Currency Transaction Report (CTR)
Chapters in this video
- 0:00 The $11,000 duffel bag scenario and mandatory FinCEN filing
- 1:30 Speed camera analogy: automatic at $10,000 cash in one business day
- 2:46 Ivy's $8,000 deposit plus $4,000 withdrawal exam trap
- 3:40 SAR versus CTR thresholds, deadlines, and tipping-off rules
- 4:58 Structuring and smurfing: illegal even with clean money
- 6:15 Rapid-fire exam recap
What this video covers
- Why the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) requires a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) for any cash transaction over $10,000 in a single business day, with zero suspicion needed
- How multiple cash transactions by the same person on the same day are aggregated, and the trap that cash in and cash out are totaled separately, never combined
- What the exact 15-calendar-day filing deadline is for CTRs, and why calendar days matter versus business days
- The complete SAR versus CTR comparison: $5,000 suspicious versus $10,000 cash, 30/60 days versus 15 days, and the tipping-off prohibition for SARs but not CTRs
- Why structuring (also called smurfing) is illegal even when the underlying funds are legitimate, and why structuring triggers a SAR rather than just a CTR
- How the five-year record retention rule applies to both CTRs and SARs
Read the full lesson, free
This video's complete written lesson is free to read in the CertFuel app, no signup wall. The complete SIE course in the app is free too, including adaptive practice questions and spaced-repetition flashcards.