WASHINGTON – Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) are working to equip federal law enforcement with improved tools to stop criminal dirty money schemes. The Senate Judiciary Committee members today reintroduced the bipartisan Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Finance and Counterfeiting Act to bolster criminal money laundering statutes. 

“Criminal enterprises like drug trafficking rings and terrorist organizations depend on vast piles of ill-begotten cash to carry out their dark deeds. As money laundering methods have evolved over time, so must the government’s efforts to exact justice. Our legislation would enhance enforcement measures and penalties, providing better tools to root out money launderers and hold them accountable,” Grassley said. “Freshening up the federal government’s money laundering statutes will help us track down dirty money and prevent further crimes.” 

“The criminals trafficking illegal drugs across our southern border have evolved, and our laws must do the same,” Cornyn said. “This legislation equips law enforcement with the financial tools to hit the cartel’s bottom line and would critically help stop the flow of opioids like fentanyl from killing more Americans.” 

“As criminals and terrorist organizations develop new methods to launder money, we must provide our law enforcement with the tools they need to keep American communities safe. This bipartisan legislation makes necessary updates to anti-money laundering statutes and counterfeiting laws, ensuring the law enforcement community can stay one step ahead of those working to undermine our nation’s safety and security,” Klobuchar said.  

Specifically, the legislation would:  

  • Update counterfeiting laws to prohibit state-of-the-art counterfeiting methods; 
  • Increase the penalties for bulk cash smuggling;  
  • Ensure money laundering laws apply to informal value transfer systems used by drug traffickers and terrorists, such as hawalas; 
  • Prohibit the cross-border shipment of blank checks for the purpose of evading reporting requirements of monetary instruments;  
  • Establish a new money laundering violation that prohibits the transfer of funds into or out of the United States with the intent to violate U.S. income tax laws;  
  • Prohibit conspiracies to create illegal money services businesses, such as services authorizing the transfer of money by wire and allowing multiple violations of laundering monetary instruments to be charged in a single count in an indictment or information;  
  • Grant wiretapping authority to investigate currency reporting, bulk cash smuggling, illegal money services businesses and counterfeiting offenses;  
  • Grant the U.S. Secret Service the explicit authority to investigate ransomware crimes and other uses of unlicensed money transmitting; and  
  • Update the Federal Deposit Insurance Act’s recordkeeping requirements to ensure compliance by financial institutions. 

The legislation is endorsed by the National Association of Police Organizations, the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, the National District Attorneys Association and the Fraternal Order of Police. 

Bill text is available HERE.  

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