Summary: Historically, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Financial Enforcement has not processed Bank Secrecy Act civil penalty cases in a timely manner. GAO found that the Office has allowed cases to remain inactive for months, causing some cases to be closed because the statute of limitations had expired. Overall, data from the Office revealed declining numbers of referrals and penalties assessed between 1985 and 1991; however, GAO could not determine the cause of this decline. Case processing times averaged 21 months and ranged from four days to more than six years, processing times that officials of other federal agencies characterized as excessive. In the past, staff shortages and inadequate case management contributed to delays in processing civil penalty cases. The Office did not have systems in place to ensure that decisions had been reached, recommendations acted upon, and requested information received or followed up on. The Office has recently added staff and taken steps to improve case management.
