The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network today provided tailored exemptive relief for banks related to a geographic targeting order imposing reporting requirements on financial institutions in Hennepin and Ramsey counties in Minnesota.
In January, FinCEN issued an alert urging financial institutions to identify and report alleged fraud associated with federal child nutrition programs in Minnesota, and it released a GTO directing banks and money transmitters in the two counties to report additional information about certain funds transferred outside the U.S.
The relief exempts banks from reporting funds transfers that involve certain categories of highly regulated entities. The exemption was designed to allow banks to focus their resources on transfers that are higher risk for the alleged government benefit frauds targeted by the GTO, according to FinCEN. It also exempts banks from recording or reporting certain information for account holder customers until May 13 — a temporary exemption that applies only to certain transfers and only to a narrow category of information with respect to those transfers, in order to provide banks with additional time to update software and related systems.
All other terms of the GTO remain in effect. The relief does not apply to money transmitters.
