Fact Check: Bank reports aren't proof of Hunter Biden's crimes

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

“Hunter Biden’s committed serious crimes, as you mentioned, 150 suspicious activity reports. Those are the most severe bank violations. This is when the bank notifies the federal government that we’re pretty confident our client has committed a crime. He’s had multiple banks file 150 suspicious activity reports, saying that we believe each instance was another act of a crime. But yet the FBI did nothing about it.”

— Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., in an interview with Maria Bartiromo of Fox News, Oct. 16

If the Republicans win the House in the November elections, Comer is on track to be chair of the House Oversight Committee. In his Fox News interview, Comer signaled that the business dealings of President Biden’s son Hunter and brother James with such countries as China, Russia and Ukraine will be the subject of intense scrutiny in a GOP-led Congress.

-snip-

The Facts

As part of the government’s effort to combat money laundering and terrorist activity, financial institutions are required to file SARs to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), an arm of the Treasury Department. A SAR is supposed to be triggered by a minimum amount of a transfer (generally at least $5,000, or $2,000 for money services businesses) and a suspicion the transfer involved funds derived from an illegal activity.

-snip-

“A financial institution only had to say ‘something doesn’t look right about this’ using the FinCEN guidance,” said James E. Johnson, Treasury undersecretary for enforcement in the late 1990s who oversaw FinCEN. “That is well short of, ‘I think a crime has been committed.’ “

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/fact-check-bank-reports-arent-proof-of-hunter-bidens-crimes/

[Bev54]

1. Wow that is a low amount of transfer to trigger a SAR

In Canada it is (or was) $10,000 and that was years ago when I worked in the Bank.

[Midnight Writer]

2. I filled out dozens of these "suspicious activity reports".

The place I worked at sold money orders and we had to report any purchases over a particular amount. It was routine flagging and as far as I know didn't lead to any follow-up.

Wonder how many red flags have been reported concerning the Trump family?

[unblock]

4. All transactions over $10,000 trigger a currency transaction report

a SAR is a different report. It does require an element if "suspicion", but this can be very weak, subjective, and in many case, just an automated computer check.

[unblock]

3. Indeed, sars are very common for normal activity

This is pretty much assuming someone must be a criminal just because they saw the cops patrolling their neighborhood

A suspicion that a transaction is "structured" to avoid currency transaction reporting requirements is enough.

Any transaction over $10,000 triggers a currency transaction report. Knowingly splitting such a transaction into pieces, each of which is less than $10,000 to avoid this requirement is called "structuring".

That means anyone who makes multiple smaller transfers that add up to $10,000 could trigger a SAR.


We're doing some big renovations on our house. We paid the plumbers in installments. Each one less than $10,000 but a bit over $10,000 total. So I likely triggered a SAR just for doing normal homeowner stuff.

[patphil]

5. If this is the "suspicious activity" that has Republicans all hot & bothered about Hunter Biden,

I can only imagine how many other business men and women who routinely make financial transactions of that magnitude the Republicans are ready to investigate...easily hundreds of thousands of people.

But then, it's not politically advantageous to investigate people who aren't the President's son.
I wonder how many of the Republicans in Congress could qualify for a SAR report.