§ 1010.520 Information sharing between government agencies and financial institutions.

(a) Definitions. For purposes of this section:

(1) Financial institution means any financial institution described in 31 U.S.C. 5312(a)(2).

(2) Law enforcement agency means a Federal, State, local, or foreign law enforcement agency with criminal investigative authority, provided that in the case of a foreign law enforcement agency, such agency is from a jurisdiction that is a party to a treaty that provides, or in the determination of FinCEN is from a jurisdiction that otherwise allows, law enforcement agencies in the United States reciprocal access to information comparable to that obtained under this section.

(b) Information requests based on credible evidence concerning terrorist activity or money laundering—(1) In general. A law enforcement agency investigating terrorist activity or money laundering may request that FinCEN solicit, on the investigating agency's behalf, certain information from a financial institution or a group of financial institutions. When submitting such a request to FinCEN, the law enforcement agency shall provide FinCEN with a written certification, in such form and manner as FinCEN may prescribe. At a minimum, such certification must: State that each individual, entity, or organization about which the law enforcement agency is seeking information is engaged in, or is reasonably suspected based on credible evidence of engaging in, terrorist activity or money laundering; include enough specific identifiers, such as date of birth, address, and social security number, that would permit a financial institution to differentiate between common or similar names; and identify one person at the agency who can be contacted with any questions relating to its request. Upon receiving the requisite certification from the requesting law enforcement agency, FinCEN may require any financial institution to search its records to determine whether the financial institution maintains or has maintained accounts for, or has engaged in transactions with, any specified individual, entity, or organization.