Department of Treasury's Implementation of the Bank Secrecy Act

GAO testified on the Department of the Treasury's implementation of the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, specifically: (1) the way in which law enforcement agencies administer the act; and (2) financial data the act generates. GAO found that: (1) Treasury increased its reviews of noncompliance and imposed more civil penalties to improve compliance with the act; (2) Treasury needs more information on how federal agencies administer the act and how law enforcement agencies use the data generated from it; (3) two of the law enforcement agencies studied use data generated from the act to disrupt money-laundering and drug trafficking operations; and (4) Treasury needs to clarify inconsistencies between the act and its implementing regulations regarding multiple, structured currency transactions intended to avoid the act's reporting requirements.