'Government' Orders Banks to Call Cops

'Government' Orders Banks to Call Cops if Customers Withdraw $5000 or More from Accounts

May 20, 2015 By Staff Writer

Withdrawing $5,000 or more from your bank account legally may result in a visit from the cops and potentially seizure of your cash.

The war on the American people by the federal government continues to escalate as the Justice Department met with banking leaders recommending their employees call the cops on banking customers who withdraw $5,000 and more from their personal and business accounts.

Even though regulations already call for banks to submit a “Suspicious Activity Report” (SAR) when transactions conducted or attempted by, at, or through the bank (or an affiliate) and aggregating $5,000 or more. . . “ according to the handbook for the Federal Financial Institution Examination Council, that doesn’t seem to be good enough in the age of civil asset forfeiture.

These new regulations are suggesting banks call the cops after perfectly legal cash withdraws simply because they are over an arbitrary amount.  And since the police love stealing cash from citizens without having to charge them with a crime, it is seen as just another step down the path of tyranny.

From the Wall Street Journal: 

The U.S. Justice Department’s criminal head said banks may need to go beyond filing suspicious activity reports when they encounter a risky customer.

“The vast majority of financial institutions file suspicious activity reports when they suspect that an account is connected to nefarious activity,” said assistant attorney general Leslie Caldwell in a speech last Monday, according to prepared remarks.

“But, in appropriate cases, we encourage those institutions to consider whether to take more action: specifically, to alert law enforcement authorities about the problem.”

The remarks indicate that banks may be expected to do more than just file SARs, a responsibility that itself can be expensive and time-consuming.

Some banks already have close relationships with law enforcement, said Kevin Rosenberg, chair of Goldberg Lowenstein & Weatherwax LLP’s government investigation and white collar litigation group. Ms. Caldwell’s remarks “speak to moving forward in a more collaborative way,” said Mr. Rosenberg.

A tip-off from a bank about a suspicious customer could lead law enforcement to seize funds or start an investigation, Ms. Caldwell said.

According to a report from the Intercept back in 2014 “The Obama administration has quietly approved a substantial expansion of the terrorist watch list system, authorizing a secret process that requires neither “concrete facts” nor “irrefutable evidence” to designate an American or foreigner as a terrorist, according to a key government document obtained by The Intercept.”

This expansion of the terror watch list combined with the new banking regulations and illegal civil asset forfeitures combines for a trifecta of assaults on your rights.  And not to sound paranoid, but if you’re reading this, you are probably on one list or another.