NCJ Number
184986
Journal
American Criminal Law Review Volume: 37 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 2000 Pages: 729-756
Date Published
2000
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the Federal Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 and currency reporting laws, describes the elements of the offenses, analyzes the defenses, discusses the penalties for violation of the statutes, and examines several recent developments related to money laundering.
Abstract
The Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 holds criminally liable any individual who conducts a monetary transaction knowing that the funds involved were derived from unlawful activity. The act not only reaches the proceeds of conduct characteristic of organized crime -- such as narcotics trafficking, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act predicates, and certain State offenses -- but also encompasses a wide range of additional criminal offenses, including copyright infringement, environmental offenses, espionage, trading with the enemy, and conducting financial transactions with the intent to engage in violations of the Internal Revenue Code. One of the principal purposes of the act, through Section 1957, is to bar all "monetary transactions" in "criminally derived property" exceeding $10,000. The Federal Government also uses currency reporting laws to counter money laundering; they forbid exporting more than $10,000 of undeclared cash to prevent money laundering. Constitutional vagueness and double jeopardy are the two theories that have been used to attack the Money Laundering Act. 194 footnotes