SAR

Suspicious Activity Report

A document that financial institutions, such as banks, credit unions, and money services businesses, must file with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) when they detect suspicious or potentially illegal activity related to money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, or other financial crimes.

Financial institutions are required to file a SAR when they observe transactions or patterns of transactions that:

1. Involve funds derived from illegal activities or are intended to hide or disguise funds from illegal activities.
2. Are designed to evade Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) requirements, such as currency transaction reporting.
3. Appear to serve no legitimate business or lawful purpose, or are not the type of transactions that the particular customer would normally be expected to engage in.
4. Involve the use of the financial institution to facilitate criminal activity.

SARs are crucial in helping law enforcement agencies detect and investigate financial crimes. The information in SARs can help identify trends, patterns, and networks of criminal activity, and can provide valuable leads for investigations.

Financial institutions are required to file SARs within 30 days of detecting suspicious activity, and they must maintain the confidentiality of the SAR and any information that would reveal its existence. Failure to file an SAR when required or to maintain its confidentiality can result in significant penalties for the financial institution.

The SAR filing threshold varies depending on the type of institution and the nature of the suspicious activity. Still, generally, financial institutions must file a SAR for transactions involving $5,000 or more that meet the suspicious activity criteria.

• Abbreviation: SAR