2018-19654. Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal; Comment Request; Renewal Without Change of the Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments

AGENCY:

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), U.S. Department of the Treasury.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

FinCEN invites comment on the renewal of an information collection requirement concerning the Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments (“CMIR”). This request for comment is being made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

Written comments are welcome and must be received on or before November 13, 2018.

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-2018-0012 and the specific Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) control number 1506-0014.
• Mail: Policy Division, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183. Refer to Docket Number FINCEN-2018-0012 and OMB control number 1506-0014.

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:

The FinCEN Resource Center at 800-767-2825 or electronically at [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), Titles I and II of Public Law 91-508, as amended, codified at 12 U.S.C. 1829(b), 12 U.S.C. 1951-1959, and 31 U.S.C. et seq., authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, among other things, to require financial institutions to keep records and file reports that are determined to have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, and regulatory matters or in the conduct of intelligence or counter-intelligence activities to protect against international terrorism, and to implement counter-money laundering programs and compliance procedures.^[1] Title III of the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, Public Law 107-56, included certain amendments to the anti-money laundering provisions of Title II of the BSA, 31 U.S.C. 5311 et seq., which are intended to aid in the prevention, detection, and prosecution of international money laundering and terrorist financing.

Regulations implementing Title II of the BSA appear at 31 CFR chapter X. The authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to administer Title II of the BSA has been delegated to the Director of FinCEN. The information collected and retained under the regulation addressed in this notice assist Federal, state, and local law enforcement as well as regulatory authorities in the identification, investigation and prosecution of money laundering and other matters.

In accordance with the requirements of the PRA and its implementing regulations, the following information is presented concerning the information collection below.

Title: Report of Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments. (31 CFR 1010.340.)

OMB Control Number: 1506-0014.

Form Number: FinCEN Form 105, Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments. A copy of the form may be obtained from the FinCEN website at https://www.fincen.gov/​sites/​default/​files/​shared/​fin105_​cmir.pdf.

Abstract: Pursuant to the BSA, the requirement of 31 U.S.C. 5316(a) has been implemented through a regulation promulgated at 31 CFR 1010.340 and through the instructions for the CMIR as follows:

(1) Each person who physically transports, mails, or ships, or causes to be physically transported, mailed, or shipped currency or other monetary instruments in an aggregate amount exceeding $10,000 at one time from the United States to any place outside the United States or into the United States from any place outside the United States, and

(2) Each person who receives in the United States currency or other monetary instruments in an aggregate amount exceeding $10,000 at one time which have been transported, mailed, or shipped to the person from any place outside the United States.

A transfer of funds through normal banking procedures, which does not involve the physical transportation of currency or monetary instruments, is not required to be reported on the CMIR.

Information collected on the CMIR is made available, in accordance with strict safeguards, to appropriate criminal law enforcement and regulatory personnel in the official performance of their duties. The information collected is of use in investigations involving international and domestic money laundering, tax evasion, fraud, and other financial crimes.

Current Actions: Renewal without change to the existing regulations.

Type of Review: Renewal without change of a currently approved information collection.

Affected Public: Individuals, business or other for-profit institutions, and not-for-profit institutions.

Frequency: As required.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 280,000.^[2]

Estimated Burden per Respondent: 30 minutes.^[3]

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 140,000 hours.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of information 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.

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.

Jamal El-Hindi,

Deputy Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Footnotes

1.  Language expanding the scope of the BSA to intelligence or counter-intelligence activities to protect against international terrorism was added by Section 358 of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, Public Law 107-56.

2.  DHS indicates that different numbers of CMIRs are filed each year. In 2014, approximately 235,000 CMIRs were filed, the highest number of filings between 2012 and 2017. In addition, the number of filings display an upward trend.

3.  During the last information collection renewal, FinCEN did not receive any comments suggesting or requesting a different estimated burden.