[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 230 (Thursday, December 1, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-29662]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 1, 1994]


_______________________________________________________________________

Part III





Department of the Treasury





_______________________________________________________________________



31 CFR Part 103



Regulations Regarding Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements by 
Casinos; Bank Secrecy Act Amendments; Final Rule
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

31 CFR Part 103

 

Amendments to the Bank Secrecy Act Regulations Regarding 
Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements by Casinos

AGENCY: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Bank Secrecy Act authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury 
to require financial institutions to file reports and keep records that 
the Secretary determines have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, 
tax, and regulatory matters, and to implement anti-money laundering 
programs and compliance procedures and report potentially suspicious 
transactions to the federal government. The authority of the Secretary 
to administer the Bank Secrecy Act has been delegated to the Director 
of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. As a result of a review of 
Treasury's anti-money laundering requirements, this final rule 
substantially modifies changes to the Bank Secrecy Act reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements for casinos that were contained in a Final 
Rule published on March 12, 1993, and withdraws a number of provisions 
contained in that Rule. The withdrawn provisions include the 
requirements that casinos record and verify the identification of any 
customer whose transactions in currency on a gaming day have reached 
$3,000; maintain a list of customers who are known by aliases; obtain 
missing customer information with respect to multiple transactions 
which, when aggregated, exceed $10,000 in currency; and establish a 
chronological imprest system. The withdrawn provisions were scheduled 
to become effective on December 1, 1994.

DATES: Effective Date: The Final Rule is effective December 1, 1994.
    Compliance Date: Mandatory compliance is required by June 1, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Peter G. Djinis, Office of Financial Enforcement, Financial 
Crimes Enforcement Network, Department of the Treasury, room 3210 
Annex, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leonard C. Senia, Compliance 
Specialist, Office of Financial Enforcement, Financial Crimes 
Enforcement Network, (202) 622-0400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Casinos are designated generally as 
``financial institutions'' for purposes of the Bank Secrecy Act 
(``Act''). Under the Act's implementing regulations, casinos are 
subject to particular reporting and recordkeeping requirements, see, 
e.g., 31 CFR sections 103.11(i)(7), 103.22(a)(2) and 103.36.
    On March 12, 1993, Treasury published in the Federal Register, 58 
FR 13538-13550, a Final Rule (the ``March 12, 1993 Rule'') involving 
nineteen amendments to the Bank Secrecy Act regulations affecting 
casinos. The purpose of the amendments was to enhance compliance with 
Bank Secrecy Act requirements, Public Law 91-508 (codified at 12 U.S.C. 
1829b, 12 U.S.C. 1951-1959, and 31 U.S.C. 5311-5329), and to provide 
Bank Secrecy Act examiners with ``audit trails'' to determine the 
adequacy of compliance.
    The original effective date of the March 12, 1993 Rule was 
September 8, 1993. On August 27, 1993, Treasury delayed the effective 
date of the March 12, 1993 Rule until March 1, 1994, to give affected 
casinos an additional six months to comply with the rule (see 58 FR 
45263). On February 25, 1994, Treasury announced a second delay of the 
effective date of the March 12, 1993 Rule, from March 1, 1994, to 
December 1, 1994 (see 59 FR 9088). The second delay permitted Treasury 
to consider the treatment of casinos in the course of an ongoing 
comprehensive review of Treasury's anti-money laundering enforcement 
policies and programs. That review was initiated to set the course for 
implementation of the Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act of 1992 
(Public Law 102-550, 106 Stat. 3672, 4044 (1992), codified as amended 
in scattered sections of Titles 12, 18, 22, 28, 31, and 53, U.S.C.) and 
the legislation that ultimately became the Money Laundering Suppression 
Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-325). Two of the key objectives of the 
Treasury review were the need to balance accurately costs and benefits 
in framing compliance rules and the extent to which emphasis in 
administration of the Bank Secrecy Act should be placed on anti-money 
laundering programs and the reporting of suspicious transactions by 
financial institutions.
    Treasury has determined that it should modify the March 12, 1993 
Rule in light of its intention to promulgate regulations requiring 
financial institutions, including casinos, to report suspicious 
transactions and establish anti-money laundering measures including 
``know your customer'' policies and programs. The modifications should 
reduce the regulatory burden that would otherwise have been imposed on 
the casino industry without unduly diminishing the value of the 
information that casinos are required to maintain or report, and, more 
importantly, without reducing the level of Bank Secrecy Act compliance 
by casinos.
    The modifications should not be misinterpreted. Treasury remains 
concerned about the potential use of casinos to further the commission 
of financial crime and as an avenue for transmission of funds generated 
by such crimes. The casino industry is vulnerable to such use because 
casinos engage in a fast-paced cash intensive business and can provide 
their customers with financial services nearly identical to those 
generally provided by depository institutions. Federal law enforcement 
organizations have documented the use of casinos as surrogate ``banks'' 
for individuals. They have also documented instances of misuse of 
casino facilities to avoid proper identification of customers, for 
example, through submission of false identification by individuals who, 
for a fee, are cashing out casino chips for anonymous ``high rollers''. 
The Internal Revenue Service continues to believe that a high volume of 
untaxed currency passes through casinos.
    A number of the provisions of the March 12, 1993 Rule will become 
effective on December 1, 1994. Equally important, Treasury intends in 
the near future to propose comprehensive ``know your customer'' and 
suspicious transaction reporting requirements that will apply to all 
financial institutions, including casinos. The provisions of the March 
12, 1993 Rule that will become effective on December 1, 1994 include 
the requirement that each casino develop and implement a compliance 
program; the details of that program have been refined to include terms 
that anticipate Treasury's adoption of suspicious transaction reporting 
requirements.
    The compliance program provisions also reflect the already-existing 
protection for financial institutions against liability for ``a 
disclosure of any possible violation of law or regulation'' contained 
in 31 U.S.C. section 5318, as amended by the Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money 
Laundering Act of 1992. Banks and other sectors of the financial 
community have already taken steps voluntarily to identify and report 
such transactions, and Treasury would be interested in observing what 
steps the casino industry could take, even in advance of the suspicious 
transaction reporting regulations, to do the same, that is, to identify 
and report unusual or suspicious transactions that involve possible 
violations of law or regulation.
    In the event that casinos are unable to establish effective ``know 
your customer'' and suspicious transaction reporting programs, Treasury 
will re-evaluate the need for additional casino-specific recordkeeping 
practices, possibly including requirements withdrawn from the March 12, 
1993 Rule at this time.
    A summary of Treasury's determinations with respect to the March 
12, 1993 Rule follows.
    (1) Definition of Casino. The definition of casino remains 
unchanged. Treasury intends to propose rules in the near future which 
would (i) raise the ``gross annual gaming revenue'' threshold to a 
level as high as $15,000,000 for subjecting a casino to the reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act and (ii) 
designate Indian gaming operations as financial institutions subject, 
as are other casinos, to the Bank Secrecy Act under authority granted 
to Treasury by the Money Laundering Suppression Act. It is contemplated 
that such an increase in the threshold would relieve or eliminate many 
Bank Secrecy Act requirements for casinos falling under the threshold. 
Such relief may be reasonable since small casino establishments 
typically have limited stakes gaming or cater to customers who wager in 
such small amounts that very few currency transaction reports are filed 
with the Internal Revenue Service. However, Treasury intends to require 
in a future regulation that these casinos--as well as those above the 
threshold--be required to report suspicious transactions. Also, those 
casinos falling below the threshold would then become subject to 
Section 6050I of the Internal Revenue Code, which mandates the 
reporting of cash in (i.e., cash received) transactions exceeding 
$10,000. Those casinos falling below the threshold would remain subject 
to other appropriate provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act.
    (2) General Currency Reporting Requirements. The provisions of 31 
CFR section 103.22(a)(2) as amended by the March 12, 1993 Rule are 
modified in two ways. First, the de minimis rule of section 
103.22(a)(2)(iv) (which provided a safe harbor, in certain instances, 
from aggregating casino transactions involving less than $500 in 
currency) is removed since it is no longer needed in light of other 
changes made in this Final Rule. Second, Treasury modified the 
knowledge requirement for filing a currency transaction report based 
upon multiple transactions by the same customer. Language clarifying 
the pre-existing requirement that ``cash in'' and ``cash out'' 
transactions be separately aggregated, together with examples of such 
``cash in'' and ``cash out'' transactions, remains. (Amendment #2).
    (3) Additional Recordkeeping Requirements. Treasury has decided to 
withdraw the requirements added by amendatory instructions 4, 5, 6, 7, 
11, 12, 13, 16, 17, and 18 of the March 12, 1993 Rule. Those 
requirements, to a large part, dealt with a number of additional 
recordkeeping procedures for casinos. The withdrawn procedures include 
the requirements that casinos (i) record and verify the identification 
of any customer whose transactions in currency on a gaming day have 
reached $3,000, (ii) maintain a list of customers who are known by 
aliases, (iii) obtain missing customer information with respect to 
multiple transactions which, when aggregated, exceed $10,000 in 
currency, and (iv) establish a chronological imprest system. As 
indicated above, Treasury does not believe it is appropriate or 
necessary, in light of its intention to require the establishment of 
comprehensive ``know your customer'' programs and suspicious 
transaction reporting requirements to impose these additional 
recordkeeping procedures for casinos at this time. (Amendment #3).
    (4) Obtaining and Verifying Customer Identification. The provisions 
of 31 CFR 103.36(a) are unchanged, except for a citation change. Those 
provisions require casinos to obtain and verify customer identification 
when a customer deposits funds or opens an account or establishes a 
line of credit. (Amendment #4.)
    (5) Recording Monetary Instruments. The changes to the March 12, 
1993 Rule necessitate redesignating the requirement that casinos record 
transactions of $3,000 or more involving monetary instruments as 
Section 103.36(b)(9). This record will provide an effective means of 
determining whether or not large transactions have been accounted for 
as currency transactions. (Amendment #5).
    (6) Bank Secrecy Act Compliance Programs for Casinos. The 
requirement that casinos establish Bank Secrecy Act compliance programs 
generally remains unchanged. However, the specific requirement that 
such programs determine the point at which multiple currency 
transactions will be treated as a single transaction (contained in sub-
sub paragraph (B) of 31 CFR 103.54(a)(2)(v)) is removed, and replaced 
by a requirement relating to the occurrence of unusual or suspicious 
transactions. Also, Treasury modified the training requirement to 
include such transactions. The requirement that casinos make and retain 
a copy of their compliance program of the March 12, 1993 Rule, remains, 
but is redesignated as Section 103.36(b)(10). (Amendments #5, #6 and 
#7).
    As discussed in the preamble to the March 12, 1993 Rule, the 
required compliance programs must provide for (i) internal controls to 
assure ongoing compliance with the provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act 
and its implementing regulations, (ii) independent testing for 
compliance, (iii) training of casino personnel in Bank Secrecy Act 
rules and compliance, and (iv) the designation of specific personnel 
responsible for day-to-day compliance. Similar programs have been 
required of banks since 1987. See, e.g., 12 C.F.R. 21.21 and 208.14 and 
Treasury's authority in 31 U.S.C. 5318(h) to require anti-money 
laundering compliance programs generally.
    The provisions relating to Bank Secrecy Act compliance programs 
also make it clear that casinos must ensure use of all available 
information to assemble and verify required customer identifications, 
and to make and retain records required by the Act. In addition, 
casinos which have automated data processing systems shall provide for 
their use to aid in assuring Bank Secrecy Act compliance.
    Casinos need to ensure that their compliance programs address the 
full range of currency transactions cited in 31 CFR 103.22(a)(2) (i) 
and (ii). For example, casino compliance procedures should, as one 
matter, assure that all available information is used to distinguish 
accurately between cash and chips transactions. Treasury is aware that 
casinos do not always distinguish between chip transactions and 
currency transactions at the cage, because chips and currency 
transactions are interchangeable in casinos. As a result, casinos do 
not always create records of certain currency transactions (e.g., chip 
redemptions and currency exchanges), making it easy to misrepresent or 
accidently misidentify recordable or reportable currency transactions 
as non-reportable chip transactions. In addition, casino compliance 
procedures should assure that all available information is used in any 
existing system that identifies currency transactions, including 
information on such records as player rating cards, multiple currency 
transaction logs, etc. Lastly, Treasury expects that casinos will use 
inexpensive and compatible procedures that could improve greatly their 
compliance efforts, such as the recording of the amount of the cash 
buy-in on player rating cards. Treasury will ask its Bank Secrecy Act 
compliance examiners to ascertain whether casinos have established 
effective compliance programs.
    (7) Transactional Imprest System. Treasury has decided to withdraw 
the imprest system requirement reflected in 31 CFR 103.54(b). The 
additional burdens such a system would impose on the casino industry 
are unnecessary at this time in light of the hoped for satisfaction of 
law enforcement needs by other means in this and pending regulations. 
(Amendment #8).
    (8) Special Casino Terms. Other changes necessitate redesignating 
section 103.54(c) as 103.54(b) pertaining to special casino terms 
contained in the March 12, 1993 Rule. Also, Treasury decided to 
withdraw Section 103.54(d), pertaining to ongoing identification 
requirements, as a consequence of the other changes made to the March 
12, 1993 Rule. (Amendment #8).

Administrative Procedure Act

    Because this document merely removes previously published 
regulatory requirements, notice and public comment are unnecessary and 
contrary to the public interest pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B).

Executive Order 12866

    This Final Rule reduces regulatory burdens as contemplated by 
Executive Order 12866 and is not a ``significant'' rule for purposes of 
that Executive Order. It withdraws the transactional imprest system and 
many recordkeeping requirements to which casinos would have been 
subject had the applicable provisions of the March 12, 1993 Rule gone 
into effect. This Final Rule is not anticipated to have an annual 
effect on the economy of $100 million or more and will not affect 
adversely in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, 
productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or 
safety, or state, local or tribal governments or communities. It is not 
inconsistent with, nor does it interfere with actions taken or planned 
by other agencies. Finally, it raises no novel legal or policy issues. 
A cost and benefit analysis, therefore, is not required.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Because no notice of proposed rulemaking is required, the 
provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., do 
not apply.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The collection of information requirements contained in this Final 
Rule has been reviewed and approved previously by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (under OMB control number 1505-0063).

Drafting Information

    The principal author of this document is the Financial Crimes 
Enforcement Network's Office of Financial Enforcement.

List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 103

    Authority delegations (Government agencies), Banks and banking, 
Currency, Foreign banking, Investigations, Law enforcement, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements, Taxes.

Amendment

    For the reasons set forth above in the preamble, the Final Rule 
published in the Federal Register of March 12, 1993 (58 FR 13538-
13550), amending 31 CFR Part 103, is further amended, effective 
December 1, 1994, as set forth below:

PART 103--FINANCIAL RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING OF CURRENCY AND 
FOREIGN TRANSACTIONS

    1. The authority citation for Part 103 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: Pub. L. No. 91-508, Title I, 84 Stat. 1114 (12 U.S.C. 
1829b, 1951-1959); 31 U.S.C. 5311-5329.

    2. Section 103.22 is amended by removing paragraph (a)(2)(iv) and 
revising paragraph (a)(2)(iii) to read as follows:


Sec. 103.22  Reports of currency transactions.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (iii) Multiple currency transactions shall be treated as a single 
transaction if the casino has knowledge that they are by or on behalf 
of any person and result in either cash in or cash out totalling more 
than $10,000 during any gaming day. For purposes of this paragraph 
(a)(2), a casino shall be deemed to have the knowledge described in the 
preceding sentence, if: any sole proprietor, partner, officer, 
director, or employee of the casino, acting within the scope of his or 
her employment, has knowledge that such multiple currency transactions 
have occurred, including knowledge from examining the books, records, 
logs, information retained on magnetic disk, tape or other machine-
readable media, or in any manual system, and similar documents and 
information, which the casino maintains pursuant to any law or 
regulation or within the ordinary course of its business, and which 
contain information that such multiple currency transactions have 
occurred.
* * * * *
    3. Amendatory Instructions 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, and 18 
are withdrawn.


Sec. 103.36  [Amended]

    4. Section 103.36(a) is amended by removing ``103.28(a)'' which 
appears twice in the fourth sentence and adding ``103.28'' in both 
places.
    5. Section 103.36, paragraphs (b)(11) and (b)(12) are redesignated 
as paragraphs (b)(9) and (b)(10).
    6. Section 103.54 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(2)(iii) to 
read as follows:


Sec. 103.54  Special rules for casinos.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (iii) Training of casino personnel, including training in the 
identification of unusual or suspicious transactions, to the extent 
that the reporting of such transactions is hereafter required by this 
part, by other applicable law or regulation, or by the casino's own 
administrative and compliance policies;
* * * * *
    7. Section 103.54 is further amended by revising paragraph 
(a)(2)(v)(B) to read as follows:


Sec. 103.54  Special rules for casinos.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (v) * * *
    (B) When required by this part, the occurrence of usual or 
suspicious transactions; and
* * * * *
    8. Section 103.54 is further amended by removing paragraphs (b) and 
(d) and redesignating paragraph (c) as paragraph (b).

    Dated: November 28, 1994.
Stanley E. Morris,
Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
[FR Doc. 94-29662 Filed 11-29-94; 11:43 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-25-P