What must be true for a SAR involving potential money laundering?

A Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) is required when there are indications that a transaction may be related to money laundering or other suspicious activities. For a SAR to be warranted, one of the key criteria involves the transaction reflecting patterns that are inconsistent with the customer's known profile or expected behavior.

This means that if a customer's transaction habits suddenly change or if the nature of their transactions does not align with what is typical for them, it raises a red flag for financial institutions. Such discrepancies can indicate potential illicit activities, prompting the necessity to file a SAR to alert regulatory authorities. This aspect is central to identifying suspicious behaviors that may indicate money laundering schemes.

The other options touch on important aspects of monitoring and investigating suspicious activities, but they are not universally applicable to all SARs. For instance, while transactions over a certain dollar amount might warrant attention, the threshold is context-dependent, and not all SAR-worthy activities will exceed $3,000. Similarly, having a known suspect is not a requirement for all SAR filings, as suspicious activity can sometimes arise without a named individual directly connected. Lastly, while international transactions can be a red flag, they are not a requisite feature for all SARs, as money laundering can occur within domestic activities as well.