Back in 2000 a friend of mine was paid a visit by the feds. It seems that someone was suspicious of the sudden 30,000 dollars he put into the bank.
That was before the Patriot act.
Transactions of $10,000.00 or more have been tracked by the Fed for at least 20 years. I am not sure of the legislation that allowed for this; but I know from friends in the banking industry that this has existed for quite a while.
" It seems that someone was suspicious of the sudden 30,000 dollars he put into the bank. "
that is not surprising, over 10k will get a form sent to the IRS, so depending on the variables they might deem it worth interest. I am not defending, just noting that large cash deposits are a good way to get a form letter or a visit if it is out of character for the party involved.
Anything over $9,999.99 is automatically flagged.
Even before the Patriot Act, banks were required to report any transactions of $10,000 or more - deposit or withdrawal.