(a) General.
(1) Every housing government sponsored
enterprise 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 housing government
sponsored enterprise may also file with FinCEN 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 this section if it is conducted or attempted
by, at, or through a housing government sponsored enterprise, it involves
or aggregates funds or other assets of at least $5,000, and the housing
government sponsored enterprise 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 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 housing government
sponsored enterprise customer would normally be expected to engage,
and the housing government sponsored enterprise 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 housing government sponsored enterprise to facilitate criminal
activity.
(3) More than one housing government sponsored enterprise may have
an obligation to report the same transaction under this section, and
financial institutions involved in that same transaction may have
separate obligations to report suspicious activity with respect to
that transaction pursuant to other provisions of this chapter. In
those instances, no more than one report is required to be filed by
the housing government sponsored enterprise(s) and any financial institution(s)
involved in the transaction, provided that the report filed contains
all relevant facts, including the name of each housing government
sponsored enterprise or financial institution involved in the transaction,
the report complies with all instructions applicable to joint filings,
and each institution maintains a copy of the report filed, along with
any supporting documentation.
(b) Filing and notification 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 (c) of this section.
(2) Where to file. The SAR shall be filed with FinCEN in accordance
with 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 reporting housing government sponsored
enterprise 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 housing government sponsored enterprise 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.
(4) Mandatory
notification to law enforcement. In situations involving violations
that require immediate attention, such as suspected terrorist
financing or ongoing money laundering schemes, a housing government
sponsored enterprise shall immediately notify by telephone an appropriate
law enforcement authority in addition to filing timely a SAR.
(5) Voluntary notification to FinCEN. Any housing government sponsored
enterprise wishing voluntarily to report suspicious transactions that
may relate to terrorist activity may call FinCEN’s Financial Institutions
Hotline in addition to filing timely a SAR if required by this section.
(c) Retention
of records. A housing government sponsored enterprise shall maintain
a copy of any SAR filed by the housing government sponsored enterprise
or on its behalf (including joint reports), and the original (or business
record equivalent) of any supporting documentation concerning any
SAR that it files (or is filed on its behalf), for a period of five
years from the date of filing the SAR. Supporting documentation shall
be identified as such and maintained by the housing government sponsored
enterprise, and shall be deemed to have been filed with the SAR. A
housing government sponsored enterprise 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 housing government sponsored enterprise for compliance with the
Bank Secrecy Act, upon request.
(d) 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
(d). For purposes of this paragraph (d) only, a SAR shall include
any suspicious activity report filed with FinCEN pursuant to any regulation
in this chapter.
(1) Prohibition
on disclosures by housing government sponsored enterprises.
(i) General rule. No housing government
sponsored enterprise, and no director, officer, employee, or agent
of any housing government sponsored enterprise, shall disclose a SAR
or any information that would reveal the existence of a SAR. Any housing
government sponsored enterprise, and any director, officer, employee,
or agent of any housing government sponsored enterprise 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 (d)(1) shall
not be construed as prohibiting:
(A) The disclosure by a housing
government sponsored enterprise, or any director, officer, employee,
or agent of a housing government sponsored enterprise 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 housing government sponsored enterprise for compliance
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 housing government sponsored enterprise
or a financial institution, or any director, officer, employee, or
agent of a housing government sponsored enterprise or financial institution,
for the preparation of a joint SAR; or
(B) The sharing by a housing government sponsored
enterprise, or any director, officer, employee, or agent of the housing
government sponsored enterprise, of a SAR, or any information that
would reveal the existence of a SAR, within the housing government
sponsored enterprise’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. 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.
(e) Limitation on liability. A housing government
sponsored enterprise, and any director, officer, employee, or agent
of any housing government sponsored enterprise, 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 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).
(f) Compliance. Housing government sponsored enterprises shall be examined by FinCEN
or its delegate 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.
(g) Applicability date. This section is effective
when an anti-money laundering program required by section 1030.210
of this part is required to be implemented.
