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Financial Services

Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) Filing

Preparing Suspicious Activity Reports is time-intensive and high-stakes work. Compliance officers spend hours gathering transaction data, researching regulatory requirements, crafting detailed narratives, and ensuring every field meets FinCEN standards—all while managing tight deadlines and potential regulatory scrutiny.

Automation ROI

Time savings at a glance

Manual workflow5.5 hoursAverage time your team spends by hand
With CaseMark12 minutesDelivery time with CaseMark automation
EfficiencySave 27.5x time with CaseMark

The Problem

Preparing Suspicious Activity Reports is time-intensive and high-stakes work. Compliance officers spend hours gathering transaction data, researching regulatory requirements, crafting detailed narratives, and ensuring every field meets FinCEN standards—all while managing tight deadlines and potential regulatory scrutiny.

The CaseMark Solution

CaseMark automates SAR preparation by extracting transaction details from your documents, researching current FinCEN requirements and BSA regulations, and generating compliant narratives with proper formatting. What typically takes 5+ hours of manual work is completed in minutes, with built-in verification against official guidance.

Key benefits

How CaseMark automations transform your workflow

Generate FinCEN-compliant SAR narratives automatically from transaction records and investigation files

Real-time web research verifies current BSA thresholds, money laundering indicators, and filing requirements

Extract and organize subject information, account details, and transaction patterns from uploaded documents

Reduce SAR preparation time from 5+ hours to under 15 minutes per filing

Built-in compliance checks against FinCEN guidance and federal register requirements

What you'll receive

Header and Filer Information
Subject and Involved Parties
Description of Suspicious Activity
Supporting Facts and Narrative
Institution and Account Information
Attachments and Signatures

Document requirements

Required

  • Transaction Records
  • Customer Identification Documents

Optional

  • Internal Investigation Notes
  • Previous SAR Filings
  • Communication Records

Perfect for

Compliance Officer
BSA Officer
Financial Institution Legal Counsel
Anti-Money Laundering Specialist
Regulatory Compliance Manager
Bank Counsel

Also useful for

This workflow is applicable across multiple practice areas and use cases

Criminal Defense80% relevant

Criminal defense attorneys representing clients accused of money laundering, fraud, or financial crimes need to understand and respond to SARs filed against their clients.

SARs are frequently the basis for criminal investigations and prosecutions in white-collar crime cases. Defense counsel must analyze SAR filings to prepare effective defenses and challenge the government's evidence.

M&A attorneys conducting due diligence on financial institutions or regulated entities need to review SAR filing history and compliance procedures as part of regulatory risk assessment.

SAR filing practices and compliance history are critical due diligence items when acquiring banks or financial services companies, as they indicate regulatory risk and potential liabilities.

Corporate General68% relevant

Corporate counsel at financial institutions and fintech companies must ensure proper SAR filing procedures and compliance with BSA/AML obligations as part of corporate governance responsibilities.

In-house legal teams at banks, credit unions, and financial services companies are directly responsible for overseeing SAR compliance programs and managing regulatory reporting obligations.

Commercial litigators handling fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, or business tort cases may need to file SARs when discovering suspicious financial activity during litigation or use SAR evidence in civil proceedings.

Civil litigation involving financial fraud or misconduct may trigger SAR filing obligations for attorneys or their clients, and SARs can be relevant evidence in commercial disputes involving financial impropriety.

Frequently asked questions

Q

How does CaseMark ensure SAR filings meet FinCEN requirements?

A

CaseMark automatically researches current FinCEN SAR form templates and BSA regulations during the drafting process. It verifies required fields, reporting thresholds, and narrative best practices against official sources like FinCEN.gov, OCC guidance, and federal registers to ensure regulatory compliance.

Q

Can CaseMark extract transaction details from my bank records automatically?

A

Yes. CaseMark uses advanced document analysis to extract account numbers, transaction amounts, dates, and party information from uploaded statements, wire transfer records, and investigation files. This eliminates manual data entry and ensures accuracy in your SAR filing.

Q

How long does it take to draft a complete SAR with CaseMark?

A

Most SAR filings are completed in 10-15 minutes with CaseMark, compared to 5-6 hours manually. The platform automates research, data extraction, and narrative generation while you maintain full control over the final review and submission.

Q

Does CaseMark help identify money laundering red flags in transactions?

A

CaseMark researches current money laundering indicators and suspicious activity patterns from authoritative sources like FDIC, Thomson Reuters, and FinCEN guidance. It helps you craft narratives that properly describe red flags and suspicious patterns in compliance with regulatory expectations.

Q

Is my SAR filing data kept confidential when using CaseMark?

A

Yes. CaseMark is built for sensitive legal and compliance work with enterprise-grade security. The platform also researches and incorporates SAR confidentiality requirements from federal regulations into your filing to ensure proper handling.

Q

Can CaseMark help with the narrative section of SAR filings?

A

Absolutely. CaseMark generates chronological narratives based on your transaction data and investigation notes, following FinCEN narrative templates and best practices. It structures the suspicious activity description with proper detail, clarity, and regulatory language.

Q

What types of documents do I need to upload to generate a SAR?

A

You'll need transaction records (statements, wire transfers), customer identification documents, and any investigation notes. CaseMark extracts relevant facts from these documents and combines them with regulatory research to create a complete, compliant SAR filing.