Nominations to a broad-based advisory group on Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) operations, to fill three-year membership terms, were invited in a notice circulated Friday by Treasury’s financial crimes unit.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is inviting the public to submit their nominations of financial institutions (that are subject to BSA), trade groups (that have members subject to BSA), and non-federal regulators or law enforcement agencies for membership on the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group (BSAAG) which was created by a 1992 anti-money laundering law (the Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act).
BSAAG membership is granted only to organizations, and organizational members are required to designate one individual to represent them at plenary meetings. According to FinCEN’s notice, that representative “should be knowledgeable about Bank Secrecy Act requirements and the representative’s organization must be able and willing to devote the necessary personnel time and effort. Examples of expected effort include actively sharing not just anecdotal perspectives, but also quantifiable insights, on BSA requirements and industry trends in BSAAG discussions.”
The organization’s representative must be able to attend biannual plenary meetings in Washington, D.C. Those meetings are generally conducted over one or two days, in May and October, the notice says. Additional BSAAG meetings are held by phone or in person.
FinCEN notes that BSAAG members will not be remunerated for their time, services, or travel. The FinCEN director, who chairs the group, makes all membership decisions and may consider prior years’ applications when making selections, the notice says.
Nominations will be due 30 days following publication of the notice in the Federal Register.