USA PATRIOT Act Section 314

Section 314 of the USA PATRIOT Act (2001) is a United States legal authority establishing two information-sharing channels in the anti-money-laundering framework: Section 314(a) lets the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) ask financial institutions to search for specified subjects on behalf of law enforcement, and Section 314(b) gives eligible institutions a legal safe harbour to share information with each other for defined anti-money-laundering purposes.

Provisions and procedure

Under 314(a), a law enforcement agency certifies to FinCEN that a subject is reasonably suspected of money laundering or terrorist financing. FinCEN then transmits identifying information to financial institutions, which search specified records and report matches within the applicable period. A match is a lead, not a determination of wrongdoing, and the process does not give law enforcement direct access to an institution's systems or automatically disclose transaction content. Under 314(b), eligible institutions that register may voluntarily exchange information about persons or entities they suspect may involve money laundering or terrorist activity, subject to purpose, confidentiality and security conditions. The safe harbour applies when the statutory and regulatory requirements are met.

Role in financial warfare

Section 314 supports the reconnaissance phase of the Economic Kill Chain by helping institutions and investigators identify possible links across otherwise separate records. Combined with suspicious activity reporting under the Bank Secrecy Act and United States financial reporting architecture (1970-present), it can inform a later investigation, designation or forfeiture action. Those later steps still require their own legal authority and evidentiary basis, including Section 311 or OFAC authorities where applicable. The information-sharing channels are therefore investigative infrastructure, not a freestanding power to freeze assets or impose sanctions.

Current status and evidentiary limits

Section 314 and 31 CFR 1010.520 and 1010.540 remain in force. Section 314(a) governs compulsory FinCEN requests for searches by financial institutions. Section 314(b) permits voluntary institution-to-institution sharing for specified purposes and provides a safe harbour when its conditions are met. FinCEN issued an updated 314(b) fact sheet on 12 June 2026. Neither channel creates unrestricted intelligence access; eligibility, confidentiality, purpose and record-retention rules still apply.

See also

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) · Financial intelligence (FININT) · Bank Secrecy Act and United States financial reporting architecture (1970-present) · USA PATRIOT Act Title III (2001) · Economic statecraft

Sources

• USA PATRIOT Act, Public Law 107-56.
• FinCEN fact-sheet register.
• FinCEN section 314(b).
• 31 CFR part 1010.