maximum cash deposit

[sipukka]

my wife and i are arguing again. i say if you walked into a bank with �50000 cash, the bank would want to know its origin, wifey says they wouldnt? whos right, and what is the maximum amount you can deposit without question /??? thanks, si

[CheekyChops]

Well when I worked for a major high street bank a couple of years ago, if you didn't usually pay in large sums of money we would definitely enquire where you had got the money from. We wouldn't take you to an interview room and interrogate you, just friendly chat over the counter.

In our Bank we didn't have a 'limit', it depended on who the customer was - i.e a student who never normally pays in come in with �5000 cash, he may arouse suspicion whereas a business man who regularly paid in �10K probably wouldn't.

It's all down to the Money Laundering Regulations. If a customer is found to have been laundering money through his account and the Bank staff haven't reported their suspicions, the member of staff is personally liable for prosecution.

[stevie21]

from the above :
"the member of staff is personally liable for prosecution."

completely true.
If it's not typical of you to pay in �50K in cash then I can guarantee you that the bank would be asking where you got it from. Even if it's a friendly, "have you won the lotto/bingo ?" type question initially.
Even if they don't look and sound suspicious at the time, the staff member may skulk off later and fill in a money laundering report, just in case.

What's your wifie's line of thinking for saying that the bank wouldn't?

[Oneeyedvic]

It is for sums over Euro 15,000 (approx �10,000) - see here http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2003/20033075.htm under section 2 (n)

[Loosehead]

It's the anti money laundering laws, any unusual payments would be queried.

[Miss Zippy]

Aah, money laundering. One of the many banes of my working life! Unless it was your own bank, a bank you just walked into off the street wouldn't even accept the cash, let alone enquire about its origins, until it had carried out due diligence on you (e.g. asked for documentary evidence of your identity and residential address and possibly carry out electronic seaches on you). If you were depositing the money with your own bank and they were suspicious of the transaction (as CheekyChops said, if the transaction is inconsistent with your histiry, then it would be suspicious), they shouldn't even make you aware that they are suspicious. To do so would be committing the offence of 'tipping off', which carries a prison sentence and fine. They would purport to accept your money and then go away and file a report with the National Criminal Intelligence and wait to be notified if they can accept the money or not.

[qapmoc]

After this weeks robbery of X millions in cash as used unmarked bank notes I should think you might be talking to the boys in blue before you know where you are.

[erimus1]

Simple answer is that financial institutions are under an obligation to let the Inland Revenue know about any deposits exceeding �9,000 sterling. To get around this you just have to make a number of smaller deposits.

I know that there are some additional laws pertaining to money lending - I believe that you are not able to pay mor than �6,000 cash to a solicitor in the purchase of a property.

Regards,
Steve

[Miss Zippy]

erimus1 - that is incorrect I'm afraid. HM Revenue & Customs (formerly the Inland Revenue) is not the correct institution to notify if you suspect money laundering: itis the National Criminal Intelligence Service. Re. the figure of �9,000 you quote, I think you are referring to a firm's due diligence obligations, which is a separate issue: a financial institution is not obliged to carry out due diligence on a customer if the transaction is a one-off and does not exceed Euros 15,000 (or �9,200 at current rates).

[Powerpasser]

In the USA all banks are required to file a Currency Transaction Report with the US Treasury Dept. (IRS?) on almost all deposits or withdrawals of physical cash over $10,000 total within 24 hours. There are exemptions for well-known customers, say an owner of 5 McDonald's or Burger Kings who always deposits $30,000 every Monday. Customer must present ID & provide his Soc.Sec. #. The bank teller or manager may or may not ask questions about the origin of the money. The form has a box to be checked if the employee find this transaction suspicious.

In Canada the form is called Declaration of Source of Funds & the limit is normally C$10,000. Customer's name, adresss, signature, & ID are required + a sentence in the customer's handwriting of how s/he got the money. In the 1990s to early 2000s, the form said that the bank MAY furnish the filled-out form to law enforcement if necessary.

Britain has similar rules. In all countries with such rules, the bank can/ must fill out the same form if the customer has obviously made a bunch of smaller deposits to evade the filing rules!