[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 27, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81939-81940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-32961]


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POSTAL SERVICE


Privacy Act of 1974, System of Records

AGENCY: Postal Service.

ACTION: Notice of new system of records.

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SUMMARY: This document publishes notice of a new Privacy Act system of 
records, USPS 050.080, Finance Records-Suspicious Transaction Reports. 
The new system contains personal information about postal customers who 
purchase or receive money orders, wire transfers, or stored value cards 
in a manner considered to be suspicious according to the provisions of 
the Bank Secrecy Act, 31 U.S.C. 5311 et seq.

DATES: Any interested party may submit written comments on the new 
system of records. This system will become effective without further 
notice February 5, 2001 unless comments received on or before this date 
result in a contrary determination.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on this notice should be mailed or 
delivered to Finance Administration/FOIA, United States Postal Service, 
475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, RM 8141, Washington, DC 20260-5202. Copies of 
all written comments will be available at the above address for public 
inspection and photocopying between 8 a.m. and 4:45 p.m., Monday 
through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Henry Gibson (202) 268-4203.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Postal Service will collect and maintain 
information about some of its customers to meet one of the requirements 
of the Federal Bank Secrecy Act. That law is designed to detect and 
deter money laundering. The intent of the law is to require banks and 
money services businesses to obtain, maintain, and/or report to the 
Department of Treasury certain identifying information about 
individuals who purchase financial instruments in a manner that raises 
a good faith suspicion of violation of laws and regulations dealing 
with money laundering pursuant to the provisions of the Bank Secrecy 
Act. The Postal Service is named as an entity that must comply with 
that law (31 U.S.C. 5312(a)(2)(V)). The Postal Service will maintain 
information about a purchaser of money orders, wire transfers, or 
stored value cards if a Postal Service employee knows, or has a good 
faith reason to believe, that the purchaser is involved in activity 
that might be in violation of law or regulation. The Postal Service is 
establishing this group of records as a system of records subject to 
the Privacy Act.
    Computer and printed records are maintained in a secured computer 
complex, with physical, administrative, and software controls. Access 
to areas within the complex where these records are maintained is 
restricted with card keys. Access within the area is further restricted 
to authorized personnel with an official need to know.
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(11), interested persons are invited to 
submit written data, views, or arguments on this notice. A report of 
the following proposed system has been sent to Congress and to the 
Office of Management and Budget for their evaluation.
USPS 050.080

SYSTEM NAME:
    Finance Records-Suspicious Transaction Reports, 050.080

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Finance, Headquarters, and St. Louis BSA Support Group, St. Louis, 
Missouri.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Postal Service customers who purchase money orders, wire transfers, 
or stored value cards in a suspicious manner under the provisions of 
the Bank Secrecy Act, 31 U.S.C. 5311, et seq.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Name, address, Social Security number, alien registration number, 
tax identification number, passport number, date of birth, photo 
identification number and type (e.g., driver's license, passport, 
military ID), bank account number, and amount of transaction are 
collected on PS Form 8105-B. Regulations under the Bank Secrecy Act 
require that customer's identifying information, including the 
customer's Social Security number, be collected.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    31 U.S.C. 5318(g)(1).

PURPOSE(S):
    Under the provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act, the system will be 
used to obtain and maintain identifying information on Postal Service 
customers who purchase money orders, wire transfers, or stored value 
cards in a manner raising a good faith suspicion of money laundering 
and to comply with the reporting requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSE OF SUCH USES:
    General routine use statements a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, and j listed 
in the prefatory statement at the beginning of the Postal Service's 
published system notices apply to this system. Other routine uses 
follow:
    1. Information may be disclosed to the U.S. Department of Treasury, 
the U.S. Justice Department, and federal law enforcement agencies 
pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Bank Secrecy Act, as codified 
in section 5318 of Title 31 of the U.S. Code.
    2. Information from this system may be disclosed to a foreign 
entity under agreement with the Postal Service to distribute money 
orders and transfer funds.

[[Page 81940]]

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM STORAGE:
    Paper and computer storage media.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    By name and other unique identifier.

SAFEGUARDS:
    Printed records and computers containing information within this 
system of records are maintained in a building with controlled access. 
To gain access to the building and access to controlled areas within 
the building, individuals must have authorized badges and/or card keys. 
Computer systems are protected with an installed security software 
package, the use of computer log-on IDs, and operating system controls.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    PS Forms 8105-B will be destroyed either by shredding, burning, or 
other acceptable method of destruction five (5) years from the end of 
the accounting period in which they were created. Related automated 
information will be retained for the same period and purged from the 
system quarterly after the date of creation.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
    Chief Financial Officer, Finance, U.S. Postal Service, 475 L'Enfant 
Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20260-5000.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    While the Privacy Act provides for the release of certain 
information, the portion of the Bank Secrecy Act dealing with 
suspicious activity states a financial institution (in this case the 
Postal Service) may not notify any person involved in the suspicious 
transaction that the transaction has been reported (31 U.S.C. 
5318(g)(2)). Therefore, it would be contrary to the statutory mandates 
concerning collection of this information to provide notification 
thereof. It is the Postal Service's understanding that the ``non-
notification'' clause in the Bank Secrecy Act supercedes the provision 
for the release of information in the Privacy Act. Therefore, this 
system has been exempted from the notification, access, and amendment 
requirements of the Privacy Act by regulation set out as 39 CFR 266.9.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    See Notification Procedure above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    See Notification Procedures above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information resident in this system of records is provided through 
transaction analysis and by postal employees in accordance with the 
provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act.

SYSTEM EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT:
    The Postal Service has established regulations at 39 CFR 266.9 that 
exempt information contained in this system of records from various 
provisions of the Privacy Act in order to conform to the prohibition in 
the Bank Secrecy Act, 31 U.S.C. 5318(g)(2), against notification of the 
individual that a suspicious transaction has been reported.

Stanley F. Mires,
Chief Counsel, Legislative.
[FR Doc. 00-32961 Filed 12-26-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P