BANK SECRECY ACT AMENDMENTS.

SEC. 6185. BANK SECRECY ACT AMENDMENTS. (a) Business Similar to Financial Institutions.—Section 5312(a)(2) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking subparagraphs (T) and (U) and inserting the following: “(T) a business engaged in vehicle sales, including automobile, airplane, and boat sales; “(U) persons involved in real estate closings and settlements; “(V) the United States Postal Service; “(W) an agency of the United States Government or of a State or local government carrying out a duty or power of a business described in this paragraph; “(X) any business or agency which engages in any activity which the Secretary of the Treasury determines, by regulation, to be an activity which is similar to, related to, or a 102 STAT. 4355 substitute for any activity in which any business described in this paragraph is authorized to engage; or “(Y) any other business designated by the Secretary whose cash transactions have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory matters.”. (b) Identification Required To Purchase Certain Monetary Instruments of $3,000 or More.—Subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section: “§ 5325. Identification required to purchase certain monetary instruments “(a) In General.—No financial institution may issue or sell a bank check, cashier’s check, traveler’s check, or money order to any individual in connection with a transaction or group of such contemporaneous transactions which involves United States coins or currency (or such other monetary instruments as the Secretary may prescribe) in amounts or denominations of $3,000 or more unless— “(1) the individual has a transaction account with such financial institution and the financial institution— “(A) verifies that fact through a signature card or other information maintained by such institution in connection with the account of such individual; and “(B) records the method of verification in accordance with regulations which the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe; or “(2) the individual furnishes the financial institution with such forms of identification as the Secretary of the Treasury may require in regulations which the Secretary shall prescribe and the financial institution verifies and records such information in accordance with regulations which such Secretary shall prescribe. “(b) Report to Secretary Upon Request.—Any information required to be recorded by any financial institution under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) shall be reported by such institution to the Secretary of the Treasury at the request of such Secretary. “(c) Transaction Account Defined.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘transaction account’ has the meaning given to such term in section 19(b)(1)(C) of the Federal Reserve Act.”. (c) Secretary Authorized to Require Recordkeeping for Domestic Coin and Currency Transactions.—Subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 5325 (as added by subsection (b) of this section) the following new section: “§ 5326. Records of certain domestic coin and currency transactions “(a) In General.—If the Secretary of the Treasury finds, upon the Secretary’s own initiative or at the request of an appropriate Federal or State law enforcement official, that reasonable grounds exist for concluding that additional recordkeeping and reporting requirements are necessary to carry out the purposes of this subtitle and prevent evasions thereof, the Secretary may issue an order requiring any domestic financial institution or group of domestic financial institutions in a geographic area— “(1) to obtain such information as the Secretary may describe in such order concerning— 102 STAT. 4356 “(A) any transaction in which such financial institution is involved for the payment, receipt, or transfer of United States coins or currency (or such other monetary instruments as the Secretary may describe in such order) the total amounts or denominations of which are equal to or greater than an amount which the Secretary may prescribe; and “(B) any other person participating in such transaction; “(2) to maintain a record of such information for such period of time as the Secretary may require; and “(3) to file a report with respect to any transaction described in paragraph (1)(A) in the manner and to the extent specified in the order. “(b) Maximum Effective Period for Order.—No order issued under subsection (a) shall be effective for more than 60 days unless renewed pursuant to the requirements of subsection (a).”. (d) Regulations and Penalties.— (1) Insured banks.—Section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1829b) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: “(j) Civil Penalties.— “(1) Penalty imposed.—Any insured bank and any director, officer, or employee of an insured bank who willfully or through gross negligence violates any regulation prescribed under subsection (b) shall be liable to the United States for a civil penalty of not more than $10,000. “(2) Treatment of continuing violation.—A separate violation of any regulation prescribed under subsection (b) of this section occurs for each day the violation continues and at each office, branch, or place of business at which such violation occurs. “(3) Assessment.—Any penalty imposed under paragraph (1) shall be assessed, mitigated, and collected in the manner provided in subsections (b) and (c) of section 5321 of title 31, United States Code.”. (2) Insured institutions.—Section 411 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1730d) is amended— (A) by striking out “The Secretary” and inserting in lieu thereof “(a) Regulations.—The Secretary”; and (B) by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: “(b) Civil Penalties.— “(1) Penalty imposed.—Any insured institution and any director, officer, or employee of an insured institution who willfully or through gross negligence violates any regulation prescribed under subsection (a) of this section shall be liable to the United States for a civil penalty of not more than $10,000. “(2) Treatment of continuing violation.—A separate violation of any regulation prescribed under subsection (a) of this section occurs for each day the violation continues and at each office, branch, or place of business at which such violation occurs. “(3) Assessment.—Any penalty imposed under paragraph (1) shall be assessed, mitigated, and collected in the manner provided in subsections (b) and (c) of section 5321 of title 31, United States Code.”. (3) Other financial institutions.— 102 STAT. 4357 (A) Institutions subject to recordkeeping requirement.—Section 123(b) of Public Law 91–508 (12 U.S.C. 1953(b)) is amended to read as follows: “(b) Institutions Subject to Recordkeeping Requirements.—The authority of the Secretary of the Treasury under subsection (a) extends to any financial institution (as defined in section 5312(a)(2) of title 31, United States Code), other than any insured bank (as defined in section 3(h) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act) and any insured institution (as defined in section 401(a) of the National Housing Act), and any partner, officer, director, or employee of any such financial institution.”. (B) Civil penalties.—Section 125(a) of Public Law 91–508 (12 U.S.C. 1955(a)) is amended— (i) by striking out “$1,000” and inserting in lieu thereof “$10,000”; (ii) by inserting “or grossly negligent” after “willful”; and “(iii) by inserting “or through gross negligence” after “willfully”. (e) Delegation of Enforcement Power to Postal Service.—Section 5318(a)(1) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting “and the Postal Service” after “appropriate supervising agency”. (f) Clerical Amendment.—The table of sections for chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new items: “5325. Identification required to purchase certain monetary instruments. “5326. Records of certain domestic coin and currency transactions.”. (g) Technical Corrections.— (1) Section 5312(a)(5) of title 31, United States Code, is amended— (A) by inserting a comma after “Puerto Rico”; and (B) by striking the second comma after “Pacific Islands”. (2) The first sentence of section 5321(a)(1) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting “(if any)” after “transaction”.