A Closer Look at the “Related Transaction” Rules for the Federal Crime Know as Structuring
By Anthony Diosdi According to Section 5331 of the Currency Transaction Reporting Act (also known as the Bank Secrecy Act), any person engaged in a trade or business who, in the course of that trade or business, receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or in two or more related transactions, must file Form 8300 by the 15th day after the case was received. See 31 U.S.C. Section; IRC Section 6050I. The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) imposes a penalty of $25,000 or the actual amount of the transaction up to $100,000 for each occurrence. Some attempt to avoid the 8300 filing requirement by structuring (executing financial transactions such as making bank deposits in a specific pattern, calculated to avoid triggering financial institutions to file Form 8300s) or dividing…