Suspicious activity report
A report to the national financial intelligence unit when a firm knows or suspects that money is linked to crime or terrorism.
A suspicious activity report, or SAR, is filed by the MLRO after considering an internal report. Regimes make it an offence to tip off the subject, and in many places a firm must wait for consent before going ahead with a transaction it has reported.
Supervisors read the quality of internal reporting as a test of the firm’s culture as much as its procedures.
Where the rules use it.
- Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Part 7)The money laundering offences, the regulated-sector duty to report, and the DAML consent regime.United Kingdom · 4 controls
- GFSC Handbook on Countering Financial Crime (AML/CFT/CPF)The Bailiwick's AML/CFT/CPF rules and guidance for financial services businesses and prescribed businesses, issued under the Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) regulations.Guernsey · 8 controls
- JFSC AML/CFT/CPF HandbookHandbook for the prevention and detection of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing under the Money Laundering (Jersey) Order 2008.Jersey · 8 controls
- FATF RecommendationsThe 40 Recommendations — the international standard every national AML/CFT/CPF regime is measured against.Global · 8 controls