A Currency Transaction Report (CTR) is a form used by banks or other financial institutions for any transaction greater than $10,000. The use of this form is mandatory in most cases whether the bank customer is withdrawing or depositing the funds. The CTR is part of anti-money laundering efforts to ensure that the money isnt being used for illicit or regulated activities. The federal law requiring these reports was passed to safeguard the financial industry from threats posed by money laundering and other financial crime. To comply with this law, financial institutions must obtain personal identification information about the individual conducting the transaction such as a Social Security number as well as a driver’s license or other government-issued document. Banks, government agencies, or public corporations are exempt from needing CTRs when they transact large amounts.
When a transaction involving more than $10,000 in cash is processed, most banks have a system that automatically creates a CTR electronically. Tax and other information about the customer is usually pre-filled by the bank software. CTRs since 1996 include an optional checkbox at the top if the bank employee believes the transaction to be suspicious or fraudulent, commonly called a SAR, or Suspicious Activity Report. A customer is not directly told about the $10,000 threshold unless they initiate the inquiry. A customer may decline to continue the transaction upon being informed about the CTR, but this would require the bank employee to file a SAR. Once a customer presents or asks to withdraw more than $10,000 in currency, the decision to continue the transaction must continue as originally requested and may not be reduced to avoid the filing of a CTR. If a customer reneges on their initial request to deposit or withdraw more than $10,000 in cash, and instead requests the same transaction for $9,999, the bank employee should deny such a request and continue the transaction as originally requested by filing a CTR. This sort of attempt is known as structuring, and is punishable by federal law against both the customer and the bank employee.
