Leslie R. Caldwell, former Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the DOJ, told a group of bankers while in office that they need to expand upon the ‘suspicious activity reports’ they are required to file on their customers by calling law enforcement directly on anyone withdrawing a large amount of cash, according to investor and financial blogger Simon Black.
Banks are already required to file ‘suspicious activity reports’ on their customers, with threats of fines and even jail time for directors if financial institutions don’t meet quotas.
But as investor and financial blogger Simon Black points out, last week, “A senior official from the Justice Department spoke to a group of bankers about the need for them to rat out their customers to the police.”
Assistant attorney general Leslie Caldwell gave a speech in which he urged banks to “alert law enforcement authorities about the problem” so that police can “seize the funds” or at least “initiate an investigation”.
As Black highlights, according to the handbook for the Federal Financial Institution Examination Council, such suspicious activity includes, “Transactions conducted or attempted by, at, or through the bank (or an affiliate) and aggregating $5,000 or more…”
Black provides a chilling scenario under which an attempt to withdraw your own money from your bank account could end with a home visit from the cops.
“As you pull into your driveway later there’s an unexpected surprise waiting for you: two police officers would like to have a word with you about your intended withdrawal earlier,” writes Black, who accuses banks of already operating as “unpaid government spies”.
“Do you need to withdraw cash to purchase a used car from a private seller? Or perhaps you are pulling out some emergency cash for a loved one,” writes Mac Slavo.
“Either one of these activities are now considered suspicious and if your cash withdrawal amounts to even a few thousand dollars your bank teller is under a legal requirement to alert officials about your suspected criminal activity. And before you argue that you can’t possibly be a suspect because you have done nothing wrong, consider that even being suspected of being a suspect is now enough to land you on a terrorist watchlist in America.”
The war on cash is intensifying as authorities attempt to crack down on one of the few remaining modes of anonymity.
Over in France, Finance Minister Michel Sapin hailed the introduction of measures set to come into force in September which will restrict French citizens from making cash payments over 1,000 euros.
The new regulations, introduced in the name of fighting terrorism, will also see cash deposits of over 10,000 euros during a single month reported to anti-fraud authorities.
Meanwhile, in the UK, HSBC is now interrogating its account holders on how they earn and spend their money as well as restricting large cash withdrawals for customers from £5000 upwards.
Back in America, purchasing Amtrak train tickets with cash is being treated as a suspicious activity as part of a number of behaviors that are “indicative of criminal activity”.
Banks are also making it harder for customers to withdraw and deposit cash, with Chase imposing new capital controls that mandate identification for cash deposits and ban cash being deposited into another person’s account.
I was carded trying to deposit $80 into my account a couple months ago to avoid an overdraft. Seriously? If somebody else wants to put cash into my account, please let them!
Just another in a long list of arbitrary rules and laws the “state” can use against citizens they don’t like. Scary how we’ve become the kind of nation we used to fight against.
DIRTY
Wellif you feel that way sue the U.S. Supreme Court for a reversal of opinion on gay marriage, then sue the U.S. Congress for not overruling the legitimacy of any claim by the Supreme Court that in the instance of gay marriage or any other, they have the right to strip the states of their rights to define marriage becauae a few asked for a ruling on whether or not homosexuals as individual entities had rights under the written laws to pursue a claim of unity, forming a new entity such as traditional marriage laws had provided for. The SCOTUS does not have the written authority to make laws but the Federal Congress chose to see their ruling as law without so much as a vote to strip state’s of their rights as individual entities to define marriage within their own borders. Who is to say that the next “fundamental” right of U.S. citizens to be decided by this kangaroo court, working outside the confines of the Constitution, will be that we have the right to be “told what is best for us; hand over your guns”… or pay your religious tax….or whatever else they, as a minority not even elected to do so, wish to dictate?!
Untrue
Ron Spillers
If you believe its bs take 5 or 10grand out of your bank in cash and see if its bs. But if your money gets seized for some made up reason don’t say you weren’t warned
I believe this is concerning cash last I heard money transfers were done electronicly no physical money has moved into any overseas accounts. And unless whomever was doing your wire transfers is extremely good with computers, then there is still a paper trail.
You misunderstood me. The fact that this exists is bs
Shane, I work at a bank and I promise you that this article is completely bogus.