Which act requires an employee of a financial institution to file a SAR?

• A. USA Patriot Act
• B. Dodd-Frank Act
• C. Bank Secrecy Act
• D. Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is how financial institutions report unusual or potentially illegal activity. The Bank Secrecy Act creates and governs the process of Suspicious Activity Reports, which employees must file when they detect or suspect that a transaction or pattern of activity could involve money laundering, terrorist financing, or other illegal activity. This reporting helps law enforcement identify and investigate financial crime, and the reports are handled confidentially to protect the employees and the process.

The other acts contribute to AML and financial protections in different ways, but they do not establish the requirement to file a SAR. The USA PATRIOT Act strengthens and expands AML measures and information-sharing authorities that support SAR reporting, but the binding requirement to submit a SAR comes from the Bank Secrecy Act itself. The Dodd-Frank Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and similar statutes focus on broader reform, consumer protection, and privacy issues rather than the specific SAR filing obligation. For example, a bank employee who notices suspicious activity such as unusual cash deposits, structuring, or unusual cross-border transfers would file a SAR under the Bank Secrecy Act to alert authorities.