Quote: (12-01-2016 08:39 PM)booshala Wrote:
Certain countries want a certain amount of money (e.g. $30k USD) in a local bank account so that you can get fast tracked with a visa, residency, etc... is it a viable option to have 4 separate accounts with $7500 each to meet that requirement while avoiding FACTA reporting?
If this is anything like other anti-money laundering laws (which is how it's being sold, regardless of what we may think of it), then no, it would not be a good strategy. Banks in the US are required to report deposits of greater than $10,000, but if you try to get around this by depositing several smaller amounts (even at different banks), there is software that can detect this and alert the authorities. As CR pointed out,it is called structuring, sometimes also referred to as smurfing when it involves multiple people doing the deposits.
I would not be surprised if they had some kind of rebuttable presumption that you intended to avoid reporting by opening several accounts and depositing just under the reportable amount. A good question for your tax pro, though.