Money Laundering, Terrorism and Financial Institutions, USA Patriot Act Monitor

3/4/04 USA PATRIOT Act Monitor News Release: Texas District Court Protects Bank's SAR-Related Records

In Whitney National Bank v. Karam, Trammell & Ranostaj, (Civil Case No. 02-CV-2250 Memorandum Opinion entered February 18, 2004), Judge Lee Rosenthal of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas has held that the statutory protection for filers of suspicious activity reports (SARs) extends beyond the SAR itself and includes:

communications pertaining to a SAR or its contents
communications preceding the filing of a SAR and preparatory or preliminary to it
communications that follow the filing of a SAR and are explanations of follow-up discussions
oral communications or suspected or possible violations that did not culminate in the filing of a SAR.

The bank could, on the other hand, be required to produce â€œdocuments produced in the ordinary course of business pertaining to the defendants banking activities, transactions, and accounts… The case will be analyzed in a forthcoming issue of the USA PATRIOT Act Monitor.

The USA PATRIOT Act Monitor and the news releases prepared by the Monitor staff are services of the Civic Research Institute, publisher of Money Laundering, Terrorism, and Financial Institutions, by Raymond Banoun and John Ensminger. Contact and subscription information may be obtained at http://www.civicresearchinstitute.com/moneylaundering or by calling the Civic Research Institute at 609-683-4450 (fax: 609-683-7291).