Leslie R. Caldwell, former Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the DOJ, told a group of bankers while in office that they need to expand upon the ‘suspicious activity reports’ they are required to file on their customers by calling law enforcement directly on anyone withdrawing a large amount of cash, according to investor and financial blogger Simon Black.
Banks are already required to file ‘suspicious activity reports’ on their customers, with threats of fines and even jail time for directors if financial institutions don’t meet quotas.
But as investor and financial blogger Simon Black points out, last week, “A senior official from the Justice Department spoke to a group of bankers about the need for them to rat out their customers to the police.”
Assistant attorney general Leslie Caldwell gave a speech in which he urged banks to “alert law enforcement authorities about the problem” so that police can “seize the funds” or at least “initiate an investigation”.
As Black highlights, according to the handbook for the Federal Financial Institution Examination Council, such suspicious activity includes, “Transactions conducted or attempted by, at, or through the bank (or an affiliate) and aggregating $5,000 or more…”
Black provides a chilling scenario under which an attempt to withdraw your own money from your bank account could end with a home visit from the cops.
“As you pull into your driveway later there’s an unexpected surprise waiting for you: two police officers would like to have a word with you about your intended withdrawal earlier,” writes Black, who accuses banks of already operating as “unpaid government spies”.
“Do you need to withdraw cash to purchase a used car from a private seller? Or perhaps you are pulling out some emergency cash for a loved one,” writes Mac Slavo.
“Either one of these activities are now considered suspicious and if your cash withdrawal amounts to even a few thousand dollars your bank teller is under a legal requirement to alert officials about your suspected criminal activity. And before you argue that you can’t possibly be a suspect because you have done nothing wrong, consider that even being suspected of being a suspect is now enough to land you on a terrorist watchlist in America.”
The war on cash is intensifying as authorities attempt to crack down on one of the few remaining modes of anonymity.
Over in France, Finance Minister Michel Sapin hailed the introduction of measures set to come into force in September which will restrict French citizens from making cash payments over 1,000 euros.
The new regulations, introduced in the name of fighting terrorism, will also see cash deposits of over 10,000 euros during a single month reported to anti-fraud authorities.
Meanwhile, in the UK, HSBC is now interrogating its account holders on how they earn and spend their money as well as restricting large cash withdrawals for customers from £5000 upwards.
Back in America, purchasing Amtrak train tickets with cash is being treated as a suspicious activity as part of a number of behaviors that are “indicative of criminal activity”.
Banks are also making it harder for customers to withdraw and deposit cash, with Chase imposing new capital controls that mandate identification for cash deposits and ban cash being deposited into another person’s account.
And with that fantastic interest rates they give to use our money is why I keep mine else where
When I retired I owned 7 homes. Not needing the headachs any longer decided to sell off 6 of them. When I moved to my retirement home I called the bank and told them I was closing out my account and leaving. I had to give them a 4 business day notice to withdraw over a hundred K in cash. I had no problem with that and they had no problem giving me my money. No one was called, I got no visits from anyone. I was even allowed to carry my conceal weapon into the bank as long as it was not visible to other patrons. Oh yea, I lived in a small town using a local bank. Only the big banks will follow through with this b******t plan that was named Chokepoint by the government. Thank OBAMA!
It’s nobody’s business if I want to take my own money…that’s ridiculous…
F**k the banks I’ll keep my cash to myself!
The police do not have time for this$#%&!@* Call the fbi. They investigate all bank stuff
I really want to know why it’s any of their business to know that. It seems every law abiding citizen is now a drug dealer and a criminal when they with draw their own money.
And did they notify us when Obamba the dumb$#%&!@*moron and his buddies handed cash to Iran in the middle of the night in the 100 of millions in hard cold cash?
How about politicians
What the? Government get the he’ll out of AS OUR LIVES NOW. You ARE destroying our lives and OUR COUNTRY
does anyone still think that they are “free”?