FinCEN Guidance on Anti-Money Laundering Programs

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (FinCEN) issued guidance for casinos on August 13, in the form of answers to 21 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).  The guidance, available at the FinCEN website, http://www.fincen.gov/statutes_regs/guidance/pdf/FIN-2012-G004.pdf, covers a number of items of interest to AGA members:

• Casinos and card clubs do not have to comply with the rules for money services businesses even if they offer check cashing services for customers.
• FinCEN warns of possible currency transaction report (CTR) violations by those casinos following the “two-strike” system developed in Atlantic City.  Under that system, whenever a casino has to file a CTR with incomplete information, the casino will allow the patron to play on a subsequent day until the patron’s currency activity exceeds $10,000.  If the customer then refuses to supply the required information, he will be banned from the property for six months.  The result, FinCEN cautions, will be the filing of two incomplete CTRs.
• In verifying customer identity, casinos cannot rely on an “Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), but must examine a passport, alien identification card or other official document showing nationality or residence.
• In preparing suspicious activity reports (SARs), or determining whether one should be filed, casinos should consider information about customer play recorded through kiosk or slot ticket redemption reports.
• If a junket representative opens a single front money account to hold the funds of several patrons in his junket, the casino must record identifying information for every patron who has a financial interest in that account.