(a) General.
(1) Every casino shall file with FinCEN,
to the extent and in the manner required by this section, a report
of any suspicious transaction relevant to a possible violation of
law or regulation. A casino may also file with FinCEN, by using the
form specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, or otherwise,
a report of any suspicious transaction that it believes is relevant
to the possible violation of any law or regulation but whose reporting
is not required by this section.
(2) A transaction requires reporting under
the terms of this section if it is conducted or attempted by, at,
or through a casino, and involves or aggregates at least $5,000 in
funds or other assets, and the casino knows, suspects, or has reason
to suspect that the transaction (or a pattern of transactions of which
the transaction is a part):
(i) Involves funds derived from illegal
activity or is intended or conducted in order to hide or disguise
funds or assets derived from illegal activity (including, without
limitation, the ownership, nature, source, location, or control of
such funds or assets) as part of a plan to violate or evade any Federal
law or regulation or to avoid any transaction reporting requirement
under Federal law or regulation;
(ii) Is designed, whether through structuring
or other means, to evade any requirements of this chapter or of any
other regulations promulgated under the Bank Secrecy Act;
(iii) Has no business or
apparent lawful purpose or is not the sort in which the particular
customer would normally be expected to engage, and the casino knows
of no reasonable explanation for the transaction after examining the
available facts, including the background and possible purpose of
the transaction; or
(iv) Involves use of the casino to facilitate criminal activity.
(b) Filing procedures.
(1) What to file. A suspicious transaction shall be reported by completing a Suspicious
Activity Report (“SAR”), and collecting and maintaining supporting
documentation as required by paragraph (d) of this section.
(2) Where to file. The SAR shall be filed with FinCEN in a central
location, to be determined by FinCEN, as indicated in the instructions
to the SAR.
(3) When to file. A SAR shall be filed
no later than 30 calendar days after the date of the initial detection
by the casino of facts that may constitute a basis for filing a SAR
under this section. If no suspect is identified on the date of such
initial detection, a casino may delay filing a SAR for an additional
30 calendar days to identify a suspect, but in no case shall reporting
be delayed more than 60 calendar days after the date of such initial
detection. In situations involving violations that require immediate
attention, such as ongoing money laundering schemes, the casino shall
immediately notify by telephone an appropriate law enforcement authority
in addition to filing timely a SAR. Casinos wishing voluntarily to
report suspicious transactions that may relate to terrorist activity
may call FinCEN’s Financial Institutions Hotline at 1-866-556-3974
in addition to filing timely a SAR if required by this section.
(c) Exceptions. A casino is not required to file a SAR for a robbery or burglary
committed or attempted that is reported to appropriate law enforcement
authorities.
(d) Retention
of records. A casino shall maintain a copy of any SAR filed and
the original or business record equivalent of any supporting documentation
for a period of five years from the date of filing the SAR. Supporting
documentation shall be identified as such and maintained by the casino,
and shall be deemed to have been filed with the SAR. A casino shall
make all supporting documentation available to FinCEN or any Federal,
State, or local law enforcement agency, or any Federal regulatory
authority that examines the casino for compliance with the Bank Secrecy
Act, or any State regulatory authority administering a State law that
requires the casino to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act or otherwise
authorizes the State authority to ensure that the casino complies
with the Bank Secrecy Act, or any tribal regulatory authority administering
a tribal law that requires the casino to comply with the Bank Secrecy
Act or otherwise authorizes the tribal regulatory authority to ensure
that the casino complies with the Bank Secrecy Act, upon request.
(e) Confidentiality of
SARs. A SAR, and any information that would reveal the existence
of a SAR, are confidential and shall not be disclosed except as authorized
in this paragraph (e). For purposes of this paragraph (e) only, a
SAR shall include any suspicious activity report filed with FinCEN
pursuant to any regulation in this chapter.
(1) Prohibition
on disclosures by casinos.
(i) General rule. No casino, and no director, officer, employee,
or agent of any casino, shall disclose a SAR or any information that
would reveal the existence of a SAR. Any casino, and any director,
officer, employee, or agent of any casino that is subpoenaed or otherwise
requested to disclose a SAR or any information that would reveal the
existence of a SAR, shall decline to produce the SAR or such information,
citing this section and 31 U.S.C. 5318(g)(2)(A)(i), and shall notify
FinCEN of any such request and the response thereto.
(ii) Rules
of construction. Provided that no person involved in any reported
suspicious transaction is notified that the transaction has been reported,
this paragraph (e)(1) shall not be construed as prohibiting:
(A) The disclosure
by a casino, or any director, officer, employee, or agent of a casino,
of:
(1) A SAR, or any information
that would reveal the existence of a SAR, to FinCEN or any Federal,
State, or local law enforcement agency, or any Federal regulatory
authority that examines the casino for compliance with the Bank Secrecy
Act, or any State regulatory authority administering a State law that
requires the casino to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act or otherwise
authorizes the State authority to ensure that the casino complies
with the Bank Secrecy Act, or any tribal regulatory authority administering
a tribal law that requires the casino to comply with the Bank Secrecy
Act or otherwise authorizes the tribal regulatory authority to ensure
that casino complies with the Bank Secrecy Act; or
(2) The underlying facts,
transactions, and documents upon which a SAR is based, including but
not limited to, disclosures to another financial institution, or any
director, officer, employee, or agent of a financial institution,
for the preparation of a joint SAR.
(B) The sharing by a casino, or any director,
officer, employee, or agent of the casino, of a SAR, or any information
that would reveal the existence of a SAR, within the casino’s corporate
organizational structure for purposes consistent with title II of
the Bank Secrecy Act as determined by regulation or in guidance.
(2) Prohibition on disclosures by government
authorities. A Federal, State, local, territorial, or Tribal
government authority, or any director, officer, employee, or agent
of any of the foregoing, shall not disclose a SAR, or any information
that would reveal the existence of a SAR, except as necessary to fulfill
official duties consistent with title II of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).
For purposes of this section, “official duties” shall not include
the disclosure of a SAR, or any information that would reveal the
existence of a SAR, in response to a request for disclosure of non-public
information or a request for use in a private legal proceeding, including
a request pursuant to 31 CFR 1.11.
(f) Limitation on liability. A casino, and
any director, officer, employee, or agent of any casino, that makes
a voluntary disclosure of any possible violation of law or regulation
to a government agency or makes a disclosure pursuant to this section
or any other authority, including a disclosure made jointly with another
institution, shall be protected from liability to any person for any
such disclosure, or for failure to provide notice of such disclosure
to any person identified in the disclosure, or both, to the full extent
provided by 31 U.S.C. 5318(g)(3).
(g) Compliance. Casinos shall be examined by
FinCEN or its delegatees for compliance with this section. Failure
to satisfy the requirements of this section may be a violation of
the Bank Secrecy Act and of this chapter.
(h) Applicability date. This section applies
to transactions occurring after March 25, 2003.
