[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 88 (Tuesday, May 7, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19999-20001]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-09244]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal; 
Comment Request; Renewal Without Change of the Requirement for 
Information Sharing Between Government Agencies and Financial 
Institutions

AGENCY: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (``FinCEN''), Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: FinCEN invites comment on the renewal without change of an 
information collection requirement concerning the ``Information Sharing 
Between Government Agencies And Financial Institutions,'' generally 
referred to as the 314(a) Program. This request for comment is being 
made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA'') of 1995.

DATES: Written comments are welcome and must be received on or before 
July 8, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

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     Federal E-rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Refer to Docket Number 
FINCEN-2018-0017 and the specific Office of Management and Budget 
(``OMB'') control number 1506-0049.
     Mail: Policy Division, Financial Crimes Enforcement 
Network, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183. Refer to Docket Number FINCEN-
2018-0017 and OMB control number 1506-0049.
    Please submit comments by one method only. Comments will also be 
incorporated into FinCEN's retrospective regulatory review process, as 
mandated by E.O. 12866 and 13563. All comments submitted in response to 
this notice will become a matter of public record. Therefore, you 
should submit only information that you wish to make publicly 
available.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The FinCEN Resource Center at 800-767-
2825 or electronically at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

A. Statutory Provisions

    On October 26, 2001, the President signed into law the Uniting and 
Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to 
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (``USA PATRIOT Act'' or 
``Act''), Public Law 107-56. Title III of the Act amends the anti-money 
laundering provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act (``BSA''), codified at 12 
U.S.C. 1829b and 1951-1959 and 31 U.S.C. 5311-5314 and 5316-5332, to 
promote the prevention, detection, and prosecution of international 
money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Regulations 
implementing the BSA appear at 31 CFR Chapter X. The authority of the 
Secretary of the Treasury to administer the BSA has been delegated to 
the Director of FinCEN.
    Of the Act's many goals, the facilitation of information sharing 
among governmental entities and financial institutions for the purpose 
of combating terrorism and money laundering is of paramount importance. 
As with many other provisions of the Act, Congress charged the U.S. 
Department of the Treasury with developing regulations to implement 
these information-sharing provisions.

Subsection 314(a) of the Act states in part that:

[t]he Secretary shall . . . adopt regulations to encourage further 
cooperation among financial institutions, their regulatory 
authorities, and law enforcement authorities, with the specific 
purpose of encouraging regulatory authorities and law enforcement 
authorities to share with financial institutions information 
regarding individuals, entities, and organizations engaged in or 
reasonably suspected based on credible evidence of engaging in 
terrorist acts or money laundering activities.

B. Overview of the Current Regulatory Provisions Regarding the 314(a) 
Program

    On September 26, 2002, FinCEN published a final rule implementing 
the authority contained in section 314(a) of the Act.\1\ That rule 
(``the 314(a) rule'') required U.S. financial institutions, upon 
FinCEN's request, to search their records to determine whether they 
have maintained an account or conducted a transaction with a person 
that a Federal law enforcement agency has certified is suspected, based 
on credible evidence, of engaging in terrorist activity or money 
laundering.\2\ The rule was expanded on February 10, 2010, to enable 
certain entities other than Federal law enforcement agencies to benefit 
from 314(a) requests to industry. As amended, the rule also enables 
certain foreign law enforcement agencies, state and local law 
enforcement agencies, as well as FinCEN, on its own behalf and on 
behalf of appropriate components of the Department of the Treasury, to 
initiate 314(a) queries.\3\ Before processing a request, FinCEN 
requires the requesting agency to certify that, in the case of money 
laundering, the matter is significant, and that the requesting agency 
has been unable to locate the information sought through traditional 
methods of investigation and analysis before attempting to use the 
314(a) Program.
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    \1\ Special Information Sharing Procedures to Deter Money 
Laundering and Terrorist Activity, 67 FR 60579 (Sept. 26, 2002).
    \2\ 31 CFR 1010.520.
    \3\ Expansion of Special Information Sharing Procedures To Deter 
Money Laundering and Terrorist Activity, 75 FR 6560 (Feb. 10, 2010).
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    Since its inception, the 314(a) Program has yielded significant 
investigative benefits for law enforcement users in terrorist financing 
and/or significant money laundering cases. Feedback from the requesters 
and illustrations from sample case studies consistently demonstrate how 
useful the program is in enhancing the scope and expanding the universe 
of investigations. In view of the proven success of the 314(a) Program, 
FinCEN seeks to renew without change the 314(a) Program.

II. Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''): \4\
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    \4\ The PRA does not apply to the requirement in section 
1010.520(b)(1) concerning reports by financial institutions in 
response to a request from FinCEN on behalf of a Federal law 
enforcement agency. See 5 CFR 1320.4(a)(1). Therefore, this renewal 
applies only to the use of the 314(a) Program with respect to 
queries initiated by non-Federal law enforcement entities.
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    Title: Information sharing between government agencies and 
financial institutions.
    Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') Control Number: 1506-
0049.
    Form Number: Not applicable.
    Abstract: 31 CFR Chapter X, Information sharing between government 
agencies and financial institutions (31 CFR 1010.520) details the 
requirements of section 314(a) of the USA PATRIOT Act.
    Type of Review: Renewal without change of a currently approved 
collection.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit and non-profit 
organizations.
    Frequency: As required.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 14,643.\5\
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    \5\ On an annual basis, there are approximately 14,643 covered 
financial institutions, consisting of certain commercial banks, 
savings associations, and credit unions, securities broker-dealers, 
future commission merchants, certain trust companies, life insurance 
companies, mutual funds and money services businesses.
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    Estimated Time per Respondent: 42 hours annually.\6\
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    \6\ Estimated cases/subjects per annum subject to the PRA 
include, 10 from FinCEN, 50 from state/local law enforcement, and 30 
from European Union countries approved by treaty, for a total of 90 
requests per annum, with each request containing an average of 7 
subjects (including aliases). Each subject requires 4 minutes to 
research, resulting in (90 x 7 x 4 / 60) = 42 hours per year. For 
the 2016 renewal of this information collection, FinCEN did not 
receive any public comments regarding the estimate of 4 minutes.
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 615,006.\7\
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    \7\ Burden computation is as follows: 42 hours per year per 
respondent times 14,643 respondents (42 x 14,643) = 615,006 hours.
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    The following paragraph applies to all of the collections of 
information covered by this notice:
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of 
information displays a valid OMB control number.
    Request for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice 
will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All 
comments will become a matter of public record. Comments are invited 
on: (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether 
the information shall have practical utility;

[[Page 20001]]

(b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; (d) ways to minimize 
the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including 
through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology; and (e) estimates of capital or start-up costs 
and costs of operation, maintenance and purchase of services to provide 
information.

    Dated: April 25, 2019.
Jamal El-Hindi,
Deputy Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
[FR Doc. 2019-09244 Filed 5-6-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-02-P