FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         CIV
FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 1996                             (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
  NEW JERSEY BANK FINED $150,000 FOR BANK SECRECY ACT VIOLATIONS


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A federal judge has ordered a New Jersey
bank to pay a $150,000 civil penalty for failing to notify the
Internal Revenue Service of 15 cash deposits each of which
exceeded $10,000, the Departments of Justice and Treasury
announced today.
     Assistant Attorney General Frank W. Hunger of the Civil
Division said the order by Judge Nicholas H. Politan of U.S.
District Court in Newark resolves a complaint the Department
filed on behalf of Treasury July 16, 1993, against Brunswick Bank
& Trust Company of New Brunswick, New Jersey.  Politan signed the
order Thursday.
     "Brunswick Bank & Trust had a duty and obligation to report
these transactions to the IRS," said Hunger.  "Today's court
order should be a signal to other financial institutions that
they have the same responsibility and will be held accountable if
they fail to do so."
     Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) was
advised by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that on 15
occasions in the 1980's Brunswick Bank & Trust received currency
deposits of more than $10,000 from one of its customers, 380
Bergen Avenue Corporation, a New Jersey corporation that leased
property to a flea market. 
     Brunswick Bank & Trust denied the complaint's allegations in
this first case where Treasury was forced to seek the assistance
of the Justice Department in litigating this civil penalty
action.  
     In asking the court to dismiss the complaint, the bank
argued that a currency transaction report, which the Bank Secrecy
Act (BSA) requires, was not needed because each of the 15
transactions involved multiple deposits of less than $10,000
although each transaction totalled more than $10,000 and was made
at the same branch on the same day.  
     The BSA is a key component of Treasury's effort to counter
money laundering efforts and is administered by FinCEN.
     The court denied Brunswick Bank & Trust's motion, and held
that the bank had a duty to report the currency transactions.  
     Stanley E. Morris, Director of FinCen, said, "In this case
of first impression, we are pleased that the court not only
ordered a substantial monetary penalty, but also approved
injunctive relief."
     In addition to the $150,000 penalty, Brunswick Bank & Trust
must retain at its own expense an independent, outside auditor to
review matters relating to Brunswick's compliance with the Bank
Secrecy Act and is permanently enjoined from violating the Bank
Secrecy Act.  
     The BSA requires banks and other financial institutions to
keep records of transactions and file currency transaction
reports on currency transactions in excess of $10,000.  The
purpose of these records and reports is to assist the government
in combatting money laundering as well as for use in civil,
criminal, tax and regulatory investigations.  The act also now
permits Treasury to require institutions to implement anti-money
laundering programs and compliance procedures and report
potentially suspicious transactions to FinCEN.
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96-147