VIDEO: Timeframe for Continuing Activity SAR Filing
In this Compliance Clip (video), Adam discusses the timeframe for filing a continuing activity report. The timeframe can be a little bit complicated but the FAQs from FinCEN clarifies the guidance by providing a timeline of activities and Adam tries to simplify it one step further.
Video Transcript
The following is a transcript of this video.
This Compliance Clip is going to discuss the timeframe for continuing activity SAR filings. The question we have is this: What is the filing timeframe for submitting a continuing activity report? So once a SAR has been filed, then we're going to monitor and if there's additional activity, we're gonna file a continuing activity report. That's what the question is - what is that timeframe?
Our answer, of course, is going to come from a couple of places. It's gonna come from FinCEN’s SAR Activity Review Trends, Tips & Issues #21, as well as SAR Frequently Asked Question number 16, which references this SAR Activity Review Trends, Tips & Issues publication. So they both basically say the same thing.
From Section 4 of SAR Activity Review Trends, Tips & Issues #21, they specifically say this, “Financial institutions with SAR requirements may file SARs for continuing activity after a 90-day review with the filing deadline being 120 days after the date of the previously related SAR filing. Financial institutions may also file SARs on a continuing activity earlier than the 120-day deadline if the institution believes the activity warrants earlier review by law enforcement.” So you don't have to wait the full 120 days. You can do it sooner than that if you believe it is worthy of getting to law enforcement much quicker. So that's what they say.
Now, to explain this, it's a little confusing, there's a couple of different logistics you could think about on how that actually applies. They do a good job of explaining this for us. Here's what they say:
Your identification of suspicious activity and subjects is day zero. So the first time you identify the activity, that is gonna be Day 0. So when you determine you need to file a SAR. Then your deadline for filing that initial SAR is Day 30. So of course once you have identified you need to file a SAR, you have 30 days to file that, and then that starts your, starts your clock. Now that's Day 30.
Then at the end of the 90-day review, that is gonna be Day 120, going back to Day 0. They're doing this a little complicated, but it's 90 days after Day 30, so that's really Day 120, and then the deadline for a continuing activity SAR with subject information is Day 150, which is of course 120 days from the date of the initial SAR filing, Day 30. So that's kind of how they get with that 150 days, but really I like to think of it as 120 days after the SAR filing, because most of us don't wait till Day 30 to file that initial SAR, but then we have 120 days after that initial SAR filing.
Now, if the activity continues, this timeframe will result in three SARS filed over a 12 month period, which of course is the 120-day timeframe. So that's really a four-month period instead of a quarterly basis. It's really a four-month period or a tri-period, I don't know what that would be. It's not quarterly, but it's something else that has three.
That's it for this Compliance Clip.