In your assignment, address the following:
- Who is required to file CMIR Forms?
- Explain the filing requirements.
- Describe when, where, and how the information is reported.
- Explain how the form can be used by law enforcement to detect and investigate domestic non-BSA offenses (not including money laundering).
- Describe at least three ways that a person leaving the country through a border checkpoint or on a commercial airline flight with more than $10,000 could circumvent the CMIR filing requirements.
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Module 4: BSA Forms and Filing Requirements – Individuals and Businesses – Introduction
This Module continues the work done in Module 3 and focuses on the filing requirements for businesses and individuals. As we did in Module 3, we will examine the entities and individuals required to file BSA forms and the forms themselves. Here, we focus on defining those businesses required to report cash transactions and the forms applicable to them. We will then turn our attention to the filing requirements for individuals and discuss when and what forms an individual is required to file.
To begin, I want to note that working with the financial institution forms is equally applicable to the business and individual filing requirements and forms. As I pointed out in Module 3:
“While it is vital for you to understand the BSA statutes and the Treasury Regulations that implement, it is equally important to understand what the forms require and how they are prepared and filed. To do that, it may be helpful for you to start with what the Treasury tells reporting agencies to do in completing and filing the forms. You don’t read the Internal Revenue Code to file your taxes. You have learned that the personal tax return is one in the Form 1040 family and read and follow the instructions on the form itself and in the instruction booklet for that form. Following that same process here – work with the forms themselves — may be a useful way to help you better understand the forms.”
FinCEN requires electronic filing (E-Filing) of certain BSA reports and E-Filing is strongly encouraged for other BSA forms. Types of Forms Supported by BSA E-Filing discussed here are:
- FinCEN Registration of Money Services Business (FinCEN Report 107)
- Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FinCEN Report 114)
- Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business (FinCEN Form 8300)
Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) must be E-Filed. For practical reasons, the Currency and Monetary Instrument Report (CMIR), which is most often completed by individuals upon physically crossing the border into the United States, is not included in the mandate. FinCEN has also made the option electronic filing available for Form 8300, Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business.
While Form 8300 may continue to be filed on paper, filers may choose to electronically file Form 8300 to enjoy the advantages of E-Filing. Note: The BSA form numbers have changed over time as FinCEN has moved to electronic filing.
For purposes of this course, the above-referenced forms and their instructions are included to demonstrate the type of information that is reported by financial institutions, trade or business, and individuals.
Your work in this module will continue the process you started in Module 3, shifting the focus to reports (forms) businesses and individuals are required to file and the types of financial information that must be reported on each form.
It will also further your understanding of the law enforcement perspective and how investigators use the reported financial information. Studying the forms in this Module will also help explain the requirements imposed on businesses and individuals so we can view the BSA requirements from their positions.
