A non-U.S. bank asks its U.S. correspondent whether there is risk of having funds seized in their correspondent account if a customer is involved in a predicate offense.The correspondent bank's reply should be,

The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 significantly expanded the jurisdiction of U.S. authorities over funds laundered through U.S. correspondent accounts. Section 319(a) of the Act allows U.S. regulators and law enforcement to seize funds from a foreign bank's U.S. correspondent account that are associated with illicit activities. This authority applies even if the predicate offense and the money laundering activity occurred entirely outside the United States. The critical jurisdictional link is the movement of the funds through the U.S. financial system via the correspondent account, allowing the U.S. to take action against the foreign customer's assets.

A. U.S. seizure and forfeiture laws are not restricted to U.S. citizens; they apply to any funds within U.S. jurisdiction linked to specified unlawful activities.
B. The law specifically targets foreign banks' correspondent accounts held at U.S. financial institutions, not the correspondent accounts of U.S. banks abroad.
C. This is incorrect because U.S. jurisdiction is not limited to money laundering that occurs solely within the U.S.; it extends extraterritorially through correspondent accounts.

1. ACAMS CAMS6-US Edition Study Guide. Chapter 2, "International AML/CFT Standards," Section: "Key U.S. AML/CFT Laws." The guide explains that Section 319(a) of the USA PATRIOT Act allows the U.S. government to seize funds in the same amount from a correspondent account in the U.S. that a foreign bank has on deposit from a customer, even if the illicit activity occurred abroad.

2. U.S. Public Law 107-56 (USA PATRIOT Act), Oct. 26, 2001. Section 319, "Forfeiture of funds in United States interbank accounts." This section amends Title 18 of the U.S. Code, allowing for the forfeiture of funds held in a U.S. correspondent account by a foreign bank, stating that for forfeiture purposes, such funds are deemed to have been deposited into the account by the foreign bank's customer.

3. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). "Fact Sheet: Section 319 of the USA PATRIOT Act." This official document clarifies that Section 319(a) provides a mechanism for the U.S. government to seize and forfeit the criminal proceeds of foreign persons that have been deposited in a foreign bank, by authorizing the seizure and forfeiture of those funds when they are in the foreign bank’s U.S. correspondent account.