The USA PATRIOT Act is a federal law (statute) passed in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The official title of the USA PATRIOT Act is: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001.

The purpose of the USA PATRIOT Act is to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world; to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools; and other purposes, some of which include:

• To strengthen U.S. measures to prevent, detect, and prosecute international money laundering and financing of terrorism;

• To subject to special scrutiny foreign jurisdictions, foreign financial institutions, and classes of international transactions or types of accounts that are susceptible to criminal abuse;

• To require all appropriate elements of the financial services industry to report potential money laundering;

• To strengthen measures to prevent use of the U.S. financial system for personal gain by corrupt foreign officials and facilitate repatriation of stolen assets to the citizens of countries to whom such assets belong.

The vast scope of the USA PATRIOT Act can be seen in part from the titles of the sections of the statute:

• Title I—Enhancing Domestic Security Against Terrorism

• Title II—Enhanced Surveillance Procedures

• Title III—International Money Laundering Abatement and Anti-Terrorist Financing

• Title IV—Protecting the Border

• Title V—Removing Obstacles to Investigating Terrorism

• Title VI—Providing for Victims of Terrorism, Public Safety Officers, and Their Families

• Title VII—Increased Information Sharing for Critical Infrastructure Protection

• Title VIII—Strengthening the Criminal Laws Against Terrorism

• Title IX—Improved Intelligence

• Title X—Miscellaneous

The USA PATRIOT Act, a federal statute enacted in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, aims to bolster the United States' defenses against terrorism through a variety of measures. These measures include enhancing law enforcement's ability to investigate terrorism, strengthening regulations against international money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and increasing scrutiny of foreign financial institutions and transactions prone to abuse. The Act also mandates reporting of potential money laundering by the financial services industry and seeks to prevent corrupt foreign officials from exploiting the U.S. financial system. In West Virginia, as in all states, the Act's provisions are enforced by federal agencies, and compliance is required from relevant state and local entities, particularly in sectors like banking, law enforcement, and immigration. The Act's broad scope is reflected in its ten titles, which cover everything from domestic security and surveillance to international money laundering, border protection, victim support, and intelligence improvements.