The U.S.A. PATRIOT Act

Introduced on October 26, 2001, this “post 9/11” law provides the U.S. government with the power to intercept and obstruct terrorism, particularly on the financial front. On April 30, 2003, the Treasury published its final rule (Section 326 of the Act) requiring financial institutions to implement reasonable procedures to:

• Verify the identity of any person opening an account at the financial institution;
• Maintain records of the information used to verify the person's identity; and
• Determine whether the person appears on any list of known or suspected terrorists or terrorist organizations.

CRSTL's USA PATRIOT Act Section 326 databases helps determine whether your company meets federal requirements designed to curb money laundering and terrorist financing by ensuring that your financial institution's Customer Identification Program (CIP) is in compliance with the requirements of this section of the Act. Designed to be used by compliance officers, broker-dealers, attorneys, directors, board members, external audit teams or any other stakeholders, it allows your organization to verify that your CIP matches each requirement of Section 326.

Used in conjunction with CRSTL’s Compliance Positioning System™, this database:

• Strengthens your company's anti-money laundering program;
• Educates/trains employees and board members;
• Helps board members to personally verify and understand the CIP;
• Assists auditors or legal representatives charged with reviewing an institution's CIP; and
• Reviews your CIP to ensure it meets your standards and those of the Act.