Originally Posted by
dand99
To my understanding, there is a huge number of CTRs created.
...
CTRs are usually generated for you (well, with your name on them...) by the bank, the business, the casino etc. - and SARs definitely so - whereas currency declarations when crossing international borders are dependent on you taking the initiative.
And indirect evidence shows almost any bank transaction over US$10000 will generate a report.
For over 7 years in the 1990s I (my company) was doing monthly wire transfers approaching $100K each to countries in Africa and the Middle East. Eventually, my bank manager called to ask for some additional information because "the bank examiners are questioning your off shore payments." Apparently they had been observing for months and decided to investigate. So the banks are reporting (probably automated) and the feds are indeed aware of the activity.
Fortunately, I never got involved because once the business was explained and the feds saw the website, they realized everything was perfectly legitimate. We and the bank often jokingly referred back to the incident and we were never "hassled" again.