§1960 Safe Harbor with Respect to Keep Open Directives

Summary

If a federal law enforcement agency tells FinCEN it plans to ask a bank to keep a customer account or transaction open, or if a state, Tribal, or local agency makes that request with FinCEN’s agreement, the bank will not be held legally responsible under this law for keeping the account open so long as it follows the request’s limits and time frame. Also, no federal or state agency may take supervisory action just because the bank followed that request. financial institution — an entity covered by section 1953(b) of this title. Agencies may check the request’s validity with the requester. The bank still must file required reports, including suspicious activity reports under 31 U.S.C. 5318(g). The protection does not cover actions taken before the request date or after the request’s termination date. Every agency that sends a keep-open request must give FinCEN a copy and say within 2 business days whether the bank followed the request.