, VA 22183. Refer to Docket
Number FINCEN–2024–0007 and OMB
control number 1506–0056.
Please submit comments by one
method only. Comments will be
reviewed consistent with the PRA and
applicable OMB regulations and
guidance. Comments will generally
become a matter of public record. For
this reason, please do not include in
your comments information of a
confidential nature, such as sensitive
personal information or proprietary
information. Given the nature of GTOs
and their law enforcement purposes,
any information that concerns
confidential matters involving specific
GTOs should be marked ‘‘confidential’’
and include the specific name of the
GTO.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
FinCEN’s Regulatory Support Section at
1–800–767–2825, or electronically at
frc@fincen.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ADDRESSES:
I. Statutory and Regulatory Provisions
The legislative framework generally
referred to as the Bank Secrecy Act
(BSA) consists of the Currency and
Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of
1970, as amended by the Uniting and
Strengthening America by Providing
Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept
and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001
(USA PATRIOT Act), Public Law 107–
56 (October 26, 2001), and other
legislation, including the Anti-Money
Laundering Act of 2020 (AML Act).1
The BSA is codified at 12 U.S.C. 1829b,
1951–1960, and 31 U.S.C. 5311–5314
and 5316–5336, and includes notes
thereto, with implementing regulations
at 31 CFR chapter X.
The BSA authorizes the Secretary of
the Treasury (Secretary) to, inter alia,
require financial institutions to keep
records and file reports that are
determined to have a high degree of
usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory
matters, risk assessments or
1 The AML Act was enacted as Division F,
sections 6001–6511, of the William M. (Mac)
Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2021, Public Law 116–283, 134 Stat.
3388 (2021).
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proceedings, or in the conduct of
intelligence or counter-intelligence
activities to protect against international
terrorism, and to implement AML
programs and compliance procedures.2
The authority of the Secretary to
administer the BSA has been delegated
to the Director of FinCEN.3
Congress amended the BSA in 1988 to
give the Secretary the authority to issue
GTOs requiring any domestic financial
institution or group of domestic
financial institutions in a geographic
area to collect certain information
regarding specified transactions, and to
report that information in the manner
and to the extent specified in the GTO.4
Congress subsequently amended the
GTO authority to: (i) permit the issuance
of confidential GTOs; (ii) lengthen the
maximum effective period (unless
renewed) of GTOs from 60 to 180 days;
(iii) cover transactions involving
transfers of funds; and (iv) clarify that
GTOs can be issued upon reasonable
grounds for concluding that additional
requirements are necessary to carry out
the purposes of the BSA or to prevent
evasions of the BSA.5
Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 5326(a), as
amended, if the Secretary finds that
reasonable grounds exist for concluding
that additional recordkeeping and
reporting are necessary to carry out the
purpose of the BSA or to prevent
evasions thereof, the Secretary may
issue a GTO requiring any domestic
financial institution or nonfinancial
trade or business or group of domestic
financial institutions or domestic
nonfinancial trades or businesses in a
geographic area to obtain information
about certain transactions, as described
in the GTO.6
Generally, 31 U.S.C. 5326(a) requires
entities that receive such a GTO to
report, in the manner and to the extent
specified in the GTO, information
concerning any transaction in which
2 Section 358 of the USA PATRIOT Act expanded
the purpose of the BSA by including a reference to
reports and records ‘‘that have a high degree of
usefulness in intelligence or counterintelligence
activities to protect against international terrorism.’’
Section 6101 of the AML Act further expanded the
purpose of the BSA to cover such matters as
preventing money laundering, tracking illicit funds,
assessing risk, and establishing appropriate
frameworks for information sharing.
3 Treasury Order 180–01 (Jan. 14, 2020).
4 31 U.S.C. 5326 was amended by Public Law
100–690, title VI, sec. 6185(c).
5 See Public Law 102–550, title XV, sec. 1514;
Public Law 107–56, sec. 353(d); Public Law 115–
44, sec. 275.
6 The authority set forth in 31 U.S.C. 5326 to
impose reporting and recordkeeping requirements
is self-implementing. Although 31 U.S.C. 5326 does
not mention the need for a prescribing regulation,
a rule corresponding to section 5326 is set forth at
31 CFR 1010.370. Among other things, the rule
defines a geographic area.
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such entity is involved for the payment,
receipt, or transfer of funds (as
described in the GTO). A GTO typically
will include the following terms: (i) the
dollar amount of transactions subject to
the reporting requirement; (ii) the type
of transactions subject to or exempt
from the reporting requirement; (iii) the
appropriate form for reporting and the
method for form submission; (iv) the
start and end dates by which the
transactions specified in the GTO are to
be reported; (v) a point of contact at for
questions; (vi) the amount of time the
reports and records of reports generated
are required to be retained; and (vii) any
other information deemed necessary to
carry out the purpose of the GTO.
Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 5326(d), GTOs
cannot prescribe a reporting period
longer than 180 days, unless the GTO is
renewed pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 5326(a).
Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 5326(a)(2), as
implemented by 31 CFR 1010.410(d),
each entity that receives a GTO must
retain the original or a copy of the
information required to be reported in
the GTO, for the period specified in the
GTO, not to exceed five years.
II. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 7
Title: Reports and Records of Certain
Domestic Transactions (31 U.S.C. 5326;
31 CFR 1010.370 and 1010.410(d)).
OMB Control Number: 1506–0056.
Form Number: FinCEN will specify
the form and method for reporting in the
GTO.
Abstract: FinCEN is issuing this
notice to renew the OMB control
number for regulations permitting the
issuance of orders, commonly referred
to as GTOs, requiring reports and
records of certain domestic transactions.
Affected Public: Businesses or other
for-profit institutions, and non-profit
institutions.
Type of Review: Renewal without
change of a currently approved
information collection.
Frequency: As required.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
709 domestic financial institutions and/
or domestic nonfinancial trades or
businesses.8
Estimated Total Annual Responses:
21,513 responses.9
Estimated Reporting and
Recordkeeping Burden Per Response:
Generally, the information required to
be recorded and reported pursuant to a
7 Public
Law 104–13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).
number of respondents, 709, is the average
for 2021 (619), 2022 (755), and 2023 (754). Note that
FinCEN may issue a GTO to any business in the
United States. Generally, a GTO is issued to a
specific sector or business type.
9 The number of responses, 21,513, is the average
number of responses for 2021 (18,743), 2022
(25,389), and 2023 (20,411).
8 The
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13803
GTO is basic information that a
domestic financial institution or
domestic nonfinancial trade or business
would have access to in the normal
course of doing business, such as
payment, receipt, or transfer of funds
information. The information required
to be reported pursuant to a GTO,
generally, includes the following: (i) the
dollar amount of the transaction; (ii) the
type of transaction; (iii) information
identifying a party to the transaction,
such as name, address, date of birth, and
tax identification number; (iv) the role
of a party in the transaction (i.e.,
originator or beneficiary); and (v) the
name, address, and contact information
for the domestic financial institution or
domestic nonfinancial trade or business.
As noted above, FinCEN will specify
the form and method for reporting.
Responses to GTOs generally are
submitted to FinCEN electronically,
such as through the BSA E-Filing
System. FinCEN has on occasion
directed filers to respond to GTOs by
using existing BSA electronic forms
(such as the forms used to file currency
transaction reports, suspicious activity
reports,10 and Form 8300s), and
completing them in the manner
specified in the relevant GTO.
Because the information to be
reported is readily available to a
domestic financial institution or
nonfinancial trade or business, in 2020
FinCEN estimated that reporting this
information would take 20 minutes on
average.11 Since then, FinCEN has
received additional feedback from the
American Land Title Association,
whose members have submitted a
number of GTO reports, noting that it
takes the Association’s members
approximately 45 minutes to complete a
GTO report. For that reason, FinCEN is
increasing the estimated time to report
GTO information to 45 minutes.
GTO information is filed
electronically, which allows the filer to
save an electronic version of the report
and satisfy the recordkeeping
requirement. Therefore, FinCEN
estimates that the recordkeeping
requirement will take five minutes on
average. In total, FinCEN estimates the
hourly burden of reporting and
recordkeeping for each reportable
transaction under a GTO to be 50
10 When a modified SAR is used for reporting, it
is considered a GTO report and not a SAR that is
filed to comply with the regulations implementing
31 U.S.C. 5318(g).
11 See, FinCEN, Agency Information Collection
Activities; Proposed Renewal; Comment Request;
Renewal Without Change of Bank Secrecy Act
Regulations Requiring Reports of Certain Domestic
Transactions, 85 FR 84104 (Dec. 23, 2020).
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ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
minutes (45 minutes for reporting and
five minutes for recordkeeping).
Estimated Total Annual Reporting
and Recordkeeping Burden: 17,928
hours. The average number of reportable
transactions under GTOs is 21,513
responses. 21,513 responses multiplied
by 50 minutes per response and
converted to hours equals 17,928
hours.12
Estimated Total Annual Reporting
and Recordkeeping Cost: $576,923.04.
(17,928 hours multiplied by $32.18 per
hour 13).
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information
unless the collection of information
displays a valid OMB control number.
Records required to be retained under
the BSA must be retained for five years.
Request for Comments: Comments
submitted in response to this notice will
be summarized and/or included in the
request for OMB approval. Comments
are invited on: (i) whether the
recordkeeping of information is
necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have
practical utility; (ii) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
collection of information; (iii) ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information to be collected; (iv)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on
respondents, including through the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology;
and (v) estimates of capital or start-up
costs and costs of operation,
12 Although the burden is stated as an annual
burden in accordance with the PRA, the estimated
annual burden is not intended to indicate that there
is a GTO in effect throughout a year or in each year.
13 The average hourly wage rate is calculated from
the May 2022 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
median hourly wage for ‘‘43–3099 Financial Clerk.’’
See BLS, Occupational Employment and Wages
Statistics (May 2022), available at https://
www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm. The ratio between
benefits and wages for private industry workers is
$12.19 (hourly benefits)/$29.34 (hourly wages) =
0.42, as of September 2023. The benefit factor is 1
plus the benefit/wages ratio, or 1.42. See BLS,
Employee Costs for Employee Compensation
(September 2023), available at https://www.bls.gov/
ecec/home.htm#:∼:text=Employer%20costs
%20for%20private%20industry,percent%20of%20
total%20compensation%20costs. The May 2022
BLS median hourly wage for ‘‘43–3099 Financial
Clerk’’ is $22.66. ($22.66 × 1.42 = $32.18). The
Financial Clerk average hourly wage is being used
here because there is a great deal of variation across
industries and geographies in who is responsible for
responding to a GTO.
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17:19 Feb 22, 2024
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maintenance, and purchase of services
to provide information.
Andrea M. Gacki,
Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network.
[FR Doc. 2024–03681 Filed 2–22–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810–02–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Notice of OFAC Sanctions Action
Office of Foreign Assets
Control, Treasury.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Department of the
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets
Control (OFAC) is publishing the names
of two individuals that have been
placed on OFAC’s Specially Designated
Nationals and Blocked Persons List
based on OFAC’s determination that one
or more applicable legal criteria were
satisfied. All property and interests in
property subject to U.S. jurisdiction of
these individuals are blocked, and U.S.
persons are generally prohibited from
engaging in transactions with them.
DATES: See Supplementary Information
section for effective date(s).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
OFAC: Bradley T. Smith, Director, tel.:
202–622–2490; Associate Director for
Global Targeting, tel.: 202–622–2420;
Assistant Director for Licensing, tel.:
202–622–2480; Assistant Director for
Regulatory Affairs, tel.: 202–622–4855;
or the Assistant Director for
Compliance, tel.: 202–622–2490.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
Electronic Availability
The Specially Designated Nationals
and Blocked Persons List and additional
information concerning OFAC sanctions
programs are available on OFAC’s
website (https://ofac.treasury.gov/).
Notice of OFAC Action
On February 20, 2024, OFAC
determined that the property and
interests in property subject to U.S.
jurisdiction of the following individuals
are blocked under the relevant sanctions
authorities listed below.
Individuals
1. KONDRATIEV, Ivan Gennadievich
(Cyrillic: RJYLHFNMTD, Bdfy
Utyyflmtdbx) (a.k.a. KONDRATEV,
Ivan; a.k.a. KONDRATYEV, Ivan;
a.k.a. ‘‘@AL3XL7’’; a.k.a. ‘‘@BASSTE
RLORD’’; a.k.a. ‘‘@BASSTERLORD
0170742922’’; a.k.a. ‘‘@SINNER6546’’;
a.k.a. ‘‘@SINNER911’’; a.k.a.
PO 00000
Frm 00126
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
‘‘BASSTERLORD’’; a.k.a. ‘‘EDITOR’’;
a.k.a. ‘‘FISHEYE’’; a.k.a.
‘‘INVESTORLIFE1’’; a.k.a.
‘‘JACKROCK#3337’’; a.k.a.
‘‘SIN998A’’), Novomokovsk, Russia;
DOB 08 Apr 1996; nationality Russia;
Email Address sinner4iter@
gmail.com; Gender Male; Digital
Currency Address—XBT bc1q5jqgm
7nvrhaw2rh2vk0dk8e4gg5g373g
0vz07r; alt. Digital Currency
Address—XBT 32pTjxTNi7snk8sodrg
fmdKao3DEn1nVJM; alt. Digital
Currency Address—XBT 15cRqR3T
XS1JehBGWERuxFE8NhWZzfoeeU;
alt. Digital Currency Address—XBT
1A7SKE2dQtezLktCY8peLsdAtkq
xV9r1dC; alt. Digital Currency
Address—XBT bc1q8ew45w2agdffr
nwp6adt2gqrc9n4mkev9ns29c; alt.
Digital Currency Address—XBT bc1qa
gp0gy58v8hqvw4p2wsphcxg067rrppp
45hexr; alt. Digital Currency
Address—XBT bc1qn6segn8km
4nfdp9vueu6msfjsaxaqgun9h60n9;
alt. Digital Currency Address—XBT
bc1qx9upga7f09tsetqf78wa3qrmcjar58
mkwz6ng6; Digital Currency
Address—ETH 0xf3701f445b6b
dafedbca97d1e477357839e4120d;
Secondary sanctions risk: Ukraine-/
Russia-Related Sanctions Regulations,
31 CFR 589.201; Passport 7019934211
(Russia) (individual) [CYBER2].
Designated pursuant to section
l(a)(ii)(D) of Executive Order 13694 of
April 1, 2015, ‘‘Blocking the Property of
Certain Persons Engaging in Significant
Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities,’’ 80
FR 18077, 3 CFR, 2015 Comp., p. 297,
as amended by Executive Order 13757
of December 28, 2016, ‘‘Taking
Additional Steps to Address the
National Emergency With Respect to
Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled
Activities,’’ 82 FR 1, 3 CFR, 2016
Comp., p. 659 (E.O. 13694, as amended)
for being responsible for or complicit in,
or having engaged in, directly or
indirectly, an activity described in
section 1(a)(ii) of E.O. 13694, as
amended.
2. SUNGATOV, Artur Ravilevich,
Kazan, Tatarstan Republic, Russia;
DOB 16 Jan 1990; POB Kazan, Russia;
nationality Russia; Email Address
tkmegap@gmail.com; alt. Email
Address imailo@ya.ru; alt. Email
Address asungatov@gmail.com; alt.
Email Address morozofkent@
gmail.com; Gender Male; Digital
Currency Address—XBT 18gaXypK
j9M23S2zT9qZfL9iPbLFM372Q5;
Secondary sanctions risk: Ukraine-/
Russia-Related Sanctions Regulations,
31 CFR 589.201; Passport 751412830
(Russia); alt. Passport 9209857353
(Russia) (individual) [CYBER2].
E:\FR\FM\23FEN1.SGM
23FEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 37 (Friday, February 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13802-13804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03681]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal;
Comment Request; Renewal Without Change of Bank Secrecy Act Regulations
Requiring Reports of Certain Domestic Transactions
AGENCY: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Treasury.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and
respondent burden, FinCEN invites comments on the proposed renewal,
without change, of an existing information collection relating to
records of certain domestic transactions. Specifically, if the
Secretary of the Treasury finds that reasonable grounds exist for
concluding that additional recordkeeping and/or reporting requirements
are necessary to carry out the purposes of the Bank Secrecy Act, or to
prevent evasions thereof, the Secretary may issue an order that imposes
certain additional recordkeeping and reporting requirements on one or
more domestic financial institutions or nonfinancial trades or
businesses in a geographic area. These orders are commonly referred to
as geographic targeting orders (GTOs). This request for comments is
made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).
DATES: Written comments are welcome and must be received on or before
April 23, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
Federal E-rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Refer to Docket Number
FINCEN-2024-0007 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control
number 1506-0056.
Mail: Policy Division, Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183. Refer to Docket Number FINCEN-
2024-0007 and OMB control number 1506-0056.
Please submit comments by one method only. Comments will be
reviewed consistent with the PRA and applicable OMB regulations and
guidance. Comments will generally become a matter of public record. For
this reason, please do not include in your comments information of a
confidential nature, such as sensitive personal information or
proprietary information. Given the nature of GTOs and their law
enforcement purposes, any information that concerns confidential
matters involving specific GTOs should be marked ``confidential'' and
include the specific name of the GTO.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FinCEN's Regulatory Support Section at
1-800-767-2825, or electronically at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Statutory and Regulatory Provisions
The legislative framework generally referred to as the Bank Secrecy
Act (BSA) consists of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting
Act of 1970, as amended by the Uniting and Strengthening America by
Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct
Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), Public Law 107-56 (October 26,
2001), and other legislation, including the Anti-Money Laundering Act
of 2020 (AML Act).\1\ The BSA is codified at 12 U.S.C. 1829b, 1951-
1960, and 31 U.S.C. 5311-5314 and 5316-5336, and includes notes
thereto, with implementing regulations at 31 CFR chapter X.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The AML Act was enacted as Division F, sections 6001-6511,
of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Public Law 116-283, 134 Stat. 3388 (2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The BSA authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to,
inter alia, require financial institutions to keep records and file
reports that are determined to have a high degree of usefulness in
criminal, tax, or regulatory matters, risk assessments or
[[Page 13803]]
proceedings, or in the conduct of intelligence or counter-intelligence
activities to protect against international terrorism, and to implement
AML programs and compliance procedures.\2\ The authority of the
Secretary to administer the BSA has been delegated to the Director of
FinCEN.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Section 358 of the USA PATRIOT Act expanded the purpose of
the BSA by including a reference to reports and records ``that have
a high degree of usefulness in intelligence or counterintelligence
activities to protect against international terrorism.'' Section
6101 of the AML Act further expanded the purpose of the BSA to cover
such matters as preventing money laundering, tracking illicit funds,
assessing risk, and establishing appropriate frameworks for
information sharing.
\3\ Treasury Order 180-01 (Jan. 14, 2020).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congress amended the BSA in 1988 to give the Secretary the
authority to issue GTOs requiring any domestic financial institution or
group of domestic financial institutions in a geographic area to
collect certain information regarding specified transactions, and to
report that information in the manner and to the extent specified in
the GTO.\4\ Congress subsequently amended the GTO authority to: (i)
permit the issuance of confidential GTOs; (ii) lengthen the maximum
effective period (unless renewed) of GTOs from 60 to 180 days; (iii)
cover transactions involving transfers of funds; and (iv) clarify that
GTOs can be issued upon reasonable grounds for concluding that
additional requirements are necessary to carry out the purposes of the
BSA or to prevent evasions of the BSA.\5\
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\4\ 31 U.S.C. 5326 was amended by Public Law 100-690, title VI,
sec. 6185(c).
\5\ See Public Law 102-550, title XV, sec. 1514; Public Law 107-
56, sec. 353(d); Public Law 115-44, sec. 275.
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Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 5326(a), as amended, if the Secretary finds
that reasonable grounds exist for concluding that additional
recordkeeping and reporting are necessary to carry out the purpose of
the BSA or to prevent evasions thereof, the Secretary may issue a GTO
requiring any domestic financial institution or nonfinancial trade or
business or group of domestic financial institutions or domestic
nonfinancial trades or businesses in a geographic area to obtain
information about certain transactions, as described in the GTO.\6\
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\6\ The authority set forth in 31 U.S.C. 5326 to impose
reporting and recordkeeping requirements is self-implementing.
Although 31 U.S.C. 5326 does not mention the need for a prescribing
regulation, a rule corresponding to section 5326 is set forth at 31
CFR 1010.370. Among other things, the rule defines a geographic
area.
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Generally, 31 U.S.C. 5326(a) requires entities that receive such a
GTO to report, in the manner and to the extent specified in the GTO,
information concerning any transaction in which such entity is involved
for the payment, receipt, or transfer of funds (as described in the
GTO). A GTO typically will include the following terms: (i) the dollar
amount of transactions subject to the reporting requirement; (ii) the
type of transactions subject to or exempt from the reporting
requirement; (iii) the appropriate form for reporting and the method
for form submission; (iv) the start and end dates by which the
transactions specified in the GTO are to be reported; (v) a point of
contact at for questions; (vi) the amount of time the reports and
records of reports generated are required to be retained; and (vii) any
other information deemed necessary to carry out the purpose of the GTO.
Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 5326(d), GTOs cannot prescribe a reporting period
longer than 180 days, unless the GTO is renewed pursuant to 31 U.S.C.
5326(a).
Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 5326(a)(2), as implemented by 31 CFR
1010.410(d), each entity that receives a GTO must retain the original
or a copy of the information required to be reported in the GTO, for
the period specified in the GTO, not to exceed five years.
II. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 7
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\7\ Public Law 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).
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Title: Reports and Records of Certain Domestic Transactions (31
U.S.C. 5326; 31 CFR 1010.370 and 1010.410(d)).
OMB Control Number: 1506-0056.
Form Number: FinCEN will specify the form and method for reporting
in the GTO.
Abstract: FinCEN is issuing this notice to renew the OMB control
number for regulations permitting the issuance of orders, commonly
referred to as GTOs, requiring reports and records of certain domestic
transactions.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit institutions, and
non-profit institutions.
Type of Review: Renewal without change of a currently approved
information collection.
Frequency: As required.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 709 domestic financial
institutions and/or domestic nonfinancial trades or businesses.\8\
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\8\ The number of respondents, 709, is the average for 2021
(619), 2022 (755), and 2023 (754). Note that FinCEN may issue a GTO
to any business in the United States. Generally, a GTO is issued to
a specific sector or business type.
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Estimated Total Annual Responses: 21,513 responses.\9\
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\9\ The number of responses, 21,513, is the average number of
responses for 2021 (18,743), 2022 (25,389), and 2023 (20,411).
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Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden Per Response:
Generally, the information required to be recorded and reported
pursuant to a GTO is basic information that a domestic financial
institution or domestic nonfinancial trade or business would have
access to in the normal course of doing business, such as payment,
receipt, or transfer of funds information. The information required to
be reported pursuant to a GTO, generally, includes the following: (i)
the dollar amount of the transaction; (ii) the type of transaction;
(iii) information identifying a party to the transaction, such as name,
address, date of birth, and tax identification number; (iv) the role of
a party in the transaction (i.e., originator or beneficiary); and (v)
the name, address, and contact information for the domestic financial
institution or domestic nonfinancial trade or business.
As noted above, FinCEN will specify the form and method for
reporting. Responses to GTOs generally are submitted to FinCEN
electronically, such as through the BSA E-Filing System. FinCEN has on
occasion directed filers to respond to GTOs by using existing BSA
electronic forms (such as the forms used to file currency transaction
reports, suspicious activity reports,\10\ and Form 8300s), and
completing them in the manner specified in the relevant GTO.
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\10\ When a modified SAR is used for reporting, it is considered
a GTO report and not a SAR that is filed to comply with the
regulations implementing 31 U.S.C. 5318(g).
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Because the information to be reported is readily available to a
domestic financial institution or nonfinancial trade or business, in
2020 FinCEN estimated that reporting this information would take 20
minutes on average.\11\ Since then, FinCEN has received additional
feedback from the American Land Title Association, whose members have
submitted a number of GTO reports, noting that it takes the
Association's members approximately 45 minutes to complete a GTO
report. For that reason, FinCEN is increasing the estimated time to
report GTO information to 45 minutes.
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\11\ See, FinCEN, Agency Information Collection Activities;
Proposed Renewal; Comment Request; Renewal Without Change of Bank
Secrecy Act Regulations Requiring Reports of Certain Domestic
Transactions, 85 FR 84104 (Dec. 23, 2020).
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GTO information is filed electronically, which allows the filer to
save an electronic version of the report and satisfy the recordkeeping
requirement. Therefore, FinCEN estimates that the recordkeeping
requirement will take five minutes on average. In total, FinCEN
estimates the hourly burden of reporting and recordkeeping for each
reportable transaction under a GTO to be 50
[[Page 13804]]
minutes (45 minutes for reporting and five minutes for recordkeeping).
Estimated Total Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden: 17,928
hours. The average number of reportable transactions under GTOs is
21,513 responses. 21,513 responses multiplied by 50 minutes per
response and converted to hours equals 17,928 hours.\12\
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\12\ Although the burden is stated as an annual burden in
accordance with the PRA, the estimated annual burden is not intended
to indicate that there is a GTO in effect throughout a year or in
each year.
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Estimated Total Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost:
$576,923.04. (17,928 hours multiplied by $32.18 per hour \13\).
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\13\ The average hourly wage rate is calculated from the May
2022 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) median hourly wage for
``43-3099 Financial Clerk.'' See BLS, Occupational Employment and
Wages Statistics (May 2022), available at https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm. The ratio between benefits and wages for private
industry workers is $12.19 (hourly benefits)/$29.34 (hourly wages) =
0.42, as of September 2023. The benefit factor is 1 plus the
benefit/wages ratio, or 1.42. See BLS, Employee Costs for Employee
Compensation (September 2023), available at https://www.bls.gov/
ecec/home.htm#:~:text=Employer%20costs%20for%20private%20industry,per
cent%20of%20total%20compensation%20costs. The May 2022 BLS median
hourly wage for ``43-3099 Financial Clerk'' is $22.66. ($22.66 x
1.42 = $32.18). The Financial Clerk average hourly wage is being
used here because there is a great deal of variation across
industries and geographies in who is responsible for responding to a
GTO.
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An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required
to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of
information displays a valid OMB control number. Records required to be
retained under the BSA must be retained for five years.
Request for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice
will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval.
Comments are invited on: (i) whether the recordkeeping of information
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information shall have practical utility; (ii)
the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the collection
of information; (iii) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information to be collected; (iv) ways to minimize the burden of
the collection of information on respondents, including through the use
of automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology; and (v) estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of
operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide
information.
Andrea M. Gacki,
Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
[FR Doc. 2024-03681 Filed 2-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-02-P