Financial Institutions subject to the regulations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) are required to file a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) on a transaction if they know or suspect the transaction involves illegal activities or is intended to evade BSA regulations. Financial institutions who find they are repeatedly filing SARs on a continued activity often find themselves wondering when they can stop filing the SARs on these continued transactions. As a general rule of thumb, the reporting financial institution should file a report on the continued activity at least every 90 days. This reporting will continue even if the financial institution is aware of an open investigation by law enforcement. The reporting should also continue if the financial institution has been contacted by a law enforcement agency that has declined to investigate the continued activity. It is important for financial institutions to remember that data contained in a SAR is reviewed and possibly investigated by a number of law enforcement agencies. Continued reporting of timely and accurate SARs can help combat money laundering, consumer loan fraud, identity theft, credit card fraud and other financial crimes.

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