A law enforcement agent calls a bank anti-money laundering investigator for supporting information about a suspicious transaction report that was filed the previous month. How should the investigator respond?

Financial institutions must have a centralized process for managing law enforcement inquiries to ensure consistency, proper verification, and adherence to legal requirements. The anti-money laundering investigator, upon receiving a direct call, should not act independently. The correct procedure is to refer the agent to the designated single point of contact, typically the compliance officer or a specialized liaison unit. This allows the institution to formally log the request, verify the agent's identity and authority, and determine the appropriate legal basis for sharing information, thereby protecting customer confidentiality and the integrity of the investigation.

B. Sending information to an unverified address based on a phone call poses a significant security risk and potential breach of confidentiality.
C. Sharing sensitive information verbally over the phone is insecure, as the agent's identity cannot be reliably verified, and it creates no official record.
D. The investigator is not typically authorized to make legal determinations. The compliance officer must assess the request and decide if a warrant or other legal process is required.

1. ACAMS CAMS6 Study Guide (6th ed.). Chapter 4, Section 4.4, "Responding to Law Enforcement Investigations." The guide emphasizes that financial institutions should designate a senior officer or a specific department (e.g., the compliance officer) to be the central point of contact for all law enforcement inquiries. This ensures that requests are properly vetted, logged, and handled in accordance with the institution's policies and legal obligations.

2. Financial Action Task Force (FATF). FATF Recommendations (Updated October 2021). Recommendation 31, "Powers of law enforcement and investigative authorities," and its Interpretive Note. These sections outline the framework for authorities to obtain information from financial institutions. The process implies a formal, verifiable channel of communication, not ad-hoc phone calls to individual investigators. The institution's compliance function is responsible for managing this formal process.