Key Aspects of the USA PATRIOT ACT with Extraterritorial Reach

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The USA PATRIOT ACT (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act) is a legislation passed by the United States Congress in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The act includes various provisions aimed at combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes. Several aspects of the USA PATRIOT ACT have extraterritorial reach, meaning they extend beyond the borders of the United States.

The statements that best describe key aspects of the USA PATRIOT ACT with extraterritorial reach are:

A. It allows for the US Attorney General to subpoena records from a foreign bank with US correspondent accounts, including those that are located outside the US. This statement is accurate. The USA PATRIOT ACT grants the US Attorney General the authority to issue subpoenas to foreign banks with correspondent accounts in the United States, even if those banks are located outside the US. Correspondent accounts are accounts that foreign banks maintain with US financial institutions to facilitate their access to the US financial system.

C. It allows the Secretary of the Treasury to order a US financial institution (FI) to close a correspondent account when a subpoena has not been responded to by a foreign bank in a timely manner. This statement is also correct. If a foreign bank fails to respond to a subpoena issued by the US Attorney General in a timely manner, the Secretary of the Treasury can order a US financial institution to close the correspondent account maintained by the foreign bank. This provision helps ensure cooperation and compliance from foreign banks in responding to US law enforcement requests.

F. It allows federal banking supervisors to require records of the identity of the owners of a foreign bank from a FI operating in the US. This statement is accurate as well. The USA PATRIOT ACT empowers federal banking supervisors, such as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve, to require US financial institutions operating in the United States to provide records of the identity of the owners of foreign banks. This requirement helps enhance transparency and accountability in the banking system and aids in preventing money laundering and illicit financial activities.

In summary, the key aspects of the USA PATRIOT ACT that have extraterritorial reach include the ability to subpoena records from foreign banks with US correspondent accounts, the authority to close correspondent accounts if foreign banks fail to respond to subpoenas, and the power to require US financial institutions to provide records of the owners of foreign banks. These provisions extend the reach of US law enforcement and regulatory authorities beyond the borders of the United States in order to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes.