In addition to cooperation with the warrant, which instructions should the person in charge of the broker-dealer provide to their employees?

Law enforcement agents arrive at a broker-dealer’s premises with a search warrant.

In addition to cooperation with the warrant, which instructions should the person in charge of the broker-dealer provide to their employees?
A . Take notes on the questions and comments made by the agents.
B . Sign consent forms permitting the agents to search employees’ offices.
C . Provide agents with unlimited access to customers’ personal data.
D . Volunteer information not requested by the agents that the employees think may be useful.

View Answer

Answer: A

Explanation:

The instruction that the person in charge of the broker-dealer should provide to their employees is to take notes on the questions and comments made by the agents (A). This is because taking notes can help the employees to recall and document what happened during the search warrant execution, which can be useful for legal or regulatory purposes. According to ACAMS3, “the FI should instruct its staff to cooperate with LE agents during a search warrant execution, but also to take notes of what is being searched, seized, or asked by the agents” (p. 35). The FI should also “keep copies of any documents or records that are taken by LE agents” (p. 35).

The other instructions are not correct. The person in charge of the broker-dealer should not instruct their employees to sign consent forms permitting the agents to search employees’ offices (B), as this is unnecessary and potentially risky, as the agents already have a valid search warrant that authorizes them to search the premises. The person in charge of the broker-dealer should not instruct their employees to provide agents with unlimited access to customers’ personal data ©, as this could violate privacy or data protection laws, as well as compromise customer trust and confidentiality. The person in charge of the broker-dealer should not instruct their employees to volunteer information not requested by the agents that they think may be useful (D), as this could interfere with the LE investigation or expose them to legal or regulatory risks.

Reference: Introduction to Transnational Organized Crime

ACAMS Law Enforcement and Financial Crimes Investigations eLearning Course Module Law Enforcement Requests and Actions