On Dec. 21, 2006, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN") and the federal banking agencies announced a new format for the Suspicious Activity Report by Depository Institutions ("SAR-DI"). The new form can be found at: http://www.fincen.gov/fincen_form111.pdf. Among its changes, the SAR-DI will enable financial institutions to submit joint filings of suspicious activity. This revision is anticipated to reduce the number of duplicate SARs filed for a single suspicious transaction.
The new SAR-DI is effective as of June 30, 2007. FinCEN released the SAR-DI form early so that financial institutions can begin planning for its implementation. On June 30, 2007, financial institutions will have the option of using either the existing or the revised SAR-DI format. The revised format for filing will become mandatory as of Dec. 31, 2007.
