One of the most important aspects of BSA/AML compliance is the responsibility it places on regulated financial entities to report suspicious transactions. This responsibility requires an organization to be able to monitor and identify transactions, evaluate them in real time, and flag the ones that are suspicious. In many cases, a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) should be filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

Financial organizations need to build AML compliance systems that assist trained employees to flag suspicious transactions as efficiently as possible. Internal controls and procedures should have the means to recognize clues that a transaction is potentially illegal, and ensure that employees know it. There are a number of factors these controls would monitor, mostly concerning a customer’s behavior. … Continue reading