[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 7, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5720-5722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-1902]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

[Docket No. OP-1276]


Privacy Act of 1974; Notice of Amendment of System of Records

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Notice; amendment of one system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act, the Board of Governors of 
the Federal Reserve System (Board) is publishing notice of the 
amendment of one system of records entitled Office of Inspector General 
(OIG) Investigative Records (BGFRS/OIG-1). A new routine use is being 
added in order for the OIG to be able to participate in qualitative 
assessment reviews (also known as peer reviews) of investigative 
operations. We invite public comment on this amended system of records.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 9, 2007. This 
system of records will become effective March 19, 2007, without further 
notice, unless comments dictate otherwise.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. OP-1276, 
by any of the following methods:
     Agency Web site: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments. http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include docket 
number in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: 202/452-3819 or 202/452-3102.
     Mail: Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20551.
    All public comments are available from the Board's Web site at 
http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm as 
submitted, except as necessary for technical reasons. Accordingly, your 
comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact 
information. Public comments may also be viewed electronically or in 
paper in Room MP-500 of the Board's Martin Building (20th and C 
Streets, NW.) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurence A. Froehlich, Assistant 
Inspector General for Legal Services, Office of the Inspector General, 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, 
NW., Mail Stop 300, Washington, DC 20551, or (202) 973-5019, or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This publication satisfies the Privacy Act 
requirement that agencies publish an amended system of records notice 
in the Federal Register when there is a revision, change, or addition 
to the system of records. The Board's OIG has decided to amend BGFRS/
OIG-1 to permit disclosure of records for the purpose of qualitative 
assessment reviews. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-296, 
Nov. 25, 2002) requires certain Inspectors General to ``establish an 
external review process for ensuring that adequate internal safeguards 
and management procedures continue to exist within each Office * * *.''
    The Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency (ECIE) and the 
President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) have established 
peer review processes that are designed to provide qualitative 
measurement against Inspector General community standards to ensure 
that adequate internal safeguards and management procedures are 
maintained, to foster high-quality investigations and investigative 
processes, to ensure that the highest level of professionalism is 
maintained, and to promote consistency in investigative standards and 
practices within the Inspector General community. The Board's OIG has 
committed to undergoing qualitative assessment reviews of its 
investigations program. Proposed routine use (7) will allow disclosure 
of information to authorized officials within the ECIE, the PCIE, the 
Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as 
necessary, for the purpose of conducting qualitative assessment reviews 
of the OIG's investigative operations.
    In addition, the Board has made a technical change under ``System 
Manager and Address'' to accurately reflect system management changes.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), a report of this amended 
system of records is being filed with the Chair of the House Committee 
on Homeland Security and Government Reform and Oversight, the Chair of 
the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, and the Office of 
Management and Budget.

SYSTEM NAME:
    OIG Investigative Records.

[[Page 5721]]

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Office of Inspector General, Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System, 1709 New York Avenue NW., Suite 3000, Washington, DC 
20006.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Individuals covered consist of:
    (1) Officers or employees of the Board or other persons involved in 
the Board's programs or operations who are or have been under 
investigation by the Board's Office of Inspector General in order to 
determine whether such officers, employees or other persons have been 
or are engaging in fraud and abuse with respect to the Board's programs 
or operations; and
    (2) Complainants and witnesses where necessary for future 
retrieval.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    The system contains files on individual investigations, including 
investigative reports and related documents generated during the course 
of or subsequent to an investigation. It includes electronic and hard-
copy case-tracking systems, databases containing investigatory 
information, ``Hotline'' telephone logs, and investigator work papers 
and memoranda and letter referrals to management or others.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    5 U.S.C. App. 4(a)(1) and 6(a)(2).

PURPOSES:
    These records are collected, maintained and used by the OIG in its 
inquiries and investigations and reports relating to the administration 
of the Board's programs and operations and to manage the investigatory 
program.

ROUTINE USES:
    Under normal circumstances, no individually identifiable records 
will be provided. However, under those unusual circumstances when 
release of information contained in an individually identifiable record 
is required, proper safeguards will be maintained to protect the 
information collected from unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. 
Subject to this general limitation, the routine uses are as follows:
    1. In the event the information in the system of records indicates 
a violation or potential violation of a criminal or civil law, rule, or 
regulation, the relevant records may be disclosed to the appropriate 
federal, state, or local agency or authority responsible for 
investigating or prosecuting such a violation or for enforcing or 
implementing a statute, rule, or regulation.
    2. The information in the system of records may be disclosed to a 
court, magistrate, or administrative tribunal in the course of 
presenting evidence, including disclosures to counsel or witnesses in 
the course of civil discovery, litigation, or settlement negotiations 
or in connection with criminal proceedings.
    3. The information may be disclosed to a congressional office in 
response to an inquiry made by that office at the request of the 
individual who is the subject of the records.
    4. The information may be disclosed to any source, including a 
federal, state, or local agency maintaining civil, criminal, or other 
relevant enforcement information or other pertinent information, but 
only to the extent necessary for the OIG to obtain information relevant 
to an OIG investigation.
    5. The information maybe disclosed in order to respond to a federal 
agency's request made in connection with the hiring or retention of an 
individual, the issuance of a security clearance, the reporting of an 
investigation of an individual, the letting of a contract or issuance 
of a grant, license, or other benefit by the requesting agency, but 
only to the extent that the information disclosed is necessary and 
relevant to the requesting agency's decision on the matter.
    6. The information may be disclosed to other federal entities, such 
as other federal Offices of Inspector General or the General Accounting 
Office, or to a private party with which the OIG or the Board has 
contracted for the purpose of auditing or reviewing the performance or 
internal management of the OIG's investigatory program, provided the 
record will not be transferred in a form that is individually 
identifiable, and provided further that the entity acknowledges in 
writing that it is required to maintain Privacy Act safeguards for the 
information.
    7. The information may be disclosed to officials charged with the 
responsibility to conduct qualitative assessment reviews of internal 
safeguards and management procedures employed in investigative 
operations. This disclosure category consists of members of the 
Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency (ECIE), the President's 
Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE), and officials and 
administrative staff within their investigative chain of command 
authorized by the ECIE or PCIE to conduct or participate in such 
qualitative assessment reviews.
    In addition to the foregoing routine uses, a record which is 
contained in this system and derived from another Board system of 
records may be disclosed as a routine use as specified in the Federal 
Register notice of the system of records from which the records 
derived.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    These records are maintained in file folders, computer disks, 
electronic media, and reports on each investigation.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    Records are generally indexed by name of person under 
investigation, investigation number, referral number, or investigative 
subject matter.

SAFEGUARDS:
    File folders are maintained in lockable metal file cabinets stored 
in offices that are locked when not in use. Computer disks and 
electronic media are locked in the lockable metal file cabinets with 
their related file folders, and information not so lockable is kept in 
individual offices in locked or passworded computer hardware. Access to 
the information in the cabinets and individual offices is permitted 
only by and to specifically authorized personnel.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    Records in file folders are retained as long as needed and then 
destroyed by shredding. Computer disks are cleared, retired, or 
destroyed when no longer useful. Entries on electronic media are 
deleted or erased when no longer needed.

SYSTEM MANAGER AND ADDRESS:
    Inspector General, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, 20th and C Streets, NW., Mail Stop 300, Washington, DC 20551.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    A person requesting notice as to whether this system of records 
contains information pertaining to him or her should write to the 
Office of Inspector General, Mail Stop 300, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551. Individuals requesting 
their own records must provide their name and address and a notarized 
statement attesting to the individual's identity. Requests submitted on 
behalf of other persons must include their written, notarized 
authorization. Such requests in the form prescribed may also be 
presented in person at the Office of the Inspector General, 1709 New 
York Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20006.

[[Page 5722]]

Simultaneously with requesting notification of inclusion in this system 
of records, the individual may request record access as described in 
the following section, ``Record access procedures.''

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Specific materials in this system have been exempted from Privacy 
Act provisions at 5 U.S.C. 552a(d), regarding access to records. The 
section of this notice titled ``Exemptions claimed for the system'' 
indicates the kinds of material exempted and the reasons for exempting 
them from access. Individuals wishing to request access to non-exempt 
records should follow the procedures described in the ``Notification 
procedure'' section. Requests submitted on behalf of other persons must 
include their written, notarized authorization. If access to such 
information by a subject individual is deemed consistent with the 
purposes for which this system of records has been established, then 
the individual will be notified by the OIG as to the time and place for 
access to the records. The OIG will also notify individuals when access 
is denied.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:
    Individuals requesting amendment or contesting records in this 
system of records should contact the OIG at the address given above, 
reasonably identify the records, specify the information being 
contested, the rationale for the challenge, and supply the information 
requested to be substituted. Such individuals must also comply with the 
Board's Privacy Act regulations on ``Request for correction or 
amendment of record'' (12 CFR 261a.7).

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    The OIG collects information from many sources including the 
subject individuals, employees of the Board and the Federal Reserve 
System, other government employees, witnesses and informants, and 
nongovernmental sources.

SYSTEM(S) EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT:
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), this system of records is exempted 
from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d)(1), (d)(2), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H), and 
(I), and (f) to the extent the system of records consists of 
investigatory material compiled for law enforcement purposes. Pursuant 
to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(5), this system of records is exempted from 5 
U.S.C. 552a(d)(1) to the extent that it consists of investigatory 
material compiled for the purpose of determining suitability, 
eligibility, or qualifications for federal civilian employment or 
federal contracts, the release of which would reveal the identity of a 
source who furnished confidential information to the Government under 
an express promise that the identity of the source would be held in 
confidence. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2), this system of records is 
exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d)(1), (d)(2), (e)(1), (e)(2), and 
(e)(3) to the extent that it consists of information compiled for the 
purpose of criminal investigations.

    By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, February 1, 2007.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. E7-1902 Filed 2-6-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P