IRS Compliance & PenaltiesAnswered

If we register as an MSB, can the supporting documents stay with our founders overseas or do they have to be kept in the United States?

NU
noah_us_fd9esubscriber
January 9, 2026 1,588 views 1 answer
msb-registrationfincenrecordkeepingsupporting-documentscryptocompliance

Our crypto company has foreign founders and most internal records are kept by the parent team in Hong Kong. We are now preparing for possible FinCEN MSB registration and someone asked whether the supporting documents can simply remain overseas as long as they are scanned and accessible. That would be easiest administratively, but I do not want to assume accessibility is the same thing as compliance.

What I need is the actual retention rule tied to registration. If FinCEN expects a copy of the filed registration and supporting documentation to be retained at a location in the United States for a five-year period, we need to solve that now instead of after registration goes live.

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