Posted on 03/24/2015 5:34:35 AM PDT by HomerBohn
The Justice Department is ordering bank employees to consider calling the cops on customers who withdraw $5,000 dollars or more, a chilling example of how the war on cash is intensifying.
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.”
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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.
In October 2013, we also reported on how Chase instituted policy changes which banned international wire transfers while restricting cash activity for business customers (both deposits and withdrawals) to a $50,000 limit per statement cycle.
No, it is not unusual down here in the south for someone to carry several thousand in cash as walking around money. Never know when a special deal is gonna come up or a hot card game develop.
I needed some peppers Sunday for a pizza and the closest store to where I was near was a little (immigrant) Indian food store
and unlike the name groceries the little store doesnt accept credit cards for less than $5, and he rang up $1.03 UGGGH
Fortunately he accepted the $1 rather than give me 97 cents back on the next dollar.
Woot! You got that part right. I once saw an old guy pull $3K out of his bib overalls and buy a tractor (right there, like it sitz).
He got a great deal, and spent about %15 of what he normally would have.
I love me some special deals.
/johnny
/johnny
So, you pull out $5K in cash and the cops are waiting?
RICO anyone?
Muslims.
Walgreen has a rewards card which I have one in order to get sale items but I refuse to use it when I buy tobacco.
Nazi Germany actions? Wake up America.
“I just want to spread the money on my bed and roll around naked in it”
LMAO!
But that’ll probably get you a visit from the Health Dept and FDIC kooks.
Home Bank, Morgan County Indiana
Maybe for the little people.
But without cash, what are the politicians going to hide in their freezers in brown bags?
Got news for you, you withdraw 10k or more the fed gets notified, has been that way for years! All they are doing is dropping the amount to trigger the notification.
Bitcoins?
They also have a concept of “structuring” for financial transactions, which means if you have multiple transactions which were separated to avoid going over $5k or $10k in a single transaction, that counts as a single transaction of the total amount. You can’t just take out three withdrawals of $4k each at different times of day or on three consecutive days to avoid the reporting requirements and the annoyance of FedGov intruding on your private, non-criminal behavior.
I think you would be right. They want all your money in the bank when the big haircut comes and its coming.
True that.
Too bad I don’t bank there. I’d draw out every penny!
It’s not greenbacks they want to hoard, it’s the gold & silver they want to buy and squirrel away before the Dollar collapses.
By withdrawing, carrying and depositing it in cash?
$5.40. I'd bend over to pick it up. A pint and a tip more than I had before I bent over!
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