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.
How about the Gob’t withdrawing $10 Trillion? Nothing to see here?
WTF!!
Banks are owned by elitists (Rockefeller, Rothschild, Mellon, Morgan, etc.) and they could care less about their accountholders.
There is a law called privacy and the bank must abide! $5000 is not what it use to be!
The IRS does have a $10,000 cash law though
It’s not mandatory to have direct deposit payroll. It’s not against the law to refuse direct deposit and ask for a paper check. My work started direct deposit a few years ago and told all of us 20 employees that there will be no more paper checks and that everyone had to have DD. I looked it up and as of today, I still get a paper check from work. They aren’t happy about it but they, by law have to give you paper if you request it.
I believe that 10,000 IRS law is to make sure it’s taxed correctly…. Withdrawing it after wards is not a crime, and being treated like a criminal IS NOT the American way!
Your correct him, it’s not a law but it’s definitely forced, like you said, they don’t like it when you refuse, actually it’s convenient, but I hate being forced to do anything…. The problem with America today is the fear placed on us, employees fear of losing their jobs go along with these things that have no legal standing, customers go along out of fear…. What’s missing in America is open, blatant outrage…. There’s more of us than there are the so called elite, yet we sit like suckers…
Also Jim, cashing a paper check has gotten impossible, in my case, my bank refused to cash my paper PAY check because I didn’t have that much balance, the bank or was written on even tried to charge me eight dollars… So that’s part of the forcing I’m talking about…. Found out later, the young teller was wrong, they have to cash payroll checks if you have an account, I’m not someone that keeps a balance over what I make weekly in my account… But they’ll charge you a two dollar fee (a discount. Lol… From what they charge non account holders)…. This is why I called banks ‘ crooks’
Uh hell no!