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Finance & Banking vocabulary · Regulation & Compliance

Suspicious transaction report

Meaning in finance & banking, with examples

nounCommon term

In finance & banking, suspicious transaction report means: A confidential report that a bank must send to the national financial intelligence unit when it suspects that a transaction is linked to money laundering or terrorist financing.

In Turkish: şüpheli işlem bildirimi, ŞİB

How it is used

Often called an STR; in the US and the UK the usual name is suspicious activity report (SAR). Banks file or submit these reports, and staff must not tell the customer about them, which is called tipping off.

Example sentences

  1. The compliance officer filed a suspicious transaction report after the client refused to explain the source of the funds.

  2. Staff must never tell a customer that a suspicious transaction report has been made.

Common collocations

  • file a suspicious transaction report
  • submit an STR
  • suspicious activity report
  • tipping off
  • AMLShort for anti-money laundering: the laws, controls and procedures that banks use to prevent, detect and report money laundering.
  • money launderingHiding the criminal origin of money by moving it through banks, businesses or transactions so that it looks legal.
  • complianceFollowing the laws, regulations and internal rules that apply to a bank; also the name of the department that checks that this happens.
  • KYCShort for know your customer: the checks a bank makes to confirm a customer's identity, address and source of funds before and during the business relationship.

More terms: Regulation & Compliance

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.