Gov Employee Arrested & Charged w/ Unlawfully Disclosing SARS (Manafort, Butina, Gates related)

[MelissaB]

This relates to Manafort, Butina, Gates!!!

SARS: "suspicious activity reports"

FinCEN: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Crimes_Enforcement_Network

Senior Fincen Employee Arrested And Charged With Unlawfully Disclosing Sars

Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards Illegally Photographed SARs and Other Sensitive Government Information and Transmitted Them To Reporter In Connection With Approximately 12 News Articles Over 1-Year Period

... snip

Beginning in approximately October 2017, and lasting until the present, EDWARDS unlawfully disclosed numerous SARs to a reporter (“Reporter-1”), the substance of which were published over the course of approximately 12 articles by a news organization for which Reporter-1 wrote (“News Organization-1”). The illegally disclosed SARs pertained to, among other things, Paul Manafort, Richard Gates, the Russian Embassy, Mariia Butina, and Prevezon Alexander. EDWARDS had access to each of the pertinent SARs and saved them – along with thousands of other files containing sensitive government information – to a flash drive provided to her by FinCEN. She transmitted the SARs to Reporter-1 by means that included taking photographs of them and texting the photographs to Reporter-1 over an encrypted application. In addition to disseminating SARs to Reporter-1, EDWARDS sent Reporter-1 internal FinCEN emails appearing to relate to SARs or other information protected by the BSA, and FinCEN non-public memoranda, including Investigative Memos and Intelligence Assessments published by the FinCEN Intelligence Division, which contained confidential personal, business, and/or security threat assessments.

At the time of EDWARDS’s arrest, she was in possession of a flash drive appearing to be the flash drive on which she saved the unlawfully disclosed SARs, and a cellphone containing numerous communications over an encrypted application in which she transmitted SARs and other sensitive government information to Reporter-1.

More: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/senior-fincen-employee-arrested-and-charged-unlawfully-disclosing-sars

[snowybirdie]

1. For those of us

who aren't in the know, what is SARS, and Fincin?

[MelissaB]

2. Here ya go:

SARS: "suspicious activity reports"

Fincen: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Crimes_Enforcement_Network

Not only is the person who leaked it in trouble, the reporter may be in deep poop as well.

[snowybirdie]

3. Thanks so much

[MelissaB]

4. You're welcome!

I didn't know until recently, either. I updated the OP with this info as well.

[octoberlib]

5. FinCen is the same department that fined Trump 10 million dollars

for not following regulations to prevent money-laundering at his casinos.

[MelissaB]

7. What is this you say about money-laundering at Trump casinos?

Surely you jest.

[Socal31]

6. As someone who just logged out from updating a SAR....

You have to be pretty dumb/brave to cross the very clear lines that Treasury has set re:disclosure.

[MichMan]

8. This potentially puts many people ,including lower level employees of financial institutions at risk

This potentially puts many people , including lower level employees of financial institutions, at risk as the ones filing the reports

How would you feel if you were responsible for filing the SARS that implicated the Russian Embassy and just found out the information was illegally sent to a reporter?

[MelissaB]

9. Exactly!

[MelissaB]

10. Important twitter threat that breaks this down

Click to read at twitter.

Link to tweet

Let's start with this: Defendant is Natalie Sours, senior advisor at FINCEN. She is accused of leaking contents of Suspicious Activity Reports for AT LEAST a year right up to October 2018. Which means THEY CAUGHT HER IN THE ACT.