Ask FBI permission to withdraw large sums from your checking or savings?
Is it true you have to file papers with the government in the US to   withdraw large sums of cash at your local bank branch? It's true that a currency transaction report (CTR) gets filed with FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) when you make a cash transaction in excess of $10,000. Banks have systems that do this automatically, so you don't have to really do anything other than provide some tax info if not already on file with the bank. The teller can flag your CTR if they think the transaction is suspicious, but there shouldn't be a delay on the withdrawal unless the bank has to make arrangements to have enough cash on hand. Some people don't like the idea of CTR's being filed and therefore make multiple smaller withdrawals, but that can be considered illegal structuring, and can result in confiscated money. "An international Outlook (in this case Sweden in European Union). According to laws and regulations large cash transactions are considered conspicuous. The law makers might have reasoned is that cash transactions can be used in as example: - financing terrorism - avoiding taxes - buying or selling illegal goods such as drugs or stolen items - general illegal transactions such as paying bribes Starting there, all banks (at least in Europe) are required to report all suspicious transactions to the relevant authorities (in Sweden it is Finanspolisen, roughly the Financial Police). This is regardless of how the transactions are performed, in cash or otherwise. In order to monitor this all banks in Sweden are required to ""know the customers"", as example where does money come from and go to in general. In addition special software monitors all transactions and flags suspicious patterns for further investigation and possibly notification of the police. So, at least in Sweden: there is no need to get permission from the FBI to withdraw cash. You will however be required to describe the usage of the Money and your description will be kept and possibly sent to the Financial police. The purpose is not to hinder legitimate transactions, but to Catch illegal activities."
"Let's divide all bank accounts into savings and checking. The main difference is that checking is easy to get money from; savings is hard to get money from. Because of this, the federal Reserve requires that banks keep more money on hand to cover transactions in checking accounts. Here is a related question from a banking customer regarding a recent notice on their bank statement: Deposit Reclassification. It seems that the bank was moving the customer's money between hidden sub accounts to make it look like the checking account was really a savings account and thus ""reduce the amount of funds we are required to keep on deposit at the Federal Reserve Bank."" If they didn't have to transfer the money many times the bank could keep less cash on hand. But once they did 5 hidden transactions the rest of the money in the hidden savings account would be moved by the bank. The 6 transaction limit is done to not allow you to treat savings like checking. Here is a relevant quote from the Federal Reserve Savings Deposits  Savings deposits generally have no specified maturity   period. They may be interest-bearing, with interest computed or paid   daily, weekly, quarterly, or on any other basis. The two most   significant features of savings deposits are the ‘‘reservation of   right’’ requirement and the restrictions on the number of   ‘‘convenient’’ transfers or withdrawals that may be made per month (or   per statement cycle of at least four weeks) from the account. In order   to classify an account as a ‘‘savings deposit,’’ the institution must   in its account agreement with the customer reserve the right at any   time to require seven days’ advance written notice of an intended   withdrawal. In practice, this right is never exercised, but the   institution must nevertheless reserve that right in the account   agreement. In addition, for an account to be classified as a ‘‘savings   deposit,’’ the depositor may make no more than six ‘‘convenient’’   transfers or withdrawals per month from the account. ‘‘Convenient’’   transfers and withdrawals, for purposes of this limit, include   preauthorized, automatic transfers (including but not limited to   transfers from the savings deposit for overdraft protection or for   direct bill payments) and transfers and withdrawals initiated by   telephone, facsimile, or computer, and transfers made by check, debit    card, or other similar order made by the depositor and payable to   third parties. Other, less-convenient types of transfers, such as   withdrawals or transfers made in person at the bank, by mail, or by   using an ATM, do not count toward the six-per-month limit and do not   affect the account’s status as a savings account. Also, a withdrawal   request initiated by telephone does not count toward the transfer   limit when the withdrawal is disbursed via check mailed to the   depositor.  Examiners should be particularly wary of a bank’s practices   for handling telephone transfers. As noted, an unlimited number of   telephone-initiated withdrawals are allowed so long as a check for   the withdrawn funds is mailed to the depositor. Otherwise, the limit   is six telephone transfers per month. The limit applies to telephonic   transfers to move savings deposit funds to another type of deposit   account and to make payments to third parties." What?!!! how dare you sir!!! how dare you!!!  I'll have you know that the Fed and the Treasury has their back, not to mention Goldman and a number of other banks . . .you know finance is their thang . . .and if you say anything at the UN, you will find your 401K being used as toilet paper in an illegal settlement  . .and you will be on food stamps . .then they will kick you in the balls and yell terrorist  Woohoooo!!! . .Krav Maga . . .Shekel as a global reserve currency!!! WoooHoooo Once you declare the amount, the CBP officials will ask you the source and purpose of funds. You must be able to demonstrate that the source of funds is legitimate and not the proceeds of crime and it is not for the purposes of financing terrorism. Once they have determined that the source and purpose is legitimate, they will take you to a private room where two officers will count and validate the amount (as it is a large amount); and then return the currency to you. For nominal amounts they count it at the CBP officer's inspection desk. Once they have done that, you are free to go on your way. The rule (for the US) is any currency or monetary instrument that is above the equivalent of 10,000 USD. So this will also apply if you are carrying a combination of GBP, EUR and USD that totals to more than $10,000. "See ""Structuring transactions to evade reporting requirement prohibited."" You absolutely run the risk of the accusation of structuring. One can move money via check, direct transfer, etc, all day long, from account to account, and not have a reporting issue. But, cash deposits have a reporting requirement (by the bank) if $10K or over. Very simple, you deposit $5000 today, and $5000 tomorrow. That's structuring, and illegal.  Let me offer a pre-emptive ""I don't know what frequency of $10000/X deposits triggers this rule. But, like the Supreme Court's, ""We have trouble defining porn, but we know it when we see it. And we're happy to have these cases brought to us,"" structuring is similarly not 100% definable, else one would shift a bit right."" You did not ask, but your friend runs the risk of gift tax issues, as he's not filing the forms to acknowledge once he's over $14,000." "This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-banks-deposits-idUSKBN1AD1RS) reduced by 85%. (I'm a bot) ***** &gt; BRUSSELS - European Union states are considering measures which would allow them to temporarily stop people withdrawing money from their accounts to prevent bank runs, an EU document reviewed by Reuters revealed.  &gt; &amp;quot;The desire is to prevent a bank run, so that when a bank is in a critical situation it is not pushed over the edge,&amp;quot; a person familiar with German government&amp;#039;s thinking said.  &gt; Existing EU rules allow a two-day suspension of some payouts by failing banks, but the moratorium does not include deposits.   ***** [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/6qliud/surely_the_banks_need_even_more_programs_in_their/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ ""Version 1.65, ~179489 tl;drs so far."") | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr ""PM's and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome."") | *Top* *keywords*: **bank**^#1 **moratorium**^#2 **run**^#3 **lender**^#4 **fail**^#5" It will not be a problem; people regularly move larger sums. It will be reported to law authorities as large enough to be potentially of interest, but since you can explain it that's fine. A) Q1) No, you beat the system, you benefit from flip side of 'use it or lose it'    Q2) You need to ask, they may have a $50/week limit, or they may divide the amount you wish by remaining time in year. They may also not let you start till next enrollment period. B) Q1) No, in fact, you just lost $400 that you deposited but didn't spend. Q2) You missed the opportunity to spend an extra $1000 as well, but the loss was opportunity not pocket. Q3) Same as Q2 above, ask them. C) These accounts are not coupled. I'd change the law to do so, however, I am not a congressman. "This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](http://fortune.com/2017/07/06/coinbase-irs-summons/) reduced by 68%. (I'm a bot) ***** &gt; &amp;quot;DOJ trial attorney Amy Matchison said at a court hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley Thursday that the IRS has been in talks with Coinbase about narrowing its request to only items the agency would need to look for unreported income,&amp;quot; reported The Recorder, a legal site that reported on the hearing.  &gt; The agency has stated that only 802 people declared gains or losses related to bitcoin in 2015.In a email, Coinbase declined to comment on the IRS&amp;#039;s reported decision not to seek passwords, and referred Fortune to a blog post from March in which the company said it is pushing the agency to reduce the scope of the probe.  &gt; When news of the IRS probe first emerged, some legal observers predicted the agency&amp;#039;s demands for all of Coinbase&amp;#039;s customer records was just a negotiating tactic, and that it would ultimately ask for only a portion of them.   ***** [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/6lsekz/irs_says_it_will_limit_bitcoin_auditsbut_only_a/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ ""Version 1.65, ~161341 tl;drs so far."") | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr ""PM's and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome."") | *Top* *keywords*: **Coinbase**^#1 **IRS**^#2 **agency**^#3 **customer**^#4 **account**^#5" I'm in Argentina and they limit the daily withdrawals to 1000 pesos a day (about $220).  The gov't just put limits on withdrawing dollars here, which is how Argentines have typically saved their money.  The people are NOT happy. Money laundering alarms would definitely be raised, way before you walking in with the cash to deposit. Every cash transaction over $10K will be reported by the bank (and not only banks have to report), so the report will be sent when you withdraw the money, as well. But if the money is legitimately yours and you can show the sources, then you shouldn't be worried. There's no law against having cash. Its just very hard to track down the cash money sources, and if someone asks you and you cannot show the proofs - the problem would definitely be yours. In the united states, they may request a check written by the bank to the other party. I have had to make large payments for home settlements, or buying a car. If the transaction was over a specified limit, they wanted a cashiers check. They wanted to make sure it wouldn't bounce.  I have had companies rebate me money, and say the maximum value of the check was some small value. I guess that was to prevent people from altering the check. One thing that has happened to me is that a large check I wanted to deposit was held for a few extra days to make sure it cleared. I wouldn't have access to the funds until the deadline passed. Just so you know, the SEC doesn't have criminal authority, they do civil fines.  It's the Department of Justice that sends white collar criminals to jail.  If you'd like to see what they've been up to, [here's a little info from the FBI](http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/financial-crimes-report-2010-2011)  Also, I could be wrong but I think the government mass settled the claims coming from the financial collapse.     *edit: you don't get to keep the money you made from your illegal activity.  That would just be stupid.  The fines are on top of giving the money back*  *edit 2: remember [these girls?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihLBCbNIDbI&amp;feature=share).  They didn't get to keep the money they stole.  It's no different in white collar crime.* How do I withdraw a large sum from my bank and give it to a money management firm? Either write a check to the Money Management firm or wire transfer the funds to the account mentioned. Making a payment of any amount is usually legal, although of course the specific circumstances matter, and I'm not qualified to give legal advice. Just had to throw in that disclaimer not because I think there's a problem here, but because it is impossible to give a definite answer to a legal question in a specific situation on Stack Exchange. But the government will be involved. There are two parts to that. First, as part of anti-money-laundering laws, banks have to report all transactions above a certain limit; I believe $10k. When you use a check or similar to pay, that happens pretty much automatically. When making a cash payment, you may have to fill out some forms. An secondly, Edward Snowden revealed that the government also tapped into banking networks, so pretty much every transaction is recorded, even if it is not reportable. "A savings account and a checking account (or a ""demand"" account, or a ""transactional"" account) have different regulations.  For example, fractional reserve requirements are 10% against checking accounts, but 0% against savings accounts.  The theory is that savings accounts are sticky, while checking accounts are hot money. So the Fed wants to stop banks from creating accounts that are regulated as savings accounts but have the features of checking accounts.  In the past, this was done by forbidding banks to pay interest on checking accounts.  They eliminated that rule back in the inflation years, and instead imposed the rule that to qualify as a savings accounts for regulatory purposes, banks must discourage you from using them as transactional accounts.  For example, by limiting the number of withdrawals per month that can be made from a savings account. If the Fed gave up on trying to enforce a distinction, I suspect there would soon no longer be a distinction."