103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3235

AN ACT

To amend subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31,

poses.antimoney laundering laws, and for other purUnited States Code, to improve enforcement of
103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3235

AN ACT

To amend subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United

States Code, to improve enforcement of antimoney laundering laws, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Money Laundering Suppression Act of 1994’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—
2

•HR 3235 EH

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Reform of CTR exemption requirements to reduce number and size of

reports consistent with effective law enforcement.

Sec. 3. Single designee for reporting of suspicious transactions.

Sec. 4. Improvement of identification of money laundering schemes.

Sec. 5. Negotiable instruments drawn on foreign banks subject to recordkeeping

and reporting requirements.

Sec. 6. Imposition of civil money penalties by appropriate Federal banking

agencies.

Sec. 7. Uniform State licensing and regulation of check cashing, currency exchange, and money transmitting businesses.

Sec. 8. Registration of money transmitting businesses to promote effective law

enforcement.

Sec. 9. Uniform Federal regulation of casinos.

Sec. 10. Uniform Federal administration of recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

Sec. 11. Criminal and civil penalty for structuring domestic and international

transactions.

Sec. 12. GAO study of cashiers’ checks.

Sec. 13. Technical corrections.

1 SEC. 2. REFORM OF CTR EXEMPTION REQUIREMENTS TO

2 REDUCE NUMBER AND SIZE OF REPORTS

3 CONSISTENT WITH EFFECTIVE LAW EN4 FORCEMENT.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5313 of title 31, United

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow7 ing new subsections:

8 ‘‘(d) MANDATORY EXEMPTIONS FROM REPORTING

9 REQUIREMENTS.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the

11 Treasury shall exempt, pursuant to section

12 5318(a)(5), a depository institution from the report13 ing requirements of subsection (a) with respect to

14 transactions between the depository institution and

15 the following categories of entities:

16 ‘‘(A) Another depository institution.
3

•HR 3235 EH

1 ‘‘(B) A department or agency of the

2 United States, any State, or any political sub3 division of any State.

4 ‘‘(C) Any entity established under the laws

5 of the United States, any State, or any political

6 subdivision of any State, or under an interstate

7 compact between 2 or more States, which exer8 cises governmental authority on behalf of the

9 United States, the State, or the political sub10 division.

11 ‘‘(D) Any business or category of business

12 the reports on which have little or no value for

13 law enforcement purposes.

14 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF EXEMPTION.—The Secretary

15 of the Treasury shall publish in the Federal Register

16 at such times as the Secretary determines to be ap17 propriate (but not less frequently than once each

18 year) a list of all the entities whose transactions

19 with a depository institution are exempt under this

20 subsection from the reporting requirements of sub21 section (a).

22 ‘‘(e) DISCRETIONARY EXEMPTIONS FROM REPORT23 ING REQUIREMENTS.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the

25 Treasury may exempt, pursuant to section
4

•HR 3235 EH

1 5318(a)(5), a depository institution from the report2 ing requirements of subsection (a) with respect to

3 transactions between the depository institution and a

4 qualified business customer of the institution on the

5 basis of information submitted to the Secretary by

6 the institution in accordance with procedures which

7 the Secretary shall establish.

8 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED BUSINESS CUSTOMER DE9 FINED.—For purposes of this subsection, the term

10 ‘qualified business customer’ means a business

11 which—

12 ‘‘(A) maintains a transaction account (as

13 defined in section 19(b)(1)(C) of the Federal

14 Reserve Act) at the depository institution;

15 ‘‘(B) frequently engages in transactions

16 with the depository institution which are subject

17 to the reporting requirements of subsection (a);

18 and

19 ‘‘(C) meets criteria which the Secretary de20 termines are sufficient to ensure that the pur21 poses of this subchapter are carried out without

22 requiring a report with respect to such trans23 actions.

24 ‘‘(3) CRITERIA FOR EXEMPTION.—The Sec25 retary of the Treasury shall establish, by regulation,
5

•HR 3235 EH

1 the criteria for granting and maintaining an exemp2 tion under paragraph (1).

3 ‘‘(4) GUIDELINES.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the

5 Treasury shall establish guidelines for deposi6 tory institutions to follow in selecting customers

7 for an exemption under this subsection.

8 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The guidelines may in9 clude a description of the types of businesses or

10 an itemization of specific businesses for which

11 no exemption will be granted under this sub12 section to any depository institution.

13 ‘‘(5) ANNUAL REVIEW.—The Secretary of the

14 Treasury shall prescribe regulations requiring each

15 depository institution to—

16 ‘‘(A) review, at least once each year, the

17 qualified business customers of such institution

18 with respect to whom an exemption has been

19 granted under this subsection; and

20 ‘‘(B) upon the completion of such review,

21 resubmit information about such customers,

22 with such modifications as the institution deter23 mines to be appropriate, to the Secretary for

24 the Secretary’s approval.
6

•HR 3235 EH

1 ‘‘(6) 2-YEAR PHASE-IN PROVISION.—During the

2 2-year period beginning on the date of the enact3 ment of the Money Laundering Suppression Act of

4 1994, this subsection shall be applied by the Sec5 retary on the basis of such criteria as the Secretary

6 determines to be appropriate to achieve an orderly

7 implementation of the requirements of this sub8 section.

9 ‘‘(f) PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO MANDATORY AND

10 DISCRETIONARY EXEMPTIONS.—

11 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY OF DEPOSITORY

12 INSTITUTIONS.—No depository institution shall be

13 subject to any penalty which may be imposed under

14 this subchapter for the failure of the institution to

15 file a report with respect to a transaction with a cus16 tomer for whom an exemption has been granted

17 under subsection (d) or (e) unless the institution—

18 ‘‘(A) knowingly files false or incomplete in19 formation to the Secretary with respect to the

20 transaction or the customer engaging in the

21 transaction; or

22 ‘‘(B) has reason to believe at the time the

23 exemption is granted or the transaction is en24 tered into that the customer or the transaction
7

•HR 3235 EH

1 does not meet the criteria established for grant2 ing such exemption.

3 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROVI4 SIONS.—Any exemption granted by the Secretary of

5 the Treasury under section 5318(a) in accordance

6 with this section, and any transaction which is sub7 ject to such exemption, shall be subject to any other

8 provision of law applicable to such exemption, in9 cluding—

10 ‘‘(A) the authority of the Secretary, under

11 section 5318(a)(5), to revoke such exemption at

12 any time; and

13 ‘‘(B) any requirement to report, or any au14 thority to require a report on, any possible vio15 lation of any law or regulation or any suspected

16 criminal activity.

17 ‘‘(g) DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION DEFINED.—For pur18 poses of this section, the term ‘depository institution’—

19 ‘‘(1) has the meaning given to such term in sec20 tion 19(b)(1)(A) of the Federal Reserve Act; and

21 ‘‘(2) includes—

22 ‘‘(A) any branch, agency, or commercial

23 lending company (as such terms are defined in

24 section 1(b) of the International Banking Act of

25 1978);
8

•HR 3235 EH

1 ‘‘(B) any corporation chartered under sec2 tion 25A of the Federal Reserve Act; and

3 ‘‘(C) any corporation having an agreement

4 or undertaking with the Board of Governors of

5 the Federal Reserve System under section 25 of

6 the Federal Reserve Act.’’.

7 (b) REPORT REDUCTION GOAL; REPORTS.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—In implementing the amend9 ment made by subsection (a), the Secretary of the

10 Treasury shall seek to reduce, within a reasonable

11 period of time, the number of reports required to be

12 filed in the aggregate by depository institutions pur13 suant to section 5313(a) of title 31, United States

14 Code, by at least 30 percent of the number filed dur15 ing the year preceding the date of the enactment of

16 this Act.

17 (2) INTERIM REPORT.—The Secretary of the

18 Treasury shall submit a report to the Congress not

19 later than the end of the 180-day period beginning

20 on the date of the enactment of this Act on the

21 progress made by the Secretary in implementing the

22 amendment made by subsection (a).

23 (3) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary of the

24 Treasury shall submit an annual report to the Con25 gress after the end of each of the first 5 calendar
9

•HR 3235 EH

1 years which begin after the date of the enactment of

2 this Act on the extent to which the Secretary has re3 duced the overall number of currency transaction re4 ports filed with the Secretary pursuant to section

5 5313(a) of title 31, United States Code, consistently

6 with the purposes of such section and effective law

7 enforcement.

8 (c) STREAMLINED CURRENCY TRANSACTION RE9 PORTS.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall take such

10 action as may be appropriate to redesign the format of

11 reports required to be filed by any financial institution (as

12 defined in section 5312(a)(2) of title 31, United States

13 Code) under section 5313(a) of title 31, United States

14 Code, to eliminate the need to report information which

15 has little or no value for law enforcement purposes and

16 reduce the time and effort required to prepare such report

17 for filing by any such financial institution under such

18 section.

19 SEC. 3. SINGLE DESIGNEE FOR REPORTING OF SUSPICIOUS

20 TRANSACTIONS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5318(g) of title 31,

22 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the

23 following new paragraph:

24 ‘‘(4) SINGLE DESIGNEE FOR REPORTING SUS25 PICIOUS TRANSACTIONS.—
10

•HR 3235 EH

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In requiring reports

2 under paragraph (1) of suspicious transactions,

3 the Secretary of the Treasury shall designate,

4 to the extent practicable and appropriate, a sin5 gle officer or agency of the United States to

6 whom such reports shall be made.

7 ‘‘(B) DUTY OF DESIGNEE.—The officer or

8 agency of the United States designated by the

9 Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to subpara10 graph (A) shall refer any report of a suspicious

11 transaction to any appropriate law enforcement

12 or supervisory agency.

13 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION WITH OTHER RE14 PORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Subparagraph (A)

15 shall not be construed as precluding any super16 visory agency for any financial institution from

17 requiring the financial institution to submit any

18 information or report to the agency or another

19 agency pursuant to any provision of law other

20 than this subsection.’’.

21 (b) REPORTS.—

22 (1) REPORTS REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the

23 Treasury shall submit an annual report to the Con24 gress at the times required under paragraph (2) on

25 the number of suspicious transactions reported to
11

•HR 3235 EH

1 the officer or agency designated under section

2 5318(g)(4)(A) of title 31, United States Code, dur3 ing the period covered by the report and the disposi4 tion of such reports.

5 (2) TIME FOR SUBMITTING REPORTS.—The 1st

6 report required under paragraph (1) shall be filed

7 before the end of the 1-year period beginning on the

8 date of the enactment of the Money Laundering

9 Suppression Act of 1994 and each subsequent report

10 shall be filed within 90 days after the end of each

11 of the 5 calendar years which begin after such date

12 of enactment.

13 (c) DESIGNATION REQUIRED TO BE MADE EXPEDI14 TIOUSLY.—The initial designation of an officer or agency

15 of the United States pursuant to the amendment made

16 by subsection (a) shall be made before the end of the 180-

17 day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this

18 Act.

19 SEC. 4. IMPROVEMENT OF IDENTIFICATION OF MONEY

20 LAUNDERING SCHEMES.

21 (a) ENHANCED TRAINING, EXAMINATIONS, AND RE22 FERRALS BY BANKING AGENCIES.—Before the end of the

23 6-month period beginning on the date of the enactment

24 of this Act, each appropriate Federal banking agency
12

•HR 3235 EH

1 shall, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury

2 and other appropriate law enforcement agencies—

3 (1) review and enhance training and examina4 tion procedures to improve the identification of

5 money laundering schemes involving depository insti6 tutions; and

7 (2) review and enhance procedures for referring

8 cases to any appropriate law enforcement agency.

9 (b) IMPROVED REPORTING OF CRIMINAL SCHEMES

10 BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.—The Secretary of

11 the Treasury and each appropriate law enforcement agen12 cy shall provide, on a regular basis, information regarding

13 money laundering schemes and activities involving deposi14 tory institutions to each appropriate Federal banking

15 agency in order to enhance the agency’s ability to examine

16 for and identify money laundering activity.

17 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Financial Institu18 tions Examination Council shall submit a report on the

19 progress made in carrying out subsection (a) and the use20 fulness of information received pursuant to subsection (b)

21 to the Congress by the end of the 1-year period beginning

22 on the date of the enactment of this Act.

23 (d) DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘appropriate Federal

24 banking agency’’ and ‘‘Federal banking agencies’’ have the
13

•HR 3235 EH

1 same meanings as in section 3 of the Federal Deposit In2 surance Act.

3 SEC. 5. NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS DRAWN ON FOREIGN

4 BANKS SUBJECT TO RECORDKEEPING AND

5 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

6 Section 5312(a)(3) of title 31, United States Code,

7 is amended—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara9 graph (A);

10 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub11 paragraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

12 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub13 paragraph:

14 ‘‘(C) as the Secretary of the Treasury shall

15 provide by regulation for purposes of section

16 5316, checks, drafts, notes, money orders, and

17 other similar instruments which are drawn on

18 or by a foreign financial institution and are not

19 in bearer form.’’.

20 SEC. 6. IMPOSITION OF CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES BY AP21 PROPRIATE FEDERAL BANKING AGENCIES.

22 Section 5321 of title 31, United States Code, is

23 amended by adding at the end the following new sub24 section:
14

•HR 3235 EH

1 ‘‘(e) DELEGATION OF ASSESSMENT AUTHORITY TO

2 BANKING AGENCIES.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the

4 Treasury shall delegate, in accordance with section

5 5318(a)(1) and subject to such terms and conditions

6 as the Secretary may impose in accordance with

7 paragraph (3), any authority of the Secretary to as8 sess a civil money penalty under this section on de9 pository institutions (as defined in section 3 of the

10 Federal Deposit Insurance Act) to the appropriate

11 Federal banking agencies (as defined in such section

12 3).

13 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF AGENCIES.—Subject to

14 any term or condition imposed by the Secretary of

15 the Treasury under paragraph (3), the provisions of

16 this section shall apply to an appropriate Federal

17 banking agency to which is delegated any authority

18 of the Secretary under this section in the same man19 ner such provisions apply to the Secretary.

20 ‘‘(3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the

22 Treasury shall prescribe by regulation the terms

23 and conditions which shall apply to any delega24 tion under paragraph (1).
15

•HR 3235 EH

1 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM DOLLAR AMOUNT.—The

2 terms and conditions authorized under subpara3 graph (A) may include, in the Secretary’s sole

4 discretion, a limitation on the amount of any

5 civil penalty which may be assessed by an ap6 propriate Federal banking agency pursuant to a

7 delegation under paragraph (1).’’.

8 SEC. 7. UNIFORM STATE LICENSING AND REGULATION OF

9 CHECK CASHING, CURRENCY EXCHANGE,

10 AND MONEY TRANSMITTING BUSINESSES.

11 (a) UNIFORM LAWS AND ENFORCEMENT.—For pur12 poses of preventing money laundering and protecting the

13 payment system from fraud and abuse, it is the sense of

14 the Congress that the several States should—

15 (1) establish uniform laws for licensing and reg16 ulating businesses which—

17 (A) provide check cashing, currency ex18 change, or money transmitting or remittance

19 services, or issue or redeem money orders, trav20 elers’ checks, and other similar instruments;

21 and

22 (B) are not depository institutions (as de23 fined in section 19(b)(1)(A) of the Federal Re24 serve Act); and
16

•HR 3235 EH

1 (2) provide sufficient resources to the appro2 priate State agency to enforce such laws and regula3 tions prescribed pursuant to such laws.

4 (b) MODEL STATUTE.—It is the sense of the Con5 gress that the several States should develop, through the

6 auspices of the National Conference of Commissioners on

7 Uniform State Laws, the American Law Institute, or such

8 other forum as the States may determine to be appro9 priate, a model statute to carry out the goals described

10 in subsection (a) which would include the following:

11 (1) LICENSING REQUIREMENTS.—A require12 ment that any business described in subsection

13 (a)(1) be licensed and regulated by an appropriate

14 State agency in order to engage in any such activity

15 within the State.

16 (2) LICENSING STANDARDS.—A requirement

17 that—

18 (A) in order for any business described in

19 subsection (a)(1) to be licensed in the State, the

20 appropriate State agency shall review and ap21 prove—

22 (i) the business record, the fee struc23 ture, and the capital adequacy of the busi24 ness seeking the license; and
17

•HR 3235 EH

1 (ii) the competence, experience, integ2 rity, and financial ability of any individual

3 who—

4 (I) is a director, officer, or super5 visory employee of such business; or

6 (II) owns or controls such busi7 ness; and

8 (B) any record, on the part of any business

9 seeking the license or any person referred to in

10 subparagraph (A)(ii), of—

11 (i) any criminal activity;

12 (ii) any fraud or other act of personal

13 dishonesty;

14 (iii) any act, omission, or practice

15 which constitutes a breach of a fiduciary

16 duty; or

17 (iv) any suspension or removal, by any

18 agency or department of the United States

19 or any State, from participation in the con20 duct of any federally or State licensed or

21 regulated business,

22 may be grounds for the denial of any such li23 cense by the appropriate State agency.

24 (3) PROCEDURES TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE

25 WITH FEDERAL CASH TRANSACTION REPORTING RE-
18

•HR 3235 EH

1 QUIREMENTS.—A civil or criminal penalty for oper2 ating any business referred to in paragraph (1)

3 without establishing and complying with appropriate

4 procedures to ensure compliance with subchapter II

5 of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code (relat6 ing to records and reports on monetary instruments

7 transactions).

8 (4) CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR OPERATION OF

9 BUSINESS WITHOUT A LICENSE.—A criminal penalty

10 for operating any business referred to in paragraph

11 (1) without a license within the State after the end

12 of an appropriate transition period beginning on the

13 date of the enactment of such model statute by the

14 State.

15 (c) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the Treas16 ury shall conduct a study of—

17 (1) the progress made by the several States in

18 developing and enacting a model statute which—

19 (A) meets the requirements of subsection

20 (b); and

21 (B) furthers the goals of—

22 (i) preventing money laundering by

23 businesses which are required to be li24 censed under any such statute; and
19

•HR 3235 EH

1 (ii) protecting the payment system, in2 cluding the receipt, payment, collection,

3 and clearing of checks, from fraud and

4 abuse by such businesses; and

5 (2) the adequacy of—

6 (A) the activity of the several States in en7 forcing the requirements of such statute; and

8 (B) the resources made available to the ap9 propriate State agencies for such enforcement

10 activity.

11 (d) REPORT REQUIRED.—Before the end of the 3-

12 year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this

13 Act and by the end of each of the first 2 1-year periods

14 beginning after the end of such 3-year period, the Sec15 retary of the Treasury shall submit a report to the Con16 gress containing the findings and recommendations of the

17 Secretary in connection with the study under subsection

18 (c), together with such recommendations for legislative

19 and administrative action as the Secretary may determine

20 to be appropriate.

21 (e) RECOMMENDATIONS IN CASES OF INADEQUATE

22 REGULATION AND ENFORCEMENT BY STATES.—If the

23 Secretary of the Treasury determines that any State has

24 been unable to—
20

•HR 3235 EH

1 (1) enact a statute which meets the require2 ments described in subsection (b);

3 (2) undertake adequate activity to enforce such

4 statute; or

5 (3) make adequate resources available to the

6 appropriate State agency for such enforcement activ7 ity,

8 the report submitted pursuant to subsection (d) shall con9 tain recommendations of the Secretary which are designed

10 to facilitate the enactment and enforcement by the State

11 of such a statute.

12 (f) FEDERAL FUNDING STUDY.—

13 (1) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the

14 Treasury shall conduct a study to identify possible

15 available sources of Federal funding to cover costs

16 which will be incurred by the States in carrying out

17 the purposes of this section.

18 (2) REPORT.—The Secretary of the Treasury

19 shall submit a report to the Congress on the study

20 conducted pursuant to paragraph (1) before the end

21 of the 18-month period beginning on the date of the

22 enactment of this Act.
21

•HR 3235 EH

1 SEC. 8. REGISTRATION OF MONEY TRANSMITTING BUSI2 NESSES TO PROMOTE EFFECTIVE LAW EN3 FORCEMENT.

4 (a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.—

5 (1) FINDINGS.—The Congress hereby finds the

6 following:

7 (A) Money transmitting businesses are

8 subject to the recordkeeping and reporting re9 quirements of subchapter II of chapter 53 of

10 title 31, United States Code.

11 (B) Money transmitting businesses are

12 largely unregulated businesses and are fre13 quently used in sophisticated schemes to—

14 (i) transfer large amounts of money

15 which are the proceeds of unlawful enter16 prises; and

17 (ii) evade the requirements of such

18 subchapter II, the Internal Revenue Code

19 of 1986, and other laws of the United

20 States.

21 (C) Information on the identity of money

22 transmitting businesses and the names of the

23 persons who own or control, or are officers or

24 employees of, a money transmitting business

25 would have a high degree of usefulness in crimi-
22

•HR 3235 EH

1 nal, tax, or regulatory investigations and pro2 ceedings.

3 (2) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section

4 to establish a registration requirement for businesses

5 engaged in providing check cashing, currency ex6 change, or money transmitting or remittance serv7 ices, or issuing or redeeming money orders, travel8 ers’ checks, and other similar instruments to assist

9 the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General,

10 and other supervisory and law enforcement agencies

11 to effectively enforce the criminal, tax, and regu12 latory laws and prevent such money transmitting

13 businesses from engaging in illegal activities.

14 (b) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 53 of

15 title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the

16 end the following new section:

17 ‘‘§ 5329. Registration of money transmitting busi18 nesses

19 ‘‘(a) REGISTRATION WITH SECRETARY OF THE

20 TREASURY REQUIRED.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who owns or

22 controls a money transmitting business which is not

23 a depository institution (as defined in section

24 19(b)(1)(A) of the Federal Reserve Act) shall reg25 ister the business (whether or not the business is li-
23

•HR 3235 EH

1 censed as a money transmitting business in any

2 State) with the Secretary of the Treasury before the

3 end of the 180-day period beginning on the later

4 of—

5 ‘‘(A) the date of the enactment of the

6 Money Laundering Suppression Act of 1994; or

7 ‘‘(B) the date the business is established.

8 ‘‘(2) FORM AND MANNER OF REGISTRATION.—

9 Subject to the requirements of subsection (b), the

10 Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe, by regula11 tion, the form and manner for registering a money

12 transmitting business pursuant to paragraph (1).

13 ‘‘(3) BUSINESSES REMAIN SUBJECT TO STATE

14 LAW.—This section shall not be construed as super15 seding any requirement of State law relating to

16 money transmitting businesses operating in such

17 State.

18 ‘‘(4) FALSE AND INCOMPLETE INFORMATION.—

19 The filing of false or materially incomplete informa20 tion in connection with the registration of a money

21 transmitting business shall be considered as a failure

22 to comply with the requirements of this subchapter.

23 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF REGISTRATION.—The registra24 tion of a money transmitting business under subsection

25 (a) shall include the following information:
24

•HR 3235 EH

1 ‘‘(1) The name and location of the business.

2 ‘‘(2) The name and address of each person

3 who—

4 ‘‘(A) owns or controls the business;

5 ‘‘(B) is an director or officer of the busi6 ness; or

7 ‘‘(C) otherwise participates in the conduct

8 of the affairs of the business.

9 ‘‘(3) The name and address of any depository

10 institution at which the business maintains a trans11 action account (as defined in section 19(b)(1)(C) of

12 the Federal Reserve Act).

13 ‘‘(4) An estimate of the volume of business in

14 the coming year (which shall be reported annually to

15 the Secretary).

16 ‘‘(5) Such other information as the Secretary of

17 the Treasury may require.

18 ‘‘(c) AGENTS OF MONEY TRANSMITTING BUSI19 NESSES.—

20 ‘‘(1) MAINTENANCE OF LISTS OF AGENTS OF

21 MONEY TRANSMITTING BUSINESSES.—Pursuant to

22 regulations which the Secretary of the Treasury

23 shall prescribe, each money transmitting business

24 shall—
25

•HR 3235 EH

1 ‘‘(A) maintain a list containing the names

2 and addresses of all persons authorized to act

3 as an agent for such business in connection

4 with activities described in subsection (d)(1)(A)

5 and such other information about such agents

6 as the Secretary may require; and

7 ‘‘(B) make the list and other information

8 available on request to any appropriate law en9 forcement agency.

10 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF AGENT AS MONEY TRANS11 MITTING BUSINESS.—The Secretary of the Treasury

12 shall prescribe regulations establishing, on the basis

13 of such criteria as the Secretary determines to be

14 appropriate, a threshold point for treating an agent

15 of a money transmitting business as a money trans16 mitting business for purposes of this section.

17 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

18 ‘‘(1) MONEY TRANSMITTING BUSINESS.—The

19 term ‘money transmitting business’ means any busi20 ness other than the United States Postal Service

21 which—

22 ‘‘(A) provides check cashing, currency ex23 change, or money transmitting or remittance

24 services, or issues or redeems money orders,

25 travelers’ checks, and other similar instruments;
26

•HR 3235 EH

1 ‘‘(B) is required to file reports under sec2 tion 5313; and

3 ‘‘(C) is not a depository institution (as de4 fined in section 19(b)(1)(A) of the Federal Re5 serve Act).

6 ‘‘(2) MONEY TRANSMITTING SERVICE.—The

7 term ‘money transmitting service’ includes accepting

8 currency or funds denominated in the currency of

9 any country and transmitting the currency or funds,

10 or the value of the currency or funds, by any means

11 through a financial agency or institution, a Federal

12 reserve bank or other facility of the Board of Gov13 ernors of the Federal Reserve System, or an elec14 tronic funds transfer network.

15 ‘‘(e) CIVIL PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY

16 WITH REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who fails to

18 comply with the money transmitting business reg19 istration requirements under subsection (a) or regu20 lations prescribed under such subsection shall be lia21 ble to the United States for a civil penalty of $5,000

22 for each such violation.

23 ‘‘(2) CONTINUING VIOLATION.—Each day a vio24 lation described in paragraph (1) continues shall
27

•HR 3235 EH

1 constitute a separate violation for purposes of such

2 paragraph.

3 ‘‘(3) ASSESSMENTS.—Any penalty imposed

4 under this subsection shall be assessed and collected

5 by the Secretary of the Treasury in the manner pro6 vided in section 5321 and any such assessment shall

7 be subject to the provisions of such section.’’.

8 (c) CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY

9 WITH REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.—Section

10 1960(b)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended

11 to read as follows:

12 ‘‘(1) the term ‘illegal money transmitting busi13 ness’ means a money transmitting business which

14 affects interstate or foreign commerce in any man15 ner or degree and—

16 ‘‘(A) is intentionally operated without an

17 appropriate money transmitting license in a

18 State where such operation is punishable as a

19 misdemeanor or a felony under State law; or

20 ‘‘(B) fails to comply with the money trans21 mitting business registration requirements

22 under section 5329 of title 31, United States

23 Code, or regulations prescribed under such

24 section;’’.
28

•HR 3235 EH

1 (d) CIVIL FORFEITURE.—Section 981(a)(1)(A) of

2 title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘or

3 of section 1956 or 1957 of this title,’’ and inserting ‘‘,

4 or of section 1956, 1957, or 1960 of this title,’’.

5 (e) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

6 for chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, is amended

7 by inserting after the item relating to section 5328 the

8 following new item:

‘‘5329. Registration of money transmitting businesses.’’.

9 SEC. 9. UNIFORM FEDERAL REGULATION OF CASINOS.

10 AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION OF FINANCIAL INSTI11 TUTION TO SPECIFICALLY INCLUDE CERTAIN CASINOS.—

12 Section 5312(a)(2) of title 31, United States Code, is

13 amended—

14 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (X) and

15 (Y) as subparagraphs (Y) and (Z), respectively; and

16 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (W) the fol17 lowing new subparagraph:

18 ‘‘(X) a casino, gambling casino, or gaming

19 establishment with an annual gaming revenue

20 of more than $1,000,000 which—

21 ‘‘(i) is licensed as a casino or gam22 bling casino under the laws of any State or

23 any political subdivision of any State; or

24 ‘‘(ii) is an Indian gaming operation

25 conducted under or pursuant to the Indian
29

•HR 3235 EH

1 Gaming Regulatory Act other than an op2 eration which is limited to class I gaming

3 (as defined in section 4(6) of such Act);’’.

4 SEC. 10. UNIFORM FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION OF RECORD5 KEEPING AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5318 of title 31, United

7 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow8 ing new subsection:

9 ‘‘(i) UNIFORM ADMINISTRATION OF SUBCHAPTER.—

10 ‘‘(1) NO EXEMPTIONS.—No exemption from

11 any recordkeeping or reporting requirement of this

12 subchapter, including paragraph (1), or of any regu13 lation prescribed pursuant to this subchapter may be

14 granted to—

15 ‘‘(A) any State or any political subdivision

16 of a State on behalf of any financial institution

17 which but, for such exemption, would be re18 quired to maintain records or file reports under

19 this subchapter or regulations prescribed by the

20 Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to this sub21 chapter; or

22 ‘‘(B) any financial institution on the basis

23 that any State, any political subdivision of any

24 State, or any officer, agency, or other authority
30

•HR 3235 EH

1 of any such State or political subdivision regu2 lates or examines such institution.

3 ‘‘(2) REPORTS REQUIRED TO BE FILED WITH

4 FEDERAL AGENCY.—Any report required under this

5 subchapter or regulations prescribed by the Sec6 retary of the Treasury pursuant to this subchapter

7 shall be filed by the person required to make the re8 port with the Secretary of the Treasury or an officer

9 or agency of the United States designated by the

10 Secretary to receive such report.’’.

11 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

12 Section 5318(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amend13 ed—

14 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or (i)’’ after

15 ‘‘subsection (b)(2)’’; and

16 (2) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘except as

17 provided in subsection (i),’’ before ‘‘prescribe an ap18 propriate exemption’’.

19 (c) REVOCATION OF PRIOR EXEMPTION.—Any ex20 emption granted under subchapter II of chapter 53 of title

21 31, United States Code, by the Secretary of the Treasury

22 before the date of the enactment of the Money Laundering

23 Suppression Act of 1994 to any State or local government

24 on behalf of any financial institution (as defined in such

25 subchapter) is hereby revoked as of the end of the 30-
31

•HR 3235 EH

1 day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this

2 Act.

3 SEC. 11. CRIMINAL AND CIVIL PENALTY FOR STRUCTURING

4 DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL TRANS5 ACTIONS.

6 (a) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Section 5324 of title 31,

7 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the

8 following new subsection:

9 ‘‘(c) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever violates this sec11 tion shall be fined in accordance with title 18, Unit12 ed States Code, imprisoned for not more than 5

13 years, or both.

14 ‘‘(2) ENHANCED PENALTY FOR AGGRAVATED

15 CASES.—Whoever violates this section while violating

16 another law of the United States or as part of a pat17 tern of any illegal activity involving more than

18 $100,000 in a 12-month period shall be fined twice

19 the amount provided in subsection (b)(3) or (c)(3)

20 (as the case may be) of section 3571 of title 18,

21 United States Code, imprisoned for not more than

22 10 years, or both.’’.

23 (b) AMENDMENT RELATING TO CIVIL PENALTY.—

24 Section 5321(a)(4)(A) of title 31, United States Code, is

25 amended by striking ‘‘willfully’’.
32

•HR 3235 EH

1 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—

2 Subsections (a) and (b) of section 5322 of title 31, United

3 States Code, are amended by inserting ‘‘or 5324’’ after

4 ‘‘section 5315’’ each place such term appears.

5 SEC. 12. GAO STUDY OF CASHIERS’ CHECKS.

6 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General of

7 the United States shall conduct a study to—

8 (1) determine the extent to which the practice

9 of issuing of cashiers’ checks by financial institu10 tions is vulnerable to money laundering schemes;

11 (2) determine the extent to which additional

12 recordkeeping requirements should be imposed on fi13 nancial institutions which issue cashiers’ checks; and

14 (3) analyze such other factors relating to the

15 use and regulation of cashiers’ checks as the Comp16 troller General determines to be appropriate.

17 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Before the end of the 6-

18 month period beginning on the date of the enactment of

19 this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report

20 to the Congress containing—

21 (1) the findings and conclusions of the Comp22 troller General in connection with the study con23 ducted pursuant to subsection (a); and
33

•HR 3235 EH

1 (2) such recommendations for legislative and

2 administrative action as the Comptroller General

3 may determine to be appropriate.

4 SEC. 13. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

5 (a) TITLE 31, U.S.C., AMENDMENTS.—

6 (1) Section 5321(a)(5)(A) of title 31, United

7 States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘any violation

8 of’’ after ‘‘causing’’.

9 (2) Section 5324(a) of title 31, United States

10 Code, is amended—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘section 5313(a), section

12 5325, or the regulations issued thereunder or

13 section 5325 or regulations prescribed under

14 such section 5325’’ each place such term ap15 pears and inserting ‘‘section 5313(a) or 5325

16 or any regulation prescribed under any such

17 section’’; and

18 (B) by striking ‘‘with respect to such

19 transaction’’.

20 (b) AMENDMENT RELATING TO TITLE 31, U.S.C.—

21 (1) Effective as of the date of the enactment of

22 the Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act,

23 section 1517(b) of such Act is amended by striking

24 ‘‘5314’’ and inserting ‘‘5318’’.
34

•HR 3235 EH

1 (2) Section 5239 of the Revised Statutes of the

2 United States is amended by redesignating the 2d

3 subsection (c) (as added by section 1502(a) of the

4 Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act) as

5 subsection (d).

Passed the House of Representatives March 21,

1994.

Attest:

Clerk.

HR 3235 EH——2

HR 3235 EH——3