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Issue of Interest: Money Laundering and USA Patriot Act

ABA Media Contact: Jonathan Snowling
(202) 663-5468                                                             
E-mail: jsnowlin@aba.com                                               Last update: Sept. 2, 2009

Banks are subject to strict anti-money laundering laws, including the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, which created the record keeping and reporting requirement.  It is a bank's responsibility to report all suspicious activity to law enforcement or be subject to fines of up to $1 million a day. 

Bankers are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of their customers and the security of their data. If requested by law enforcement for customer information, banks will not release any information unless they have a subpoena or search warrant.

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