Suspicious Activity Report (SAR)

A Suspicious Activity Report is a formal disclosure filed by a firm in a regulated sector — typically a bank, estate agent, accountant, or solicitor — when it knows or suspects that a customer or transaction involves criminal property or money laundering. In the UK, SARs are submitted to the National Crime Agency (NCA) via its SAR Online portal under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. In the US, financial institutions file SARs with FinCEN under the Bank Secrecy Act.

Filing a SAR triggers a 'tipping-off' offence: the filing institution is prohibited from disclosing the SAR to the subject, as this could prejudice an investigation. In some circumstances, a 'consent SAR' must be filed before proceeding with a transaction — the firm requests permission from the NCA to continue, which is granted or denied within seven working days.

For fraud victims, SAR intelligence is a key investigative tool. Mule account flows, unusual transaction patterns, and fraud proceeds moving through the banking system generate SAR data that law enforcement uses to map criminal networks and identify proceeds for asset recovery. Victims cannot directly access SAR information but benefit indirectly when it leads to account freezes or prosecutions.