A
Bank Secrecy Act was passed by the
Congress of the United States in
1970. The term
bank secrecy act is somewhat of a misnomer. The law, and subsequent regulation, requires banks to actually reveal certain transactions, and not keep them secret. These transactions are if people deposit or withdraw more then $10,000 in cash in a day, or buy monatary instruments (money orders, cashiers checks, travelers checks) with more then $3000 cash. If this happens the bank must report certain information about the person doing the transaction, such as address and occupation. This report is called a
currency transaction report[?] (or ctr). If it appears the person is doing something to try and get around the report, the Bank must do the same report, this time titled a "suspicious activity report".