[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69822-69824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27359]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal; 
Comment Request; Renewal Without Change of Information Collection 
Requirements in Connection With the Imposition of a Special Measure 
Concerning Commercial Bank of Syria, Including Its Subsidiary, Syrian 
Lebanese Commercial Bank, as a Financial Institution of Primary Money 
Laundering Concern

AGENCY: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (``FinCEN''), U.S. 
Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of a continuing effort to reduce paperwork and 
respondent burden, FinCEN invites comment on a renewal, without change, 
to information collection requirements finalized on March 15, 2006, 
imposing a special measure with respect to Commercial Bank of Syria, 
including its subsidiary, Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank, as a 
financial institution of primary money laundering concern. This request 
for comments is being made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995.

DATES: Written comments are welcome and must be received on or before 
February 18, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Federal E-rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Refer to Docket Number 
FinCEN-2019-0009 and the specific Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
control number 1506-0036.
     Mail: Global Investigations Division, Financial Crimes 
Enforcement Network, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183. Refer to Docket 
Number FinCEN-2019-0009 and OMB control number 1506-0036.
    Please submit comments by one method only. Comments will also be 
incorporated to 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: FinCEN Resource Center at 1-800-767-
2825 or 1-703-905-3591 (not a toll free number) and select option 3 for

[[Page 69823]]

regulatory questions. Email inquiries can be sent to [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, Public Law 107-56 (the 
USA PATRIOT Act). Title III of the USA PATRIOT Act amended the anti-
money laundering (AML) provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), 
codified at 12 U.S.C. 1829b, 12 U.S.C. 1951-1959, and 31 U.S.C. 5311-
5314, 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 (the Secretary) to 
administer the BSA and its implementing regulations has been delegated 
to the Director of FinCEN.\1\
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    \1\ Therefore, references to the authority of the Secretary of 
the Treasury under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act apply equally 
to the Director of FinCEN.
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    Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act (Section 311), codified at 31 
U.S.C. 5318A, grants FinCEN the authority, upon finding that reasonable 
grounds exist for concluding that a foreign jurisdiction, financial 
institution, class of transactions, or type of account is of ``primary 
money laundering concern,'' to require domestic financial institutions 
and financial agencies to take certain ``special measures'' to address 
the primary money laundering concern.
    FinCEN may impose one or more of these special measures in order to 
protect the U.S. financial system from these threats. Special measures 
one through four, codified at 31 U.S.C. 5318A(b)(1)-(b)(4), impose 
additional recordkeeping, information collection, and reporting 
requirements on covered U.S. financial institutions. The fifth special 
measure, codified at 31 U.S.C. 5318A(b)(5), allows FinCEN to impose 
prohibitions or conditions on the opening or maintenance of certain 
correspondent accounts.

b. Overview of the Current Regulatory Provisions Regarding Special 
Measures Concerning Commercial Bank of Syria.

    On March 15, 2006, FinCEN issued a final rule imposing the fifth 
special measure to prohibit covered financial institutions from opening 
or maintaining a correspondent account for, or on behalf of, Commercial 
Bank of Syria.\2\ The rule further requires covered financial 
institutions to apply due diligence to their correspondent accounts 
that is reasonably designed to guard against their indirect use by 
Commercial Bank of Syria. See 31 CFR 1010.653.
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    \2\ References to Commercial Bank of Syria include its Syrian 
Lebanese Commercial Bank, and any other branch, office, or 
subsidiary of Commercial Bank of Syria or Syrian Lebanese Commercial 
Bank. See 71 FR, 13260, No. 50, March 15, 2006.
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Information Collection Under the Fifth Special Measure
    The notification requirement in section 1010.653(b)(2)(i)(A) is 
intended to aid cooperation from correspondent account holders in 
denying Commercial Bank of Syria access to the U.S. financial system. 
The information required to be maintained by section 1010.653(b)(3)(i) 
will be used by federal agencies and certain self-regulatory 
organizations to verify compliance by covered financial institutions 
with the provisions of section 1010.653.

II. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)

    Title: Renewal of Information Collection Requirements in connection 
with the Imposition of a Special Measure concerning Commercial Bank of 
Syria, including its subsidiary Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank, as a 
financial institution of primary money laundering concern.
    OMB Control Number: 1506-0036.
    Abstract: FinCEN is issuing this notice to renew the OMB control 
number for the imposition of a special measure concerning Commercial 
Bank of Syria, including its subsidiary Syrian Lebanese Commercial 
Bank, as a financial institution of primary money laundering concern 
pursuant to the authority contained in 31 U.S.C. 5318A.
    Type of Review: Renewal without change of a currently approved 
collection.
    Affected Public: Businesses and certain not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Frequency: One time notification. See 31 CFR part 
1010.653(b)(2)(i)(A) and 31 CFR part 1010.653(b)(3)(i).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 23,615.\3\
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    \3\ The above Estimated Number of Respondents is based on sum of 
the following numbers:
     5,358 banks [Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Key 
Statistics web page, April 25, 2019];
     5,375 federally-insured credit unions [National Credit 
Union Administration, Quarterly Credit Union Data Summary, December 
31, 2018];
     125 privately-insured credit unions [General 
Accountability Office, PRIVATE DEPOSIT INUSRANCE: Credit Unions 
Largely Complied with Disclosure Rules, but Rules Should Be 
Clarified, March 2017];
     1,130 introducing brokers [National Futures Association 
website, March 31, 2019];
     64 futures commission merchants [National Futures 
Association website, March 31, 2019];
     3,607 securities firms [Financial Industry Regulatory 
Authority website, December 31, 2018]; and,
     7,956 U.S. mutual funds [Investment Company Institute, 
2018 Factbook, 2018].
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    Estimated Time per Respondent: 1 hour.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 23,615 hours.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid 
OMB control number. Records required to be retained under the BSA must 
be retained for five years. Generally, information collected pursuant 
to the BSA is confidential, but may be shared as provided by law with 
regulatory and law enforcement authorities.
    When the final rule was published on March 15, 2006, the number of 
financial institutions affected by the rule was estimated at 5,000. 
FinCEN has since revised the estimated number of affected financial 
institutions upward to account for all domestic financial institutions 
that could potentially maintain correspondent accounts for foreign 
banks, and recognizing that, under the final rule, covered financial 
institutions are required to apply due diligence to their correspondent 
accounts that is reasonably designed to guard against their indirect 
use by Commercial Bank of Syria.
    There are approximately 23,615 such financial institutions doing 
business in the United States. As noted, this revision should not have 
a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities.

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; (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.


[[Page 69824]]


(Authority: Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A))

Jamal El-Hindi,
Deputy Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
[FR Doc. 2019-27359 Filed 12-18-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-02-P