Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FinCEN is issuing this notice of proposed rulemaking to seek public comments on a proposal to require banks and money service businesses (``MSBs'') to submit reports, keep records, and verify the identity of customers in relation to transactions involving convertible virtual currency (``CVC'') or digital assets with legal tender status (``legal tender digital assets'' or ``LTDA'') held in unhosted wallets (as defined below), or held in wallets hosted in a jurisdiction identified by FinCEN. FinCEN is proposing to adopt these requirements pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act (``BSA''). To effectuate certain of these proposed requirements, FinCEN proposes to prescribe by regulation that CVC and LTDA are ``monetary instruments'' for purposes of the BSA. However, FinCEN is not proposing to modify the regulatory definition of ``monetary instruments'' or otherwise alter existing BSA regulatory requirements applicable to ``monetary instruments'' in FinCEN's regulations, including the existing currency transaction reporting (``CTR'') requirement and the existing transportation of currency or monetary instruments reporting requirement.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, FinCEN invites comments on the proposed renewal, without change, of currently approved information collections found in existing Bank Secrecy Act regulations. Specifically, the regulations covered by this notice and request for comments require certain financial institutions to make and retain records associated with certain types of transactions, including funds transfers, transmittals of funds, and prepaid access transactions, among other types of transactions. Although no changes are proposed to the information collections themselves, this request for comments covers a future expansion of the scope of the annual hourly burden and cost estimates associated with these regulations. This request for comments is made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, FinCEN invites comments on the proposed renewal, without change, of a currently approved information collection found in existing Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regulations. Specifically, the regulations provide procedures for requestors to seek, and for FinCEN to issue, administrative rulings. This request for comments is made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, FinCEN invites comments on the proposed renewal, without change, of a currently approved information collection found in existing Bank Secrecy Act regulations. Specifically, FinCEN invites comment on a renewal, without change, of existing information collection requirements concerning reports of foreign financial accounts and FinCEN Report 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). This request for comments is made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, FinCEN invites comments on the proposed renewal, without change, of a currently approved information collection found in existing Bank Secrecy Act regulations. Specifically, the regulations require banks, brokers or dealers in securities, futures commission merchants, introducing brokers in commodities, and mutual funds to establish due diligence programs that include risk-based, and, where necessary, enhanced, policies, procedures, and controls reasonably designed to detect and report money laundering conducted through or involving, any correspondent accounts established or maintained for foreign financial institutions. The regulations also require that these same financial institutions establish due diligence programs that include policies, procedures, and controls reasonably designed to detect and report money laundering conducted through or involving any private banking accounts established by the financial institutions. The due diligence programs are required to be part of the financial institutions' anti-money laundering programs. Although no changes are proposed to the information collection itself, this request for comments covers a future expansion of the scope of the annual hourly burden and cost estimate associated with these regulations. This request for comments is made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, FinCEN invites comments on the proposed renewal, without change, of currently approved information collections found in existing Bank Secrecy Act regulations requiring money services businesses, mutual funds, insurance companies, dealers in precious metals, precious stones, or jewels, operators of credit card systems, and loan or finance companies to develop and implement written anti- money laundering programs reasonably designed to prevent those financial institutions from being used to facilitate money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities. Although no changes are proposed to the information collections themselves, this request for comments covers a future expansion of the scope of the annual burden and cost estimates associated with these regulations. This request for comments is made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, FinCEN invites comment on a renewal, without change, to information collection requirements finalized on November 8, 2017, imposing a special measure with respect to Bank of Dandong as a financial institution of primary money laundering concern. This request for comments is being made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

This rule repeals regulations concerning Special measures against Banco Delta Asia, which were issued pursuant to Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act (Section 311). Subsequent to the issuance of this rule, FinCEN will reassess whether BDA is presently a financial institution of primary money laundering concern and additional rulemaking is warranted. Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, FinCEN is publishing a withdrawal of the finding regarding BDA, issued September 20, 2005.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, FinCEN invites comments on the proposed renewal, without change, of currently approved information collections relating to reports of suspicious transactions. Under the Bank Secrecy Act regulations, financial institutions are required to report suspicious transactions using FinCEN Report 111 (the suspicious activity report, or SAR). Although no changes are proposed to the information collections themselves, this request for comments covers a proposed updated burden estimate for the information collections. This request for comments is made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

FinCEN publishes this final rule to reflect inflation adjustments to its civil monetary penalties (``CMPs'') as mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (collectively referred to herein as the ``2015 Act''). This rule adjusts certain CMPs within the jurisdiction of FinCEN to the maximum amount required by the 2015 Act.