Money Laundering: An Overview of 18 U.S.C. § 1956 and Related Federal Criminal Law
Released: 2017-11-30T00:00:00

Summary:
This report provides an overview of the elements of federal criminal money laundering statutes and the sanctions imposed for their violation. The most prominent is 18 U.S.C. § 1956. Section 1956 outlaws four kinds of money laundering—promotional, concealment, structuring, and tax evasion laundering of the proceeds generated by designated federal, state, and foreign underlying crimes (predicate offenses)—committed or attempted under one or more of three jurisdictional conditions (i.e., laundering involving certain financial transactions, laundering involving international transfers, and stings). Its companion, 18 U.S.C. § 1957, prohibits depositing or spending more than $10,000 of the proceeds from a predicate offense. Section 1956 violations are punishable by imprisonment for not more than 20 years. Section 1957 carries a maximum penalty of imprisonment for 10 years. Property involved in either case is subject to confiscation. Misconduct that implicates either offense may implicate other federal criminal statutes as well. Federal racketeer influenced and corrupt organization (RICO) provisions outlaw acquiring or conducting the affairs of an enterprise (whose activities affect interstate or foreign commerce) through the patterned commission of a series of underlying federal or state crimes. RICO violations are also 20-year felonies. The Section 1956 predicate offense list automatically includes every RICO predicate offense, including each "federal crime of terrorism." A second related statute, the Travel Act (18 U.S.C. § 1952), punishes interstate or foreign travel, or the use of interstate or foreign facilities, conducted with the intent to distribute the proceeds of a more modest list of predicate offenses or to promote or carry on such offenses when an overt act is committed in furtherance of that intent. Such misconduct is punishable by imprisonment for not more than five years. Other federal statutes proscribe, with varying sanctions, bulk cash smuggling, layering bank deposits to avoid reporting requirements, failure to comply with federal anti-money laundering provisions, or conducting an unlawful money transmission business.
Section 1956's ban on attempted international transportation of tainted proceeds for the purpose of concealing their ownership, source, nature, or ultimate location is limited to instances where concealment is a purpose rather than an attribute of the transportation (simple smuggling is not proscribed as such), as the Supreme Court explained in Cuellar v. United States, 553 U.S. 550 (2008). In a second case, the Court held that the "proceeds" of a predicate offense often referred to the profits rather than the gross receipts realized from the offense. United States v. Santos, 553 U.S. 507 (2008). Congress responded by defining "proceeds" for money laundering purposes as the property obtained or retained as a consequence of a predicate offense, including gross receipts. P.L. 111-21, 123 Stat. 1618 (2009) (S. 386) (111th Cong.).
The text of the statutes discussed, citations of state money laundering and money transmission statutes, and a list federal predicate offenses with their accompanying maximum terms of imprisonment appear at the end of the report. This report appears in abridged form, without footnotes, full citations, or appendixes, as CRS Report RS22401, Money Laundering: An Abridged Overview of 18 U.S.C. § 1956 and Related Federal Criminal Law. Related CRS Reports include CRS Report R44776, Anti-Money Laundering: An Overview for Congress, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed], and CRS Legal Sidebar WSLG1127, Anti-Terrorist/Anti-Money Laundering Information-Sharing by Financial Institutions Under FinCEN's Regulations, by [author name scrubbed] (available to congressional clients upon request).

subsections: section_title: Introduction
paragraphs: Money laundering is commonly understood as the process of cleansing the taint from the proceeds of crime. In federal criminal law, however, it is more. In the principal federal criminal money laundering statutes, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 and 1957, and to varying degrees in several other federal criminal statutes, money laundering involves the flow of resources to and from several hundred other federal, state, and foreign crimes. It consists of:
engaging in a financial transaction involving the proceeds of certain crimes in order to conceal the nature, source, or ownership of proceeds they produced; engaging in a financial transaction involving the proceeds of certain crimes in order to promote further offenses; transporting funds generated by certain criminal activities into, out of, or through the United States in order to promote further criminal activities, or to conceal the nature, source, or ownership of the criminal proceeds, or to evade reporting requirements; engaging in a financial transaction involving criminal proceeds in order to evade taxes on the income produced by the illicit activity; structuring financial transactions in order to evade reporting requirements; spending more than $10,000 of the proceeds of certain criminal activities; traveling in, or use of the facilities of, interstate or foreign commerce in order to distribute the proceeds of certain criminal activities; traveling in, or use of the facilities of, interstate or foreign commerce in order to promote certain criminal activities; transmitting the proceeds of, or funds to promote, criminal activity in the course of a money transmitting business; transmitting funds in the course of an unlawful money transmitting business; smuggling unreported cash across a U.S. border; or failing to comply with the Department of the Treasury's anti-money laundering provisions.
Money laundering in some forms is severely punished, sometimes more severely than the underlying crime with which it is associated. The penalties frequently include not only long prison terms, but the confiscation of the property laundered, involved in the laundering, or traceable to the laundering. The following is an overview of the elements and other legal attributes and consequences of a violation of Sections 1956 and 1957, as well as selected related federal criminal statutes.
section_title: 18 U.S.C. § 1956
paragraphs: Section 1956 outlaws four kinds of laundering—promotional, concealment, structuring, and tax evasion—committed or attempted under one or more of three jurisdictional conditions (i.e., laundering involving certain financial transactions, laundering involving international transfers, and stings). More precisely, Section 1956(a)(1) outlaws financial transactions involving the proceeds of other certain crimes—predicate offenses referred to as "specified unlawful activities" (sometimes known as SUA)—committed or attempted (1) with the intent to promote further predicate offenses; (2) with the intent to evade taxation; (3) knowing the transaction is designed to conceal laundering of the proceeds; or (4) knowing the transaction is designed to avoid anti-laundering reporting requirements.
Section 1956(a)(2) outlaws the international transportation or transmission (or attempted transportation or transmission) of funds (1) with the intent to promote a predicate offense; (2) knowing that the purpose is to conceal laundering of the funds and knowing that the funds are the proceeds of a predicate offense; or (3) knowing that the purpose is to avoid reporting requirements and knowing that the funds are the proceeds of a predicate offense.
Section 1956(a)(3) covers undercover investigations ("stings"). It outlaws financial transactions (or attempted transactions) that the defendant believes involve the proceeds of a predicate offense and that are intended to (1) promote a predicate offense, (2) conceal the source or ownership of the proceeds, or (3) avoid reporting requirements.
subsections: section_title: Promotion
subsections: section_title: Financial Transactions
paragraphs: Of the three promotional offenses, only the Section 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) financial transaction offense requires use of the proceeds of a predicate offense to promote a predicate offense; the Section 1956 international and sting offenses require only a purpose to promote a predicate offense regardless of the source of the proceeds. Section 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) applies to anyone who:
1. knowing
A. that the property involved in a financial transaction, 
B. represents the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity,
2. A. conducts or
B. attempts to conduct
such a financial transaction
3. which in fact involves the proceeds of specified unlawful activity
4. with the intent to promote the carrying on of specified unlawful activity.
The knowledge element is the subject of a specific definition which allows a conviction without the necessity of proving that the defendant knew the exact particulars of the underlying offense or even its nature; it is enough that he knew that the property came from some sort of criminal activity and that the property in fact constitutes the proceeds of a predicate offense. The knowledge element cannot be negated by turning a blind eye to reality. Here and throughout Section 1956, knowledge may be inferred from facts indicating that criminal activity is particularly likely.
Throughout Section 1956, a defendant "conducts" a financial transaction when he initiates, concludes, or participates in initiating, or concluding a transaction. The "financial transaction" element has two obvious components. It must be a transaction and it must be financial. Both components are defined by statute. Qualifying "transactions" may take virtually any shape that involves the disposition of something constituting the proceeds of an underlying crime, including a disposition as informal as handing cash over to someone else. The "financial" component supplies the jurisdiction foundation for a Section 1956(a)(1)(A)(ii) crime and each of the other crimes in Section 1956(a)(1). Qualifying transactions must either involve the movement of funds in a manner that affects interstate or foreign commerce or involve a financial institution engaged in, or whose activities affect, interstate or foreign commerce. In either case, the effect on interstate or foreign commerce need be no more than minimal to satisfy the jurisdictional requirement. 
The majority of Section 1956's crimes are related in one way or another to the commission or purported commission of at least one of a list of predicate offenses ("specified unlawful activities"). And so it is the financial transaction promotional offense. The proscribed transaction must involve the proceeds of a predicate offense and be designed to promote a predicate offense. The predicate offenses come in three varieties: state crimes, foreign crimes, and federal crimes. The list of state crimes is relatively short and consists of any state crime that is a RICO predicate offense, that is, "any act or threat involving murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act), which is chargeable under state law and punishable by imprisonment for more than one year."
The list of foreign crimes recognized as Section 1956 predicate offenses is more extensive than the list of state crimes, and covers among other things extraditable offenses, although crimes under the laws of other countries qualify as predicate offenses only if the financial transaction occurs in this country in whole or in part.
The list of federal predicate offenses is considerably longer if for no other reason than that the some qualifying offenses are specifically named and others qualify by cross-reference to the voluminous RICO predicate offense list. The crimes listed by name as predicates include offenses such as interstate kidnapping, theft of funds from federally supported programs, and bank robbery. RICO predicates also name bribery, mail fraud, and wire fraud as predicates. Moreover, the RICO predicate offense list encompasses by cross-reference the federal crimes of terrorism cataloged in 18 U.S.C. § 2333b(g)(5)(B). 
As for the promotional element, some of the lower courts have concluded that it "may be met by transactions that promote the continued prosperity of the underlying offense." One circuit has declared, however, that "the 'promotion' element of money laundering promotion cannot be met simply by demonstrating that the unlawfully earned monies were used to promote the continued functioning of an 'otherwise legitimate business enterprise.' For instance, paying the bills (payroll, rent, taxes) of a health care provider or a car dealership, even one engaged in frequent acts of fraud, may not suffice to support the promotion element."
The "proceeds" in the proceeds element of the offense is defined to consist of "any property derived from or obtained or retained, directly or indirectly, through some form of unlawful activity, including the gross receipts of such activity." 
The definition answers both the profits v. gross receipts question and several others as well. It makes it clear, for example, that the term includes proceeds from a lawful source, retained through the commission of a predicate offense. It does not necessarily invalidate, however, that line of lower court decisions which held that proceeds must be "derived from an already competed offense, or a completed phase of an ongoing offense, before they can be laundered." 
section_title: International Transmission or Transportation
paragraphs: The international promotional offense, Section 1956(a)(2)(A), applies to anyone who:
1. A. transports, transmits, or transfers, or
B. attempts to transport, transmit, or transfer
2. a monetary instrument or funds
3. A. from a place in the U.S. to or through a place outside the U.S. or
B. to a place in the U.S. from or through a place outside the U.S.
4. with the intent to promote the carrying on of specified unlawful activity.
"Monetary instruments" is a term defined broadly to include cash, checks, securities, and the like. Since Section 1952(a)(2)(A) proscribes both transportation and attempted transportation, prosecution may be had even though no funds were in fact transported internationally, as long as the government proves a substantial step towards international transportation. The section does not demand that the transported funds flow from a predicate offense or from any other unlawful source; all that is required is that the offender intends to use them to promote a predicate offense. Where the international promotional offense shares common elements with other Section 1956 offenses, they are comparably construed. Thus, similar "intent to promote" elements impose the same requirements of proof upon the government regardless of whether the offense charged is a Section 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) financial transaction promotional offense or a Section 1956(a)(2)(A) international transfer promotional offense. The statutory list of state, federal, and foreign predicate offenses (specified unlawful activities) applies to a Section 1956(a)(2)(A) offense as it does for all but one of the Section 1956 offenses.
section_title: Stings
paragraphs: The final promotional money laundering offense, Section 1956(a)(3)(A), is a variation of the financial transaction offense, created to cover situations in which law enforcement officials acting undercover have duped the offender into believing the agent is using the proceeds from a criminal source to promote a predicate offense when in fact he is not. The offense occurs when an offender:
1. with the intent to promote the carrying on of specific unlawful activity
2. A. conducts or
B. attempts to conduct
3. a financial transaction
4. involving property represented to be
A. the proceeds of specific unlawful activity or
B. property used to conduct or facilitate specified unlawful activity.
The generous statutory definition of "financial transactions," which embodies a "sale.... transfer, delivery, or other disposition" involving a monetary instrument or the use of a financial institution, applies with equal force here and throughout Section 1956. The "representations" alluded to are confined to those "made by a law enforcement officer or by another person at the direction of, or with the approval of, a federal official authorized to investigate or prosecute violations of this section." In sting prosecutions under other 1956 sections, the courts have held that the representation need not be explicit; it is enough that a reasonable person would infer from the circumstances that funds to be laundered were the proceeds of a predicate offense. The same construction applies to here. The qualifying state, federal, and foreign predicate offenses are the same for all the Section 1956 offenses including the Section 1956(a)(3)(A) promotional stings offenses.
Prosecution of Section 1956(a)(3) sting offenses might seem to invite entrapment defense claims. As a general rule, "[w]here the government has induced an individual to break the law and the defense of entrapment is at issue ... the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant was predisposed to commit the criminal act prior to first being approached by government agents." Evidence of a defendant's predisposition may include "(1) the character or reputation of the defendant; (2) whether the government made the initial suggestion of criminal activity; (3) whether the defendant engaged in the activity for profit; (4) whether the defendant showed any reluctance; and (5) the nature of the government's inducement." The defense, however, does not appear to have enjoyed a great deal of success in Section 1956(a)(3) cases.
section_title: Concealment
paragraphs: Like promotional money laundering, concealment money laundering comes in three varieties; concealment associated with a financial transaction, concealment associated with foreign transportation or transmission, and concealment associated with a sting.
subsections: section_title: Financial Transactions
paragraphs: Concealment in violation of Section 1956(a)(1)(B)(i) occurs when anyone:
1. knowing
A. that the property involved in a financial transaction
B. represents the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity,
2. A. conducts or
B. attempts to conduct
such a financial transaction
3. which in fact involves the proceeds of specified unlawful activity
4. knowing that the transaction is designed in whole or in part to conceal or disguise the nature, location, the source, the ownership, or the control of the proceeds of specified unlawful activity.
The concealment offense tracks the promotion offense closely and shares several common elements with the other offenses in Section 1956. Thus, the defendant must have known that the transaction, designed to conceal, involved crime-tainted proceeds, but need not have known the precise offense or its specifics. Gross receipts of a predicate offense may serve as qualifying "proceeds," for concealment as well as for promotional offenses. The actions that amount to "conduct[ing] or attempt[ing] to conduct" a proscribed transaction—for either concealment or promotional purposes—"include[] initiating, concluding, participating in initiating, or concluding a transaction." The broad definition of "financial transaction" found in Section 1956(c)(4) ("sale.... transfer, delivery, or other disposition" involving a monetary instrument or a financial institution) applies throughout the section. As with the promotion offenses, the government must show more than a financial transaction; proof that the defendant spent tainted funds, without more will not do. 
The concealment offense requires "a design" to conceal. It is the purpose of the scheme and not its effect that the element condemns. A financial transaction that offers neither the accused nor the property involved any apparent enhanced secrecy protection cannot be said to satisfy the intention to conceal element of the offense. The fact the defendant made no effort to conceal his identity is no defense, however, when the transactions were intended to conceal the nature, location, or origin of the property involved. 
As a general matter, "[e]vidence that may be considered when determining whether a transaction was designed to conceal includes: [deceptive] statements by a defendant probative of intent to conceal; unusual secrecy surrounding the transactions; structuring the transaction to avoid attention; depositing illegal profits in the bank account of a legitimate business; highly irregular features of the transaction; using third parties to conceal the real owner; a series of unusual financial moves cumulating in the transaction; and expert testimony on practices of criminals." Although the government need not always prove that a transaction was designed to create the appearance of legitimate wealth, efforts to create such an appearance often signal a money laundering violation.
section_title: International Transportation or Transmission
paragraphs: The international concealment offense of Section 1956(a)(2)(B)(i) penalizes anyone who:
1. A. transports, transmits, or transfers, or
B. attempts to transport, transmit, or transfer
2. a monetary instrument or funds
3. A. from a place in the U.S. to or through a place outside the U.S. or
B. to a place in the U.S. from or through a place outside the U.S.
4. knowing they came from some form of unlawful activity, and
5. knowing the transportation, transmission, or transfer is designed to conceal or disguise
A. the nature,
B. location,
C. source,
D. ownership, or
E. control of
6. the proceeds of a specified unlawful activity.
The standard definitions and construction apply to several of the elements of Section 1956(a)(2)(B)'s international concealment offense. It is the deceptive laundering of the proceeds of state, federal, and foreign predicate offenses that the section proscribes, but only when the proceeds come in the form of "a monetary instrument or funds." There is no consensus over whether the international money laundering proscriptions of Section 1956(a)(2)(B) reach international transactions that consist of a series of related transfers when the deceptive or evasive transfer in the series is committed entirely either before or after the international transfer.
The Supreme Court, however, has made it clear that the concealment proscribed refers to the purpose for the transportation, not its method. The Court in Regalado Cuellar held that evidence that the defendant attempted to smuggle cash out of the United States was insufficient to support a prosecution for violation of Section 1956(a)(2)(B)(i), absent evidence of a design to conceal the ownership, source, nature, or ultimate location of the funds. It made it equally clear, however, that violations are not limited to those instances where the government can establish that the transportation was intended to create the appearance of legitimate wealth.
A drafting quirk raises some question concerning the first knowledge element of the Section 1956(a)(2)(B) international transfer offense ("knowing that the … funds involved … some form of unlawful activity"). Elsewhere, the statute uses the phrase "knowing that the property in a financial transaction." The statute then goes on to say that the phrase "knowing that the property in a financial transaction" means that the defendant need not know that "unlawful activity" which generates the laundered proceeds constitutes a money laundering predicate offense; it is enough that he knows that a state, federal, or foreign offense generates the proceeds. The statute provides no comparable caveat for the phrase, "knowing that the … funds involve…" Nevertheless, at least one court has held that the same caveat applies to Section 1956(a)(2)(B) international offenses notwithstanding the differences in terminology.
section_title: Stings
paragraphs: The sting concealment offense in Section 1956(a)(3)(B) is much like the promotional sting offense and occurs when an offender:
1. with the intent to conceal or disguise
A. the nature,
B. location,
C. source,
D. ownership, or
E. control of
2. property believed to be the proceeds of a specified unlawful activity
3. A. conducts or
B. attempts to conduct
a financial transaction
4. involving property represented to be
A. the proceeds of specific unlawful activity or
B. property used to conduct or facilitate specified unlawful activity.
For purposes of the concealment element of Section 1956(a)(3)(B), exchanging small bills for larger ones may evidence an intent to conceal the location of the proceeds of a predicate offense since a large bill is more easily concealed than the small bills representing an equal amount. Other indicia of an intent to conceal include (1) "unusual secrecy surrounding the transaction," (2) "structuring the transactions to avoid attention," (3) "depositing illegal funds with a legitimate enterprise," (4) "highly irregular features of the transaction," (5) "using third parties to conceal the real owner of the funds," and (6) "unusual financial moves."
The sting proscriptions are based on a belief rather than knowledge that the proceeds involved are those of a predicate offense. Nevertheless, a defendant is still not free to turn a blind eye to representations that the proceeds have a predicate offense taint.
The "financial transaction" element of the offense demands, as in other Section 1956 offenses, either a transaction that affects interstate or foreign commerce or a transaction involving the use of a financial institution engaged in or whose activities affect interstate or foreign commerce. To satisfy the "financial institution" prong of the "financial transaction" element of the offense, the government need only establish that the transaction involved "the use of a financial institution" with an interstate or foreign commerce nexus, not that the institution was itself an integral or essential part of the transaction. To satisfy the "transaction" prong, the government need only establish a minimal effect on interstate commerce.
The representational element does not require undercover agents to have told the defendant in so many words that the transaction involves the proceeds of a predicate offense; it is enough that they "made the defendant aware of circumstances from which a reasonable person would infer that the property was [the proceeds of a predicate offense]."
section_title: Evading Reporting Requirements (Smurfing)
paragraphs: Early anti-money laundering efforts sought to enlist the assistance of financial institutions. They were to report large cash transactions to the government. To avoid disclosure of their activities, money launderers sent forth a swarm of subordinates ("smurfs") who scurried from bank to bank where they engaged in layered or structured transactions so that no single transaction exceeded the threshold amount of the financial institution's reporting requirements. There are three anti-structuring Section 1956 offenses: one involving financial institutions; one involving international transactions; and one involving stings. The volume of case law, however, suggests that structuring prosecutions are more often brought under 31 U.S.C. § 5324, discussed infra .
subsections: section_title: Financial Transactions
paragraphs: The most common of the structuring offenses is that which involves a financial transaction, Section 1956(a)(1)(B)(ii), which forbids:
1. knowing
A. that the property involved in a financial transaction,
B. represents the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity,
2. A. conducts or
B. attempts to conduct
such a financial transaction
3. which in fact involves the proceeds of specified unlawful activity
4. with the intent to avoid a state or federal transaction reporting requirement.
Implicit in the intent element is the obligation of the government to establish that the defendant knew of the reporting requirements. Section 1956's definitions apply to each offense, including the Section 1956(a)(1)(B)(ii) structuring offense. The phrase "knowing that the property involved in a financial transaction represents the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity" means that the offender must know that the proceeds are derived from some violation of state, federal, or foreign law, but need not know they come from a predicate offense. "Conducts" includes the initiation or participation in a transaction. The required "financial transaction" is any disposition that either affects interstate or foreign commerce or involves either a financial institution engaged in, or whose activities affect, interstate or foreign commerce. The "specified unlawful activities" that must in fact have produced the proceeds involved in the transaction are the same state, federal, and foreign predicate offenses that trigger liability for other offenses in Section 1956.
section_title: International Transportation or Transmission
paragraphs: The international smurfing offense of Section 1956(a)(2)(B)(ii) is unusual in that it does not require the presence of proceeds of a predicate offense, as long as the funds are proceeds of some criminal offense. It penalizes anyone who:
1. A. transports, transmits, or transfers, or
B. attempts to transport, transmit, or transfer
2. a monetary instrument or funds
3. A. from a place in the U.S. to or through a place outside the U.S. or
B. to a place in the U.S. from or through a place outside the U.S.
4. knowing they represent the proceeds from some form of unlawful activity, and
5. knowing the transportation, transmission, or transfer is designed to avoid a state or federal transaction reporting requirement.
The unlawful activity that generates the proceeds that are the subject of the offense apparently is any felonious violation of state, federal, or foreign law and need not be a predicate offense.
section_title: Stings
paragraphs: The sting structuring provision, in contrast, has a predicate offense element:
1. with the intent to avoid a state or federal transaction reporting requirement
2. A. conducts or
B. attempts to conduct
3. a financial transaction
4. involving property represented to be
A. the proceeds of specific unlawful activity or
B. property used to conduct or facilitate specified unlawful activity.
The representation element may be satisfied by "hints" from undercover officers that the property involved in the transaction comes from a predicate offense; the officers need not have said so in so many words.
section_title: Tax Evasion
paragraphs: The tax evasion money laundering offense must be tethered to a financial transaction, 18 U.S.C. 1956(a)(1)(A)(ii); there is no international or undercover counterpart.
subsections: section_title: Financial Transactions
paragraphs: Money laundering for tax evasion purposes occurs whenever a person:
1. knowing
A. that the property involved in a financial transaction,
B. represents the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity,
2. A. conducts or
B. attempts to conduct
such a financial transaction
3. which in fact involves the proceeds of specified unlawful activity
4. with the intent to engage in conduct in violation of 26 U.S.C. 7201 (attempt to evade or defeat tax) or 7206 (tax fraud or false tax statements).
A tax evasion, laundering prosecution requires the government to show that the defendant acted intentionally rather than inadvertently, but not that the defendant knew that his conduct violated the tax laws.
section_title: Conspiracy, Attempt, Aiding and Abetting
paragraphs: Each of the 10 criminal proscriptions found in Section 1956 outlaws both the completed offense and the attempt to commit it. Attempt eliminates the need to proof each of the elements of the underlying offense. It requires no more than intent to violate the underlying offense and a "substantial step" towards that end.
Conspiracy to commit a federal crime is a separate federal offense punishable by imprisonment for not more than five years. In addition, Section 1956(h) declares that "[a]ny person who conspires to commit any offense defined in this section or section 1957 shall be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense the commission of which was the object of the conspiracy." A casual reading might indicate that Section 1956(h) simply changes the penalty to match the other penalties for violating Section 1956. Section 1956(h), however, creates a separate crime. The distinction matters because violation of the general conspiracy statute is not complete until one of the conspirators commits an overt act in furtherance of the scheme. Section 1956(h) has no such overt act requirement. Conspiracy to violate Section 1956 carries with it the prospect of liability for any foreseeable offenses committed by co-conspirators in furtherance of the scheme.
The confluence of the language of Section 1956(h) and that of the substantive offenses in Section 1956, each of which contains an attempt component, raises the curious possibility of a prosecution of conspiracy to attempt a violation of one of the substantive offenses. Although the case law is sparse, the courts appear to have acknowledged that "conspiracy to attempt" may constitute an indictable offense both as a general matter and in the case of Section 1956. The cases, however, do not discuss the offense's precise elements. Attempt ordinarily requires proof of an intent to commit the underlying offense and a substantial step towards that objective; conspiracy to attempt, whether in the absence of an overt act requirement or not, presumably requires something less.
As a general matter, anyone who commands, counsels, or aids and abets the commission of a federal crime by another is equally culpable and equally punishable. "In order to aid and abet another to commit a crime it is necessary that a defendant in some sort associated himself with the venture, that he participated in it as in something that he wishes to bring about, that he seek by his action to make it succeed." 
section_title: Consequences
paragraphs: Prison terms, fines, restitution, confiscation, and civil penalties may follow as a consequence of conviction of a money laundering offense.
subsections: section_title: Imprisonment
paragraphs: Any violation of Section 1956 is punishable by imprisonment for not more than 20 years. The first sentencing guidelines reflected the fact that Section 1956 was a 20-year felony and the anticipation that the section would apply primarily in cases in which drug trafficking and organized crime offenses were the predicate offenses. Thereafter, the Sentencing Commission became concerned about the application of the initial guidelines in cases involving less severely punished predicate offenses such as mail fraud. Subsequent amendments to the guidelines and penalty increases in some of the predicate offenses address that concern. Defendants sentenced to a term of imprisonment may also be subject to a term of supervised release of up to three years to be served upon their release from prison.
section_title: Fines and Civil Penalties
paragraphs: Violations of Section 1956(a)(1) and (a)(2), the financial institution and interstate or foreign transmission offenses, are punishable by a fine of no more than the greater of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the offense. Sting violations are punishable by a fine of not more than the greater of $250,000 ($500,000 for an organization) or twice the amount involved in the offense. Violators of any provisions of Section 1956 are subject to a civil penalty of no more than the greater of $10,000 or the value of the property involved in the offense.
section_title: Forfeiture
paragraphs: Forfeiture is the confiscation of property to the government as a consequence of the property's proximity to some form of criminal activity. The government's claim to the property can be secured by default or through judicial proceedings conducted either civilly and ordinarily in rem (against the property itself) or as part of the criminal proceedings against the property owner. The proceeds of a confiscation are generally shared among the law enforcement agencies that participate in the investigation and prosecution of the forfeiture.
Section 1956 provides a vehicle for civil or criminal confiscation in two very distinct ways. First, the "proceeds" of any Section 1956 predicate offense (and any property traceable to such proceeds) are subject to confiscation without the necessity of any actual violation of Section 1956. This permits the confiscation of property derived from crimes that might form the basis for a money laundering offense without having to prove that a money laundering offense occurred. Second, property "involved" in a Section 1956 money laundering offense (or property traceable to such involved property) may be confiscated. Involved property obviously includes more than the proceeds of the predicate offense, since the proceeds are separately forfeitable already. "Property eligible for forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. §982(a)(1) includes that money or property which was actually laundered ... , along with any commissions or fees paid to the launderer and any property used to facilitate the laundering offense." 
In theory, confiscation might dip into both sides of a tainted transaction, the proceeds from the predicate offense and the cashier's check, real estate, jewelry, or sports car purchased with the proceeds in a laundering transaction. In practice, however, involved property has been construed to mean untainted property joined with the proceeds of a predicate offense as part of the laundering transaction. Property acquired in exchange for the proceeds or for the proceeds and other involved property is forfeitable as traceable property. The government may confiscate the property on either side of the transaction, but not the property on both sides.
The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive fines. Fines are excessive if they are grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the offender's misconduct. While the Excessive Fines Clause may impose limits upon the permissible extent of the confiscation for failure to comply with anti-money laundering reporting statutes, forfeitures under Section 1956 are not ordinarily considered excessive because of the gravity of the offense and of its predicate offenses.
section_title: Venue
paragraphs: The Constitution guarantees the accused the right to trial in the state in which the crime charged was committed and before a jury from the state and district in which the crime was committed. In United States v. Cabrales , the defendant was tried in Florida for laundering the proceeds of a Missouri drug trafficking ring. The Supreme Court held the Constitution requires that money laundering charges be tried in the state and district where the laundering occurred; trial in the state where the predicate offense drug trafficking occurred was not permissible alternative. The Court suggested, however, that trial in Florida have been permissible if the launderer was a co-conspirator in drug trafficking scheme or if he had participated in the transfer of the laundered property from the place where the predicate offense occurred (Missouri) to the place where the laundering occurred (Florida). Congress quickly amended Section 1956's venue provision in light of the Court's decision.
section_title: 18 U.S.C. § 1957
subsections: section_title: Elements
paragraphs: Unless there is some element of promotion, concealment, or evasion, Section 1956 does not make simply spending or depositing tainted money a separate crime. Section 1957 does. It outlaws otherwise innocent transactions contaminated by the origin of the property involved in the transaction. Using most of the same definitions as Section 1956, the elements of Section 1957 cover anyone who:
1. A. in the United States,
B. in the special maritime or territorial jurisdiction of the United States,
or
C. outside the United States if the defendant is an American,
2. knowingly
3. A. engages or
B. attempts to engage in
4. a monetary transaction
5. A.in or affecting U.S. interstate or foreign commerce, or
B. committed by a U.S. national outside the U.S. 
6. in criminally derived property that
A. is of a greater value than $10,000 and
B. is derived from specified unlawful activity.
The courts often supply an abbreviated statement of the crime's elements. So it is said that "In order to be found guilty of money laundering, 'a defendant must (1) knowingly engage, or attempt to engage in a monetary transaction, (2) know that the funds involved in the transaction are criminally derived, (3) use criminally derived funds in excess of $10,000 in the transaction, and (4) use funds derived from specified unlawful activity.'" 
At the heart of any Section 1957 offense lies a monetary transaction. A monetary transaction for purposes of Section 1957 is any deposit, withdrawal, or transfer of funds, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, and involving a financial institution. Numbered among the qualifying financial institutions are banks and credit unions, but also car dealerships, jewelers, casinos, stockbrokers, travel agents, and pawnbrokers, to mention a few. Section 1957 only applies to transactions involving $10,000 or more at the time of the transaction . The government's jurisdictional burden is comparable to the one it must bear for Section 1956 (a transaction in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce) and demands evidence of only a slight impact on commerce.
The government must prove that the defendant knew the funds or other property in the transaction was "criminally derived property," that is, the proceeds, or funds derived from the proceeds, of criminal activity. The government need not show that the defendant knew that proceeds were the product of a "specified unlawful activity," but the proceeds must in fact be derived from a specified unlawful activity (predicate offense). The proceeds may consist of the gross receipts of crime (not merely its profits), and in most circuits proceeds are no less proceeds because they have been comingled with untainted funds. 
Section 1957 contains an attorney's fee exception. It excludes from the "monetary transaction" element of the offense "any transaction necessary to preserve a person's right to representation as guaranteed by the sixth amendment to the Constitution." The exception, however, reach no more than an individual's payment of services covered by the Sixth Amendment. It creates a safe harbor against prosecutions under Section 1957, but is no defense to a charge of promotional, concealment, or evasive money laundering under Section 1956.
section_title: Conspiracy, Attempt, Aiding and Abetting
paragraphs: Section 1957 proscribes attempts to violate its provisions. As a general rule, attempt requires proof of an intent to commit the underlying offense and the commission of a substantial step towards its completion. The general rules apply with respect to attempts to commit the offenses under Section 1956, and there is every reason to believe they apply to attempts to commit a violation of Section 1957.
Section 1956(h) outlaws conspiracy to violate Section 1957. A conviction for conspiracy to violate the section requires the government to prove: "(1) there was an agreement between two or more persons to commit money laundering and (2) that the defendant joined the agreement knowing its purpose and with the intent to further the illegal purpose." Section 1956(h) creates a crime which requires no proof of an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. In addition to the conspiracy offense, conspirators are liable for the foreseeable offenses committed by co-conspirators in furtherance of the scheme. Those who aid or abet the money laundering of another are likewise liable as though they had committed the offense themselves.
section_title: Consequences
subsections: section_title: Imprisonment
paragraphs: Violation of Section 1957 and conspiracy to violate Section 1957 are each punishable by imprisonment for not more than 10 years. Under the recommendations of the Sentencing Guidelines, many offenders will be ineligible for a sentence of probation even as part of a split sentence. Where probation is available and imposed, the term must be not less than one nor more than five years. If imprisoned, offenders may also be subject to a term of supervised release of up to three years to be served after they leave prison.
section_title: Fines
paragraphs: Violation of Section 1957 and conspiracy to violate Section 1957 are each punishable by a fine of not more than the greater of $250,000 ($500,000 for an organization) or twice the amount involved in the transaction. Violators of Section 1957 are also subject to a civil penalty of no more than the greater of $10,000 or the value of the property involved in the offense.
section_title: Forfeiture
paragraphs: Any property involved in a violation of Section 1957 or traceable to property involved in a violation of Section 1957 is subject to confiscation under either civil or criminal procedures, and the applicable law is essentially the same as in the case of Section 1956.
section_title: 18 U.S.C. § 1952: Travel Act
paragraphs: The Travel Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1952, is one of the older members of the family of money laundering related criminal statutes. While Sections 1956 and 1957 punish transactions involving promoting, concealing, spending, and depositing tainted funds, the Travel Act punishes interstate or foreign travel (or use of the facilities of interstate or foreign commerce) conducted with the intent to (1) distribute the proceeds of a more modest list of predicate offenses ("unlawful activity"), (2) promote or carry on such offenses when there is an overt act in furtherance of that intent, or (3) commit some violent act in their furtherance. The first two variants bear some resemblance to the concealment and promotion offenses of Section 1956 and somewhat more remotely to the deposit/spending proscriptions of Section 1957. The violent crime component of the Travel Act is only coincidentally related to money laundering and consequently will be mentioned only in passing.
The Travel Act's elements cover anyone who:
1. A. travels in interstate or foreign commerce, or
B. uses any facility in interstate or foreign commerce, or
C. uses the mail
2. with intent
A. to distribute the proceeds of an unlawful activity, i.e.,
i. any business enterprise involving unlawful activities gambling, moonshining, drug dealing, or prostitution; or
ii. extortion, bribery, or arson; or
iii. any act which is indictable as money laundering; or
B. commit an act of violence to further an unlawful activity; or
C. to otherwise
i. promote,
ii. manage,
iii. establish,
iv. carry on, or
v. facilitate the promotion, management, establishment, or carrying on
any unlawful activity; and
3. thereafter
A. distributes or attempts to distribute such proceeds, or
B. commits or attempts to commit such act of violence, or
C. promotes, manages, establishes, carries on, or facilitates the promotion, management, establishment, or carrying on such unlawful activities or attempts to do so.
subsections: section_title: Distribution, Facilitation, and Violence
paragraphs: The courts often abbreviate their statement of the Travel Act's elements to encompass only whichever of the versions—distribution or promotion—is at issue:
Distribution — The essential elements of a violation under section 1952(a) are: "(1) travel in interstate or foreign commerce; (2) with the specific intent to distribute the proceeds of an unlawful activity; and (3) knowing and willful commission of an act in furtherance of that intent."
Promotion — The government must prove that "(1) [the defendant] traveled in interstate or foreign commerce [or uses an interstate facility] (2) with the specific intent to promote, manage, establish, or carry on ... any unlawful activity and (3) that [the defendant] committed a knowing and willful act in furtherance of that intent, subsequent to the act of travel in interstate commerce."
The accused need not have been guilty of the unlawful activities that generated the distributed proceeds. "Distribution" in Section 1952(a)(1) "carries a connotation of distribution of illegal proceeds to persons in organized crime conspiracies. Certainly the person receiving them must be entitled to them for reasons other than normal and otherwise lawful purchase and sale of goods at market prices." Distribution, however, does include distribution to "pay off" criminal associates, as well as the interstate transfer of criminal proceeds to a confederate for the purchase of a controlling interest in a bank in order to facilitate subsequent laundering. Actual distribution is not necessary for conviction; the offense simply involves interstate commerce; intent to distribute; and a subsequent attempt to distribute, meaning some action—perhaps incomplete or unsuccessful—in furtherance of the intent to distribute.
The dimensions of the promotional offense are comparable. In addition to interstate travel or the use of interstate facilities with the requisite intent, it requires the performance or attempted performance of some subsequent overt act in furtherance of the intent to "promote, manage, establish, carry on, or facilitate the promotion, management, establishment or carrying on" of a predicate offense such as a business enterprise involving drug dealing. Since the statute condemns attempt and promotion rather than commission of a predicate act, the overt act need not constitute a completed predicate offense. The promotional travel offense encompasses forms of promoting, managing, and carrying on a predicate offense other than those that resemble money laundering, such as the interstate transportation of controlled substances or use of a cell phone (a facility in interstate commerce) to promote a predicate offense. 
section_title: Travel, etc.
paragraphs: Common to each of the three offenses is the jurisdictional element: interstate or foreign travel or the use of the mail or some other facility of interstate or foreign travel. When the Travel Act's jurisdictional element involves mail or facilities in interstate or foreign commerce, rather than interstate travel, evidence that a telephone was used, the Internet, or an ATM, or the facilitates of an interstate banking chain will do. The government is not required to show that the defendant used the facilities himself or that the use was critical to the success of the criminal venture. It is enough that he caused them to be used and that their employment was useful for his purposes. "Substantive cases brought under 18 U.S.C. § 1952 have been uniform in their holdings that it is unnecessary to prove a defendant had actual knowledge of the jurisdictional element, and that he actually agreed and intended to use interstate facilities to commit a crime."
section_title: Unlawful Activity
paragraphs: The Travel Act's proceeds distribution, promotional, and violence in furtherance offenses all use the same list of predicate offenses ("unlawful activity"). The Travel Act's predicate offenses come in three stripes—money laundering offenses; extortion-bribery-arson offenses; and offenses of the gambling, prostitution, drug dealing, and bootlegging "businesses." The money laundering predicate offenses include Sections 1956 and 1957 as well as the currency transaction reporting offenses.
The second class of Travel Act predicate offenses consists simply of the crimes of extortion, bribery, or arson committed in violation of state or federal law. The terms "extortion," "bribery," and "arson" as they appear in the Travel Act are generic; they mean what they were commonly understood to mean when the Travel Act was enacted, even if the common law definition is more restrictive or if the state law that proscribes them uses a different name.
The final class of Travel Act predicates is more restrictive. It encompasses gambling, prostitution, drug dealing, and certain forms of tax evasion only when committed in conjunction with a "business enterprise." A criminal business enterprise, as understood in the Travel Act, "contemplates a continuous course of business – one that already exists at the time of the overt act or is intended thereafter. Evidence of an isolated criminal act, or even sporadic acts, will not suffice," and it must be shown to be involved in an unlawful activity outlawed by a specifically identified state or federal statute.
section_title: Conspiracy, Aiding and Abetting
paragraphs: Attempting to violate the Travel Act is not a federal offense. It is a crime to conspire to do so, however, or to aid and abet another to do so. The principles of accomplice and co-conspirator liability, discussed earlier, apply with equal force to the Travel Act. Coconspirators are liable for the crimes of their confederates committed in furtherance of the conspiracy. "To support aider and abettor liability, [the] defendant must have had general knowledge regarding the activities prohibited under the Travel Act and the intent to assist those activities." 
section_title: Consequences
paragraphs: The money laundering-like distribution and facilitation offenses of the Travel Act, Sections 1952(a)(1) and 1952(a)(3), are punishable by imprisonment for not more than five years. Offenders subject to a fine of the greater of not more than $250,000 ($500,000 for organizations) or twice the gain or loss associated with the offense. If imprisoned, offenders may also be subject to a term of supervised release of up to three years to be served upon their release from prison. Property associated with a violation of Section 1952 is not subject to confiscation solely by virtue of that fact, although the property may be confiscated by operation of the laws governing a Section 1952 predicate offense or by operation of RICO or the money laundering provisions. For example, interstate travel conducted with the intent to distribute drug trafficking proceeds involving an act in furtherance of that intent is a violation of Section 1952. The proceeds are not subject to forfeiture as a consequence, but they are subject to confiscation by operation of the forfeiture provisions of the Controlled Substances Act. Moreover, Travel Act violations have been designated RICO predicate offenses and consequently qualify as money laundering predicates under Sections 1956 and 1957. Thus, to the extent that Travel Act proceeds are involved in a financial transaction or monetary transaction in violation of Section 1956 or 1957, they are subject to confiscation. 
section_title: 31 U.S.C. § 5322: Reporting Requirements
paragraphs: Section 5322 penalizes willful violation of several monetary transaction reporting requirements found primarily in title 31 of the United States Code. The section's coverage extends to violations of the following sections and their attendant regulations:
-31 U.S.C. § 5313 – financial institution reports of cash transactions involving $10,000 or more; 
-31 U.S.C. § 5314 – reports by persons in the U.S. of foreign financial agency transactions;
-31 U.S.C. § 5316 – reports by any person taking $10,000 in cash out of the U.S. or bringing it in;
-31 U.S.C. § 5318 – suspicious transaction reports by financial institutions;
-31 U.S.C. § 5318A – special measures record keeping and reports by financial institutions relating to foreign counter-money laundering concerns;
-31 U.S.C. § 5325 – reports by financial institutions issuing cashier's checks in amounts of $3000 or more;
-31 U.S.C. § 5326 – cash transaction reports by financial institutions and/or various trades or businesses pursuant to Treasury Department geographical orders;
-31 U.S.C. § 5331 – reports of trades and businesses other than financial institutions of cash transactions involving $10,000 or more;
-12 U.S.C. § 1829b – record keeping requirements of federally insured depository institutions; and
-12 U.S.C. § 1953 – record keeping by uninsured banks or similar institutions.
Section 5322 does not cover violations of Section 5315 (relating to foreign currency transaction reports) which are subject to the civil penalty provisions of 31 U.S.C. § 5321 or of Section 5324 (relating to structuring financial transactions) which carries its own criminal penalties. 
In order to establish "willful" violation of Section 5322, the government must prove that the accused knew that his breach of the statute was unlawful.
Simple violations of Section 5322 are punishable by imprisonment for not more than five years, a fine of not more than $250,000, or both. Violations committed during the commission of another federal crime or as part of a pattern of illegal activity involving more than $100,000 over the course of a year are punishable by imprisonment for not more than 10 years; a fine of not more than $500,000 (not more than $1 million for a special measures violation (31 U.S.C. 5318A)) or a violation involving a breach of due diligence with respect to private banking for foreign customers or foreign shell banks (31 U.S.C. 5318(i), (j)); or both.
Section 5322 is a Travel Act predicate offense. It is also a RICO predicate offense, but unlike most RICO predicates is not a Section 1956 or 1957 money laundering predicate offense. Property associated with violations of two of the sections within its coverage is subject to confiscation. Under Section 5317(c), property becomes forfeitable when it is involved in, or traceable to, a violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5313 (reports relating to cash transactions involving $10,000 or more) or of 31 U.S.C. § 5316 (reports relating to taking $10,000 or more out of the U.S. or to bring it into the U.S.). The confiscation, however, may be subject to a constitutional limitation on excessive fine limitation. In United States v. Bajakajian , the Supreme Court held that the confiscation of $357,144 for a violation of 31 U.S.C. 5322 occasioned by a failure to comply with the reporting requirements of 31 U.S.C. § 5316 would constitute an unconstitutionally excessive fine—in the absence of evidence that the money was derived from, or destined to facilitate, some other criminal activity. In later cases involving the failure to report transported cash, the courts have occasionally ordered confiscation of less than all of the unreported cash if the total was substantial and the cash was otherwise untainted. In most instances, however, Bajakajian appears to pose little obstacle to total or near total forfeiture.
section_title: 31 U.S.C. § 5324: Anti-Structuring
paragraphs: Structuring is organizing financial transactions or reports relating to financial transactions so as to evade reporting requirements, for example, by dividing a $12,000 bank deposit into three separate $4,000 deposits in order to evade the $10,000 reporting requirement. Section 5324 condemns three categories of structuring: one is devoted to transactions involving banks, credit unions, car dealerships, jewelers, casinos, and the other similar entities classified as financial institutions; another to cash transactions of $10,000 or more involving nonfinancial institutions; and a third to bringing $10,000 or more in cash into the country or taking it out of the country. There is no requirement that the funds in question were derived from criminal activity, or that the defendant knew that the structuring was illegal. Moreover, Section 5324 "focuses on an individual's intent to evade the reporting requirements, not on whether he succeeds in doing so," and thus success is not an element of the offense. 
Violations are punishable by imprisonment for not more than five years (not more than 10 years if committed in conjunction with another federal offense or if committed as part of a pattern of activity involving $100,000 or more) and a fine of not more than $250,000 (not more than $500,000 for organizations), with the fine maximum doubled if the offense is committed in conjunction with another federal crime or as part of a pattern of activity involving $100,000. Any property involved in a structuring violation of the section is subject to confiscation. Such forfeitures do not offend the Eighth Amendment's Excessive Fines Clause unless they are grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the offense.
section_title: 31 U.S.C. § 5332: Bulk Cash Smuggling
paragraphs: After the Supreme Court held in Bajakajian that the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment precluded confiscation of $300,000 of unreported, but otherwise untainted, cash, Congress enacted the bulk cash smuggling provisions of 31 U.S.C. § 5332. The section outlaws carrying or attempting to transport more than $10,000 in unreported, "concealed" cash across a U.S. border with the intent to evade 31 U.S.C. § 5316 reporting requirements. The section has been used to prosecute those who attempted to bring unreported cash into the United States, as well as those who attempted to smuggle cash out of the country. The fact that the money was neither derived from criminal activity nor intended for criminal purposes may be relevant for Eighth Amendment purposes, but it is no defense to the underlying offense. The proscribed methods of concealment seem to envelop any method short of public display. The offense carries a prison term of not more than five years, but also calls for confiscation of the cash and related property in lieu of a fine. The section was apparently enacted to overcome the consequences of Bajakajian . Initially, there may have been some question whether the effort had succeeded.
section_title: 18 U.S.C. § 1960: Money Transmitters
paragraphs: Section 1960 outlaws conducting or owning an unlicensed money transmitting business. "Money transmitting" is defined broadly by way of a nonexclusive list of examples, such as checks and wire transfers, and includes virtual currency such as Bitcoin. The term "business" restricts the offense to an enterprise conducted for profit and one engaged in more than a single qualifying transmission. 
The section recognizes three categories of transmitting businesses. One consists of any transmission business operating in a state that requires it to be licensed and criminalizes the failure to do so. Here, the government must prove that the defendant knew that he was conducting a money transmitting business and that it was unlicensed. It need not prove the defendant knew that the state in which the defendant operated the business required him to seek a license or that the state outlawed transmission without a license. 
The second category of unlicensed money transmitting businesses consists of any transmitting business operating in a manner that fails to comply with Department of the Treasury regulations governing such enterprises. Here, the government need not show that the defendant knew of federal regulatory requirements, but it must show that the defendant knew that he was operating a transmitting business. The third category consists of any licensed business that transmits money known to be derived from or intended to finance criminal activity even if the transmitter is duly licensed. 
Section 1960 offenses are punishable by imprisonment for not more than five years and/or a fine of not more than $250,000 (not more than $500,000 for organizations). Property "involved in" violation of the section is subject to civil and criminal forfeiture. The section has withstood challenges arguing that it is unconstitutionally vague.
section_title: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO)
paragraphs: As noted earlier, all RICO predicate offenses are by definition money laundering predicate offenses under Sections 1956 and 1957. The crimes that suggest the possibility of a RICO offense also suggest the possibility of money laundering. In some money laundering cases, although there is no separate RICO violation, prosecution is possible by virtue of the RICO shared predicate offense list. In a number of other cases, either money laundering is one of several predicate offenses of a larger RICO enterprise or the RICO enterprise is devoted primarily to money laundering.
RICO makes it a federal crime for any person to:
1. conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of
2. the affairs of an enterprise
3. engaged in or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce
4. A. through the collection of an unlawful debt, or
B. through a pattern of racketeering activity (predicate offenses).
In other words, "[f]or a defendant to convicted of a substantive RICO offense [under section 1962(c)], the government must prove the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt: (1) the existence of an enterprise; (2) that affected interstate commerce; and (3) that the defendant associated with the enterprise; (4) and conducted or participated in the conduct of the enterprise; (5) through a pattern of racketeering activity."
The "person" who commits a RICO offense need not be a human being, but may be "any individual or entity capable of holding a legal or beneficial interest in property." The "enterprise" element is defined with comparable breadth, embracing "any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, and any union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity." In spite of their sweeping scope, the elements are distinct, and a single defendant may not be simultaneously charged as both the "person" and the "enterprise" under 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c). Subject to this limitation, however, a RICO enterprise may be formal or informal, legal or illegal. In order for a group associated in fact to constitute a RICO enterprise, the group need not have obvious hierarchical or business-like structure; it need only be characterized by "at least three structural features: a purpose, relationships among those associated with the enterprise, and longevity sufficient to permit those associates to pursue the enterprise's purpose."
The interstate commerce element of the RICO offense may be established by evidence that the enterprise either has conducted its affairs in interstate commerce or foreign commerce or has engaged in activities that affect interstate commerce or foreign commerce.
The "pattern of racketeering activity" element demands the commission of at least two predicate offenses, which must be of sufficient relationship and continuity to be described as a "pattern." Related crimes, for pattern purposes, are marked by "the same or similar purposes, results, participants, victims, or methods of commission, or otherwise are interrelated by distinguishing characteristics and are not isolated events."
The "continuity" of predicate offenses may be shown in two ways, either by proof of the regular occurrence of related misconduct over an extended period of time in the past (closed ended) or by evidence of circumstances suggesting that if not stopped by authorities, they would have continued in the future (open ended).
The courts have been reluctant to find the continuity required for a RICO pattern for past, closed ended enterprises (those with no threat of future predicate offenses) unless the enterprise's activities spanned a fairly long period of time. Open ended continuity (found where there is a threat of future predicate offenses) is nowhere near as time sensitive and is often found where the predicates consist of murder, drug dealing or the like, or are part of the enterprise's regular way of doing business.
Section 1962(d) outlaws conspiracy to violate any of Section 1962's substantive prohibitions; in the case of conspiracy to violate Section 1962(c), it outlaws any agreement of two or more to conduct the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of RICO predicate offenses. The RICO conspiracy offense has no overt act requirement; the crime is complete upon the agreement to commit a RICO violation. 
RICO violations are punishable by imprisonment for not more than 20 years (not more than life imprisonment if any of the applicable predicate offenses carries a life sentence). Offenders also face fines of up to $250,000 (up to $500,000 for organizations) as well as the confiscation of any property associated with the offense.
section_title: Attachments
subsections: section_title: Specified Unlawful Activities (Citations to Predicate Offenses: 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956, 1957)(Maximum Terms of Imprisonment Noted)
paragraphs: -7 U.S.C. § 2024 (Food Stamp Act of 1977 felony (violation involving a quantity of coupons having a value of not less than $5,000)) (various from 1 to 20 years);
-8 U.S.C. § 1324 (bringing in and harboring certain aliens (committed for the purpose of financial gain)) (various from 5 years to life);*
-8 U.S.C. § 1327 (aiding or assisting certain aliens to enter the United States (committed for the purpose of financial gain)) (10 years);*
-8 U.S.C. § 1328 (importation of alien for immoral purpose (committed for the purpose of financial gain)) (10 years);*
-15 U.S.C. § 77a et seq. (fraud in the sale of securities) (5 years);*
-15 U.S.C. § 78ff (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act felony) (various from 5 to 20 years);
-16 U.S.C. § 1538(a)(1)(certain violations of the Endangered Species Act involving species, items, or products valued at more than $10,000);
-16 U.S.C. § 4223 (violations of the African Elephant Conversation Act involving species, items, or products valued at more than $10,000);
-16 U.S.C. § 5303a (violations of the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act involving species, items, or products valued at more than $10,000); 
-18 U.S.C. § 32 (destruction of aircraft) (20 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 37 (violence at international airports) (20 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 81 (arson within special maritime and territorial jurisdiction) (25 years);**
-18 U.S.C. § 115 (influencing, impeding, or retaliating against a Federal official by threatening or injuring a family member) (various from 1 to 30 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 152 (concealment of assets; false oaths and claims; bribery) (5 years);
-18 U.S.C. §§ 175-178 (biological weapons) (various from 5 years to life);*
-18 U.S.C. § 175c (variola virus) (various from 25 years to life);
-18 U.S.C. § 201 (bribery) (various from 2 to 15 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 215 (commissions or gifts for procuring loans) (various 1 to 30 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 224 (sports bribery) (5 years);*
-18 U.S.C. §§ 229-229F (chemical weapons) (life);*
-18 U.S.C. § 287 (federal health care offense relating to a benefit program) (5 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 351 (violence against Members of Congress or Cabinet officers) (various from 1 year to life);
-18 U.S.C. § 371 (conspiracy to commit a federal health care offense) (5 years);***
-18 U.S.C. §§ 471, 472, and 473 (counterfeiting) (20 years);*
-18 U.S.C. §§ 500-503 (certain counterfeiting offenses) (5 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 541 (goods falsely classified) (2 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 542 (entry of goods by means of false statements) (2 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 544 (smuggling goods from the United States) (2 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 545 (smuggling goods into the United States) (20 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 549 (removing goods from Customs custody) (10 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 555 (border tunnels) (varies from 10 to 20 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 641 (public money, property, or records) (various from 1 to 10 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 656 (theft, embezzlement, or misapplication by bank officer or employee) (various from 1 to 30 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 657 (lending, credit, and insurance institutions) (various from 1 to 30 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 658 (property mortgaged or pledged to farm credit agencies) (various from 1 to 5 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 659 (felonious theft from interstate shipment) (various from 3 to 10 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 664 (embezzlement from pension and welfare funds) (various from 1 to 10 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 666 (theft or bribery concerning programs receiving Federal funds) (10 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 669 (federal health care offense) (various from 1 to 10 years);***
-18 U.S.C. §§ 793, 794, 798 (espionage) (various from 1 year to life);
-18 U.S.C. § 831 (prohibited transactions involving nuclear materials) (various from 10 years to life);
-18 U.S.C. § 832 (participation in foreign nuclear weapons programs) (various from 20 years to life);**
-18 U.S.C. § 842(m), (n) (plastic explosives) (10 years);**
-18 U.S.C. § 844(f), (i) (destruction by explosives or fire of Government property or property affecting interstate or foreign commerce) (various from 20 years to life);
-18 U.S.C. § 875 (interstate communications) (various from 2 to 20 years);
-18 U.S.C. §§ 891-894 (extortionate credit transactions) (20 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 922(1) (unlawful importation of firearms) (5 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 924(n) (firearms trafficking) (10 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 930(c) (killing or attempted killing during an attack on a Federal facility with a dangerous weapon) (various from 7 years to life);**
-18 U.S.C. § 956 (conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim, or injure certain property in a foreign country) (various from 35 years to life);
-18 U.S.C. § 1001 (false statement relating federal health care) (5 years); ***
-18 U.S.C. § 1005 (fraudulent bank entries) (30 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 1006 (fraudulent Federal credit institution entries) (30 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 1007 (fraudulent Federal Deposit Insurance transactions) (30 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 1014 (fraudulent loan or credit applications) (30 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 1028 (fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents) (various from 1 to 30 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1029 (fraud and related activity in connection with access devices) (various from 10 to 20 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1030 (computer fraud and abuse) (various from 1 to 20 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 1032 (concealment of assets from conservator, receiver, or liquidating agent of financial institution) (5 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 1035 (false statements relating to federal health care) (5 years);***
-18 U.S.C. § 1084 (transmission of gambling information) (2 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1111 (murder) (life);
-18 U.S.C. § 1114 (killing a United States employee or officer) (various from 8 years to life);
-18 U.S.C. § 1116 (killing a foreign official, official guest, or internationally protected person) (various from 7 years to life);
-18 U.S.C. § 1201 (kidnapping) (life);
-18 U.S.C. § 1203 (hostage taking) (life);
-18 U.S.C. § 1341 (mail fraud) (various from 20 to 30 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1343 (wire fraud) (various from 20 to 30 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1344 (financial institution fraud) (30 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1347 (federal health care fraud) (various from 20 years to life);
-18 U.S.C. § 1351 (fraud in foreign labor contracting) (5 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1361 (willful injury of Government property) (various from 1 to 10 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 1362 (destruction of communication lines, stations, or systems) (10 years);**
-18 U.S.C. § 1363 (destruction of property within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction) (various from 5 to 20 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 1366(a) (destruction of an energy facility) (20 years);**
-18 U.S.C. § 1425 (procurement of citizenship or nationalization unlawfully) (various from 10 to 25 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1426 (reproduction of naturalization or citizenship papers) (various from 10 to 25 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1427 (sale of naturalization or citizenship papers) (various from 10 to 25 years);*
-18 U.S.C. §§ 1461-1465 (obscene matter) (various from 2 to 10 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1503 (obstruction of justice) (various from 8 years to life);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1510 (relating to obstruction of criminal investigations) (5 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1511 (obstruction of State or local law enforcement) (5 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1512 (tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant) (various from 3 years to life);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1513 (retaliating against a witness, victim, or an informant) (various from 8 years to life);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1518 (obstructing a federal health care investigation) (5 years); ***
-18 U.S.C. § 1542 (false statement in application and use of passport) (various from 10 to 25 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1543 (forgery or false use of passport) (various from 10 to 25 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1544 (misuse of passport) (various from 10 to 25 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1546 (fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents) (various from 10 to 25 years);*
-18 U.S.C. §§ 1581-1592 (peonage, slavery, and trafficking in persons) (various from 2 years to life);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1708 (theft from the mail) (5 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 1751 (violence against the President) (various from 1 year to life);
-18 U.S.C. § 1831 (economic espionage) (15 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1832 (theft of trade secrets) (10 years);* 
-18 U.S.C. § 1951 (interference with commerce, robbery, or extortion) (20 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1952 (racketeering (Travel Act)) (various from 5 years to life);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1953 (interstate transportation of wagering paraphernalia) (5 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1954 (unlawful welfare fund payments) (3 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1955 (illegal gambling businesses) (5 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1956 (laundering of monetary instruments) (20 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1957 (engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity) (10 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1958 (use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire) (various from 10 years to life);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1960 (money transmitters) (5 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 1992 (attacks and other acts of violence against mass transportation systems) (various from 20 years to life);**
-18 U.S.C. §§ 2113, 2114 (bank and postal robbery and theft) (various from 1 year to life);
-18 U.S.C. § 2155 (destruction of national defense materials, premises, or utilities) (various from 20 years to life);**
-18 U.S.C. § 2156 (national defense material, premises, or utilities) (10 years);**
-18 U.S.C. §§ 2251, 2251A, 2252, 2252A, and 2260 (sexual exploitation of children) (various from 10 years to life);*
-18 U.S.C. § 2280 (violence against maritime navigation) (various from 20 years to life);
-18 U.S.C. § 2280a (violence against maritime navigation involving weapons of mass destruction) (varies from 5 years to life);**
-18 U.S.C. § 2281 (violence against maritime fixed platforms) (various from 20 years to life);
-18 U.S.C. § 2281a (additional offenses against maritime fixed platforms (varies from 5 years to life);**
-18 U.S.C. §§ 2312, 2313 (interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles) (10 years);*
-18 U.S.C. §§ 2314, 2315 (interstate transportation of stolen property) (10 years);
-18 U.S.C. § 2318 (trafficking in counterfeit labels for phonorecords, computer programs or computer program documentation or packaging and copies of motion pictures or other audiovisual works) (5 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 2319 (criminal infringement of a copyright) (various from 1 to 5 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 2319A (relating to unauthorized fixation of and trafficking in sound recordings and music videos of live musical performances) (various from 5 to 10 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 2320 (trafficking in goods or services bearing counterfeit marks) (various from 10 to 20 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 2321 (trafficking in certain motor vehicles or motor vehicle parts) (10 years);*
-18 U.S.C. § 2332 (terrorist acts abroad against United States nationals) (various from 3 years to life);
-18 U.S.C. § 2332a (use of weapons of mass destruction) (life);
-18 U.S.C. § 2332b (international terrorist acts transcending national boundaries) (various from 10 years to life);
-18 U.S.C. § 2332f (bombing of public places and facilities) (life);**
-18 U.S.C. § 2332g (missile systems designed to destroy aircraft) (life);
-18 U.S.C. § 2332h (radiological dispersal devices) (life); 
-18 U.S.C. § 2332i (nuclear terrorism) (life);**
-18 U.S.C. § 2339 (harboring terrorists) (10 years);**
-18 U.S.C. §§ 2339A, 2339B (providing material support to terrorists) (various from 15 years to life);
-18 U.S.C. § 2339C (financing of terrorism) (various from 10 to 20 years);**
-18 U.S.C. § 2339D (foreign military training) (10 years)**
-18 U.S.C. § 2340A (torture) (various from 20 years to life);
-18 U.S.C. §§ 2341-2346 (trafficking in contraband cigarettes) (various from 3 to 5 years);*
-18 U.S.C. §§ 2421-2424 (white slave traffic) (various from 10 years to life);*
-19 U.S.C. § 1590 (aviation smuggling) (various from 5 to 20 years);
-21 U.S.C. § 841 et seq. (felonious manufacture, importation, receiving, concealment, buying, selling, or otherwise dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical) (various from 1 year to life);*
-21 U.S.C. § 863 (drug paraphernalia) (3 years);
-21 U.S.C. § 960A (narc-terrorism) (various from 2 years to life);**
-22 U.S.C. § 2778(c) (Arms Export Control Act) (10 years);
-22 U.S.C. § 611 et seq. (Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 felony) (various from 1 to 5 years);
-22 U.S.C. § 9214 (North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act violations) (20 years);
-29 U.S.C. § 186 (dealing with restrictions on payments and loans to labor organizations) (various from 1 to 5 years);*
-29 U.S.C. § 501(c) (embezzlement from union funds) (5 years);*
-33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq. (Federal Water Pollution Control Act felony) (various from 1 to 15 years);
-33 U.S.C. § 1401 et seq. (Ocean Dumping Act felony) (5 years);
-33 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq. (Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships felony) (6 years);
-42 U.S.C. § 300f et seq. (Safe Drinking Water Act felony) (various from 3 to 20 years);
-42 U.S.C. § 1490s(a)(1) (Housing Act of 1949 (equity skimming)) (5 years);
-42 U.S.C. § 2122 (atomic weapons) (life);
-42 U.S.C. § 2284 (sabotage of nuclear facilities or fuel) (various from 20 years to life);**
-42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq. (Resources Conservation and Recovery Act felony) (various from 2 to 15 years);
-49 U.S.C. § 46502 of title 49 (air piracy) (life);
-49 U.S.C. § 46504 (second sentence) (relating to assault on a flight crew with a dangerous weapon) (various from 20 years to life);**
-49 U.S.C. § 46505(b)(3), (c) (explosive or incendiary devices, or endangerment of human life by means of weapons, on aircraft) (various from 10 to 20 years);**
-49 U.S.C. § 46506 (if homicide or attempted homicide is involved) (application of certain criminal laws to acts on aircraft) (various from 7 years to life);**
-49 U.S.C. § 60123(b) (destruction of interstate gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facility) (various from 5 years to life);**
-50 U.S.C. § 1705 (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) (20 years);
-50 U.S.C. App. § 16 (Trading with the Enemy Act) (10 years).
section_title: State Money Laundering Laws (Citations)
section_title: State Money Transmission Laws (Citations)
section_title: Selected Federal Money Laundering Laws (Text)
subsections: section_title: 18 U.S.C. § 1956. Laundering of monetary instruments
paragraphs: (a)(1) Whoever, knowing that the property involved in a financial transaction represents the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity, conducts or attempts to conduct such a financial transaction which in fact involves the proceeds of specified unlawful activity–
(A)(i) with the intent to promote the carrying on of specified unlawful activity; or
(ii) with intent to engage in conduct constituting a violation of section 7201 or 7206 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
(B) knowing that the transaction is designed in whole or in part–
(i) to conceal or disguise the nature, the location, the source, the ownership, or the control of the proceeds of specified unlawful activity; or
(ii) to avoid a transaction reporting requirement under State or Federal law,
shall be sentenced to a fine of not more than $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater, or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both. For purposes of this paragraph, a financial transaction shall be considered to be one involving the proceeds of specified unlawful activity if it is part of a set of parallel or dependent transactions, any one of which involves the proceeds of specified unlawful activity, and all of which are part of a single plan or arrangement.
(2) Whoever transports, transmits, or transfers, or attempts to transport, transmit, or transfer a monetary instrument or funds from a place in the United States to or through a place outside the United States or to a place in the United States from or through a place outside the United States–
(A) with the intent to promote the carrying on of specified unlawful activity; or
(B) knowing that the monetary instrument or funds involved in the transportation, transmission, or transfer represent the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity and knowing that such transportation, transmission, or transfer is designed in whole or in part–
(i) to conceal or disguise the nature, the location, the source, the ownership, or the control of the proceeds of specified unlawful activity; or
(ii) to avoid a transaction reporting requirement under State or Federal law,
shall be sentenced to a fine of not more than $500,000 or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved in the transportation, transmission, or transfer whichever is greater, or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both. For the purpose of the offense described in subparagraph (B), the defendant's knowledge may be established by proof that a law enforcement officer represented the matter specified in subparagraph (B) as true, and the defendant's subsequent statements or actions indicate that the defendant believed such representations to be true.
(3) Whoever, with the intent–
(A) to promote the carrying on of specified unlawful activity;
(B) to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, or control of property believed to be the proceeds of specified unlawful activity; or
(C) to avoid a transaction reporting requirement under State or Federal law,
conducts or attempts to conduct a financial transaction involving property represented to be the proceeds of specified unlawful activity, or property used to conduct or facilitate specified unlawful activity, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both. For purposes of this paragraph and paragraph (2), the term "represented" means any representation made by a law enforcement officer or by another person at the direction of, or with the approval of, a Federal official authorized to investigate or prosecute violations of this section.
(b) Penalties.–
(1) In general.– Whoever conducts or attempts to conduct a transaction described in subsection (a)(1) or (a)(3), or section 1957, or a transportation, transmission, or transfer described in subsection (a)(2), is liable to the United States for a civil penalty of not more than the greater of–
(A) the value of the property, funds, or monetary instruments involved in the transaction; or
(B) $10,000.
(2) Jurisdiction over foreign persons.– For purposes of adjudicating an action filed or enforcing a penalty ordered under this section, the district courts shall have jurisdiction over any foreign person, including any financial institution authorized under the laws of a foreign country, against whom the action is brought, if service of process upon the foreign person is made under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or the laws of the country in which the foreign person is found, and–
(A) the foreign person commits an offense under subsection (a) involving a financial transaction that occurs in whole or in part in the United States;
(B) the foreign person converts, to his or her own use, property in which the United States has an ownership interest by virtue of the entry of an order of forfeiture by a court of the United States; or
(C) the foreign person is a financial institution that maintains a bank account at a financial institution in the United States.
(3) Court authority over assets.– A court may issue a pretrial restraining order or take any other action necessary to ensure that any bank account or other property held by the defendant in the United States is available to satisfy a judgment under this section.
(4) Federal receiver.–
(A) In general.–A court may appoint a Federal Receiver, in accordance with subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, to collect, marshal, and take custody, control, and possession of all assets of the defendant, wherever located, to satisfy a civil judgment under this subsection, a forfeiture judgment under section 981 or 982, or a criminal sentence under section 1957 or subsection (a) of this section, including an order of restitution to any victim of a specified unlawful activity.
(B) Appointment and authority.–A Federal Receiver described in subparagraph (A)–
(i) may be appointed upon application of a Federal prosecutor or a Federal or State regulator, by the court having jurisdiction over the defendant in the case;
(ii) shall be an officer of the court, and the powers of the Federal Receiver shall include the powers set out in section 754 of title 28, United States Code; and
(iii) shall have standing equivalent to that of a Federal prosecutor for the purpose of submitting requests to obtain information regarding the assets of the defendant–
(I) from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Department of the Treasury; or
(II) from a foreign country pursuant to a mutual legal assistance treaty, multilateral agreement, or other arrangement for international law enforcement assistance, provided that such requests are in accordance with the policies and procedures of the Attorney General.
(c) As used in this section–
(1) the term "knowing that the property involved in a financial transaction represents the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity" means that the person knew the property involved in the transaction represented proceeds from some form, though not necessarily which form, of activity that constitutes a felony under State, Federal, or foreign law, regardless of whether or not such activity is specified in paragraph (7);
(2) the term "conducts" includes initiating, concluding, or participating in initiating, or concluding a transaction;
(3) the term "transaction" includes a purchase, sale, loan, pledge, gift, transfer, delivery, or other disposition, and with respect to a financial institution includes a deposit, withdrawal, transfer between accounts, exchange of currency, loan, extension of credit, purchase or sale of any stock, bond, certificate of deposit, or other monetary instrument, use of a safe deposit box, or any other payment, transfer, or delivery by, through, or to a financial institution, by whatever means effected;
(4) the term "financial transaction" means
(A) a transaction which in any way or degree affects interstate or foreign commerce
(i) involving the movement of funds by wire or other means or 
(ii) involving one or more monetary instruments, or 
(iii) involving the transfer of title to any real property, vehicle, vessel, or aircraft, or 
(B) a transaction involving the use of a financial institution which is engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce in any way or degree;
(5) the term "monetary instruments" means (i) coin or currency of the United States or of any other country, travelers' checks, personal checks, bank checks, and money orders, or (ii) investment securities or negotiable instruments, in bearer form or otherwise in such form that title thereto passes upon delivery;
(6) the term "financial institution" includes–
(A) any financial institution, as defined in section 5312(a)(2) of title 31, United States Code, or the regulations promulgated thereunder; and
(B) any foreign bank, as defined in section 1 of the International Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3101);
(7) the term "specified unlawful activity" means–
(A) any act or activity constituting an offense listed in section 1961(1) of this title except an act which is indictable under subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31;
(B) with respect to a financial transaction occurring in whole or in part in the United States, an offense against a foreign nation involving–
(i) the manufacture, importation, sale, or distribution of a controlled substance (as such term is defined for the purposes of the Controlled Substances Act);
(ii) murder, kidnapping, robbery, extortion, destruction of property by means of explosive or fire, or a crime of violence (as defined in section 16);
(iii) fraud, or any scheme or attempt to defraud, by or against a foreign bank (as defined in paragraph 7 of section 1(b) of the International Banking Act of 1978);
(iv) bribery of a public official, or the misappropriation, theft, or embezzlement of public funds by or for the benefit of a public official;
(v) smuggling or export control violations involving–
(I) an item controlled on the United States Munitions List established under section 38 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778); or
(II) an item controlled under regulations under the Export Administration Regulations (15 C.F.R. Parts 730-774);
(vi) an offense with respect to which the United States would be obligated by a multilateral treaty, either to extradite the alleged offender or to submit the case for prosecution, if the offender were found within the territory of 
to influencing, impeding, or retaliating against a Federal official by threatening or injuring a family the United States; or
(vii) trafficking in persons, selling or buying children, sexual exploitation of children, or transporting, recruiting or harboring a person, including a child, for commercial sex acts;
(C) any act or acts constituting a continuing criminal enterprise, as that term is defined in section 408 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 848);
(D) an offense under section 32 (relating to the destruction of aircraft), section 37 (relating to violence at international airports), section 115 (relating to influencing, impeding, or retaliating against a Federal official by threatening or injuring a family member), section 152 (relating to concealment of assets; false oaths and claims; bribery), section 175c (relating to the variola virus), section 215 (relating to commissions or gifts for procuring loans), section 351 (relating to congressional or Cabinet officer assassination), any of sections 500 through 503 (relating to certain counterfeiting offenses), section 513 (relating to securities of States and private entities), section 541 (relating to goods falsely classified), section 542 (relating to entry of goods by means of false statements), section 545 (relating to smuggling goods into the United States), section 549 (relating to removing goods from Customs custody), section 554 (relating to smuggling goods from the United States), section 555 (relating to border tunnels), section 641 (relating to public money, property, or records), section 656 (relating to theft, embezzlement, or misapplication by bank officer or employee), section 657 (relating to lending, credit, and insurance institutions), section 658 (relating to property mortgaged or pledged to farm credit agencies), section 666 (relating to theft or bribery concerning programs receiving Federal funds), section 793, 794, or 798 (relating to espionage), section 831 (relating to prohibited transactions involving nuclear materials), section 844(f) or (i) (relating to destruction by explosives or fire of Government property or property affecting interstate or foreign commerce), section 875 (relating to interstate communications), section 922(l) (relating to the unlawful importation of firearms), section 924(n) (relating to firearms trafficking), section 956 (relating to conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim, or injure certain property in a foreign country), section 1005 (relating to fraudulent bank entries), 1006  2 (relating to fraudulent Federal credit institution entries), 1007  (relating to Federal Deposit Insurance transactions), 1014  2 (relating to fraudulent loan or credit applications), section 1030 (relating to computer fraud and abuse), 1032  2 (relating to concealment of assets from conservator, receiver, or liquidating agent of financial institution), section 1111 (relating to murder), section 1114 (relating to murder of United States law enforcement officials), section 1116 (relating to murder of foreign officials, official guests, or internationally protected persons), section 1201 (relating to kidnaping), section 1203 (relating to hostage taking), section 1361 (relating to willful injury of Government property), section 1363 (relating to destruction of property within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction), section 1708 (theft from the mail), section 1751 (relating to Presidential assassination), section 2113 or 2114 (relating to bank and postal robbery and theft), section 2252A (relating to child pornography) where the child pornography contains a visual depiction of an actual minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, section 2260 (production of certain child pornography for importation into the United States), section 2280 (relating to violence against maritime navigation), section 2281 (relating to violence against maritime fixed platforms), section 2319 (relating to copyright infringement), section 2320 (relating to trafficking in counterfeit goods and services), section 2332 (relating to terrorist acts abroad against United States nationals), section 2332a (relating to use of weapons of mass destruction), section 2332b (relating to international terrorist acts transcending national boundaries), section 2332g (relating to missile systems designed to destroy aircraft), section 2332h (relating to radiological dispersal devices), section 2339A or 2339B (relating to providing material support to terrorists), section 2339C (relating to financing of terrorism), or section 2339D (relating to receiving military-type training from a foreign terrorist organization) of this title, section 46502 of title 49, United States Code , a felony violation of the Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act of 1988 (relating to precursor and essential chemicals), section 590 of the Tariff Act of 1930 ( 19 U.S.C. 1590 ) (relating to aviation smuggling), section 422 of the Controlled Substances Act (relating to transportation of drug paraphernalia), section 38(c) (relating to criminal violations) of the Arms Export Control Act, section 11 (relating to violations) of the Export Administration Act of 1979, section 206 (relating to penalties) of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, section 16 (relating to offenses and punishment) of the Trading with the Enemy Act, any felony violation of section 15 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (relating to supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits fraud) involving a quantity of benefits having a value of not less than $5,000, any violation of section 543(a)(1) of the Housing Act of 1949 (relating to equity skimming), any felony violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, any felony violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, section 92 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 ( 42 U.S.C. 2122 ) (relating to prohibitions governing atomic weapons), or section 104(a) of the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016  (relating to prohibited activities with respect to North Korea);
(E) a felony violation of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), the Ocean Dumping Act (33 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.), the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.), or the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.); 
(F) any act or activity constituting an offense involving a Federal health care offense; or
(G) any act that is a criminal violation of subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), or (F) of paragraph (1) of section 9(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1538(a)(1) ), section 2203 of the African Elephant Conservation Act ( 16 U.S.C. 4223 ), or section 7(a) of the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994 ( 16 U.S.C. 5305a(a) ), if the endangered or threatened species of fish or wildlife, products, items, or substances involved in the violation and relevant conduct, as applicable, have a total value of more than $10,000;
(8) the term "State" includes a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States; and
(9) the term "proceeds" means any property derived from or obtained or retained, directly or indirectly, through some form of unlawful activity, including the gross receipts of such activity .
(d) Nothing in this section shall supersede any provision of Federal, State, or other law imposing criminal penalties or affording civil remedies in addition to those provided for in this section.
(e) Violations of this section may be investigated by such components of the Department of Justice as the Attorney General may direct, and by such components of the Department of the Treasury as the Secretary of the Treasury may direct, as appropriate, and, with respect to offenses over which the Department of Homeland Security has jurisdiction, by such components of the Department of Homeland Security as the Secretary of Homeland Security may direct, and, with respect to offenses over which the United States Postal Service has jurisdiction, by the Postal Service. Such authority of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Postal Service shall be exercised in accordance with an agreement which shall be entered into by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Postal Service, and the Attorney General. Violations of this section involving offenses described in paragraph (c)(7)(E) may be investigated by such components of the Department of Justice as the Attorney General may direct, and the National Enforcement Investigations Center of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(f) There is extraterritorial jurisdiction over the conduct prohibited by this section if–
(1) the conduct is by a United States citizen or, in the case of a non-United States citizen, the conduct occurs in part in the United States; and
(2) the transaction or series of related transactions involves funds or monetary instruments of a value exceeding $10,000.
(g) Notice of conviction of financial institutions.–If any financial institution or any officer, director, or employee of any financial institution has been found guilty of an offense under this section, section 1957 or 1960 of this title, or section 5322 or 5324 of title 31, the Attorney General shall provide written notice of such fact to the appropriate regulatory agency for the financial institution.
(h) Any person who conspires to commit any offense defined in this section or section 1957 shall be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense the commission of which was the object of the conspiracy.
(i) Venue.–
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a prosecution for an offense under this section or section 1957 may be brought in–
(A) any district in which the financial or monetary transaction is conducted; or
(B) any district where a prosecution for the underlying specified unlawful activity could be brought, if the defendant participated in the transfer of the proceeds of the specified unlawful activity from that district to the district where the financial or monetary transaction is conducted.
(2) A prosecution for an attempt or conspiracy offense under this section or section 1957 may be brought in the district where venue would lie for the completed offense under paragraph (1), or in any other district where an act in furtherance of the attempt or conspiracy took place.
(3) For purposes of this section, a transfer of funds from 1 place to another, by wire or any other means, shall constitute a single, continuing transaction. Any person who conducts (as that term is defined in subsection (c)(2)) any portion of the transaction may be charged in any district in which the transaction takes place.
section_title: 18 U.S.C. § 1957. Engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity
paragraphs: (a) Whoever, in any of the circumstances set forth in subsection (d), knowingly engages or attempts to engage in a monetary transaction in criminally derived property that is of a value greater than $10,000 and is derived from specified unlawful activity, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).
(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the punishment for an offense under this section is a fine under title 18, United States Code, or imprisonment for not more than ten years or both. If the offense involves a pre-retail medical product (as defined in section 670) the punishment for the offense shall be the same as the punishment for an offense under section 670 unless the punishment under this subsection is greater.
(2) The court may impose an alternate fine to that imposable under paragraph (1) of not more than twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved in the transaction.
(c) In a prosecution for an offense under this section, the Government is not required to prove the defendant knew that the offense from which the criminally derived property was derived was specified unlawful activity.
(d) The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are –
(1) that the offense under this section takes place in the United States or in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States; or
(2) that the offense under this section takes place outside the United States and such special jurisdiction, but the defendant is a United States person (as defined in section 3077 of this title, but excluding the class described in paragraph (2)(D) of such section).
(e) Violations of this section may be investigated by such components of the Department of Justice as the Attorney General may direct, and by such components of the Department of the Treasury as the Secretary of the Treasury may direct, as appropriate, and, with respect to offenses over which the Department of Homeland Security has jurisdiction, by such components of the Department of Homeland Security as the Secretary of Homeland Security may direct, and, with respect to offenses over which the United States Postal Service has jurisdiction, by the Postal Service. Such authority of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Postal Service shall be exercised in accordance with an agreement which shall be entered into by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Postal Service, and the Attorney General.
(f) As used in this section–
(1) the term "monetary transaction" means the deposit, withdrawal, transfer, or exchange, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, of funds or a monetary instrument (as defined in section 1956(c)(5) of this title) by, through, or to a financial institution (as defined in section 1956 of this title), including any transaction that would be a financial transaction under section 1956(c)(4)(B) of this title, but such term does not include any transaction necessary to preserve a person's right to representation as guaranteed by the sixth amendment to the Constitution;
(2) the term "criminally derived property" means any property constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained from a criminal offense; and
(3) the term "specified unlawful activity" and "proceeds" shall have the meaning given that term in section 1956 of this title.
section_title: Travel Act: 18 U.S.C. § 1952. Interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises
paragraphs: (a) Whoever travels in interstate or foreign commerce or uses the mail or any facility in interstate or foreign commerce, with intent to–
(1) distribute the proceeds of any unlawful activity; or
(2) commit any crime of violence to further any unlawful activity; or
(3) otherwise promote, manage, establish, carry on, or facilitate the promotion, management, establishment, or carrying on, of any unlawful activity,
and thereafter performs or attempts to perform–
(A) an act described in paragraph (1) or (3) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than five years, or both; or
(B) an act described in paragraph (2) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both, and if death results shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life.
(b) As used in this section (i) "unlawful activity" means 
(1) any business enterprise involving gambling, liquor on which the Federal excise tax has not been paid, narcotics or controlled substances (as defined in section 102(6) of the Controlled Substances Act), or prostitution offenses in violation of the laws of the State in which they are committed or of the United States, 
(2) extortion, bribery, or arson in violation of the laws of the State in which committed or of the United States, or (3) any act which is indictable under subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, or under section 1956 or 1957 of this title and (ii) the term "State" includes a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
(c) Investigations of violations under this section involving liquor shall be conducted under the supervision of the Attorney General.
(d) If the offense under this section involves an act described in paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection (a) and also involves a pre-retail medical product (as defined in section 670), the punishment for the offense shall be the same as the punishment for an offense under section 670 unless the punishment under subsection (a) is greater.
(e)(1) This section shall not apply to a savings promotion raffle conducted by an insured depository institution or an insured credit union.
(2) In this subsection-
(A) the term "insured credit union" shall have the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act ( 12 U.S.C. 1752 );
(B) the term "insured depository institution" shall have the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act ( 12 U.S.C. 1813 ); and
(C) the term "savings promotion raffle" means a contest in which the sole consideration required for a chance of winning designated prizes is obtained by the deposit of a specified amount of money in a savings account or other savings program, where each ticket or entry has an equal chance of being drawn, such contest being subject to regulations that may from time to time be promulgated by the appropriate prudential regulator (as defined in section 1002 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 ( 12 U.S.C. 5481 )).
section_title: 31 U.S.C. § 5322: Reporting Requirements
paragraphs: (a) A person willfully violating this subchapter or a regulation prescribed or order issued under this subchapter (except section 5315 or 5324 of this title or a regulation prescribed under section 5315 or 5324), or willfully violating a regulation prescribed under section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act or section 123 of Public Law 91-508, shall be fined not more than $250,000, or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.
(b) A person willfully violating this subchapter or a regulation prescribed or order issued under this subchapter (except section 5315 or 5324 of this title or a regulation prescribed under section 5315 or 5324), or willfully violating a regulation prescribed under section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act or section 123 of Public Law 91-508, while violating another law of the United States or as part of a pattern of any illegal activity involving more than $100,000 in a 12-month period, shall be fined not more than $500,000, imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both.
(c) For a violation of section 5318(a)(2) of this title or a regulation prescribed under section 5318(a)(2), a separate violation occurs for each day the violation continues and at each office, branch, or place of business at which a violation occurs or continues.
(d) A financial institution or agency that violates any provision of subsection (i) or (j) of section 5318, or any special measures imposed under section 5318A, or any regulation prescribed under subsection (i) or (j) of section 5318 or section 5318A, shall be fined in an amount equal to not less than 2 times the amount of the transaction, but not more than $1,000,000.
section_title: 31 U.S.C. § 5324. Structuring transactions to evade reporting requirement prohibited
paragraphs: (a) Domestic coin and currency transactions involving financial institutions.–No person shall, for the purpose of evading the reporting requirements of section 5313(a) or 5325 or any regulation prescribed under any such section, the reporting or recordkeeping requirements imposed by any order issued under section 5326, or the recordkeeping requirements imposed by any regulation prescribed under section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act or section 123 of Public Law 91-508–
(1) cause or attempt to cause a domestic financial institution to fail to file a report required under section 5313(a) or 5325 or any regulation prescribed under any such section, to file a report or to maintain a record required by an order issued under section 5326, or to maintain a record required pursuant to any regulation prescribed under section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act or section 123 of Public Law 91-508;
(2) cause or attempt to cause a domestic financial institution to file a report required under section 5313(a) or 5325 or any regulation prescribed under any such section, to file a report or to maintain a record required by any order issued under section 5326, or to maintain a record required pursuant to any regulation prescribed under section 5326, or to maintain a record required pursuant to any regulation prescribed under section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act or section 123 of Public Law 91-508, that contains a material omission or misstatement of fact; or
(3) structure or assist in structuring, or attempt to structure or assist in structuring, any transaction with one or more domestic financial institutions.
(b) Domestic coin and currency transactions involving nonfinancial trades or businesses.–No person shall, for the purpose of evading the report requirements of section 5331 or any regulation prescribed under such section–
(1) cause or attempt to cause a nonfinancial trade or business to fail to file a report required under section 5331 or any regulation prescribed under such section;
(2) cause or attempt to cause a nonfinancial trade or business to file a report required under section 5331 or any regulation prescribed under such section that contains a material omission or misstatement of fact; or
(3) structure or assist in structuring, or attempt to structure or assist in structuring, any transaction with 1 or more nonfinancial trades or businesses.
(c) International monetary instrument transactions.–No person shall, for the purpose of evading the reporting requirements of section 5316 –
(1) fail to file a report required by section 5316, or cause or attempt to cause a person to fail to file such a report;
(2) file or cause or attempt to cause a person to file a report required under section 5316 that contains a material omission or misstatement of fact; or
(3) structure or assist in structuring, or attempt to structure or assist in structuring, any importation or exportation of monetary instruments.
(d) Criminal penalty.–
(1) In general.– Whoever violates this section shall be fined in accordance with title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.
(2) Enhanced penalty for aggravated cases.– Whoever violates this section while violating another law of the United States or as part of a pattern of any illegal activity involving more than $100,000 in a 12-month period shall be fined twice the amount provided in subsection (b)(3) or (c)(3) (as the case may be) of section 3571 of title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both.
section_title: 31 U.S.C. § 5332. Bulk cash smuggling
paragraphs: (a) Criminal offense.–
(1) In general.–Whoever, with the intent to evade a currency reporting requirement under section 5316, knowingly conceals more than $10,000 in currency or other monetary instruments on the person of such individual or in any conveyance, article of luggage, merchandise, or other container, and transports or transfers or attempts to transport or transfer such currency or monetary instruments from a place within the United States to a place outside of the United States, or from a place outside the United States to a place within the United States, shall be guilty of a currency smuggling offense and subject to punishment pursuant to subsection (b).
(2) Concealment on person.–For purposes of this section, the concealment of currency on the person of any individual includes concealment in any article of clothing worn by the individual or in any luggage, backpack, or other container worn or carried by such individual.
(b) Penalty.–
(1) Term of imprisonment.–A person convicted of a currency smuggling offense under subsection (a), or a conspiracy to commit such offense, shall be imprisoned for not more than five years.
(2) Forfeiture.–In addition, the court, in imposing sentence under paragraph (1), shall order that the defendant forfeit to the United States, any property, real or personal, involved in the offense, and any property traceable to such property.
(3) Procedure.–The seizure, restraint, and forfeiture of property under this section shall be governed by section 413 of the Controlled Substances Act.
(4) Personal money judgment.–If the property subject to forfeiture under paragraph (2) is unavailable, and the defendant has insufficient substitute property that may be forfeited pursuant to section 413(p) of the Controlled Substances Act, the court shall enter a personal money judgment against the defendant for the amount that would be subject to forfeiture.
(c) Civil forfeiture.–
(1) In general.–Any property involved in a violation of subsection (a), or a conspiracy to commit such violation, and any property traceable to such violation or conspiracy, may be seized and forfeited to the United States.
(2) Procedure.–The seizure and forfeiture shall be governed by the procedures governing civil forfeitures in money laundering cases pursuant to section 981(a)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code.
(3) Treatment of certain property as involved in the offense.–For purposes of this subsection and subsection (b), any currency or other monetary instrument that is concealed or intended to be concealed in violation of subsection (a) or a conspiracy to commit such violation, any article, container, or conveyance used, or intended to be used, to conceal or transport the currency or other monetary instrument, and any other property used, or intended to be used, to facilitate the offense, shall be considered property involved in the offense.
section_title: 18 U.S.C. § 1960. Prohibition of unlicensed money transmitting businesses
paragraphs: (a) Whoever knowingly conducts, controls, manages, supervises, directs, or owns all or part of an unlicensed money transmitting business, shall be fined in accordance with this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
(b) As used in this section –
(1) the term "unlicensed money transmitting business" means a money transmitting business which affects interstate or foreign commerce in any manner or degree and –
(A) is operated without an appropriate money transmitting license in a State where such operation is punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony under State law, whether or not the defendant knew that the operation was required to be licensed or that the operation was so punishable;
(B) fails to comply with the money transmitting business registration requirements under section 5330 of title 31, United States Code, or regulations prescribed under such section; or
(C) otherwise involves the transportation or transmission of funds that are known to the defendant to have been derived from a criminal offense or are intended to be used to promote or support unlawful activity;
(2) the term "money transmitting" includes transferring funds on behalf of the public by any and all means including but not limited to transfers within this country or to locations abroad by wire, check, draft, facsimile, or courier; and
(3) the term "State" means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Islands, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
section_title: RICO: 18 U.S.C. § 1962. Prohibited activities
paragraphs: (a) It shall be unlawful for any person who has received any income derived, directly or indirectly, from a pattern of racketeering activity or through collection of an unlawful debt in which such person has participated as a principal within the meaning of section 2, title 18, United States Code, to use or invest, directly or indirectly, any part of such income, or the proceeds of such income, in acquisition of any interest in, or the establishment or operation of, any enterprise which is engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce. A purchase of securities on the open market for purposes of investment, and without the intention of controlling or participating in the control of the issuer, or of assisting another to do so, shall not be unlawful under this subsection if the securities of the issuer held by the purchaser, the members of his immediate family, and his or their accomplices in any pattern or racketeering activity or the collection of an unlawful debt after such purchase do not amount in the aggregate to one percent of the outstanding securities of any one class, and do not confer, either in law or in fact, the power to elect one or more directors of the issuer.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person through a pattern of racketeering activity or through collection of an unlawful debt to acquire or maintain, directly or indirectly, any interest in or control of any enterprise which is engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce.
(c) It shall be unlawful for any person employed by or associated with any enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce, to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise's affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity or collection of unlawful debt.
(d) It shall be unlawful for any person to conspire to violate any of the provisions of subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section.
section_title: 18 U.S.C. § 1961. Definitions
paragraphs: As used in this chapter–
(1) "racketeering activity" means 
(A) any act or threat involving murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act), which is chargeable under State law and punishable by imprisonment for more than one year; 
(B) any act which is indictable under any of the following provisions of title 18, United States Code: Section 201 (relating to bribery), section 224 (relating to sports bribery), sections 471, 472, and 473 (relating to counterfeiting), section 659 (relating to theft from interstate shipment) if the act indictable under section 659 is felonious, section 664 (relating to embezzlement from pension and welfare funds), sections 891-894 (relating to extortionate credit transactions), section 1028 (relating to fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents), section 1029 (relating to fraud and related activity in connection with access devices), section 1084 (relating to the transmission of gambling information), section 1341 (relating to mail fraud), section 1343 (relating to wire fraud), section 1344 (relating to financial institution fraud), section 1351 (relating to fraud in foreign labor contracting), section 1425 (relating to the procurement of citizenship or nationalization unlawfully), section 1426 (relating to the reproduction of naturalization or citizenship papers), section 1427 (relating to the sale of naturalization or citizenship papers), sections 1461-1465 (relating to obscene matter), section 1503 (relating to obstruction of justice), section 1510 (relating to obstruction of criminal investigations), section 1511 (relating to the obstruction of State or local law enforcement), section 1512 (relating to tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant), section 1513 (relating to retaliating against a witness, victim, or an informant), section 1542 (relating to false statement in application and use of passport), section 1543 (relating to forgery or false use of passport), section 1544 (relating to misuse of passport), section 1546 (relating to fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents), sections 1581-1592 (relating to peonage, slavery, and trafficking in persons), sections 1831 and 1832 (relating to economic espionage and theft of trade secrets), section 1951 (relating to interference with commerce, robbery, or extortion), section 1952 (relating to racketeering), section 1953 (relating to interstate transportation of wagering paraphernalia), section 1954 (relating to unlawful welfare fund payments), section 1955 (relating to the prohibition of illegal gambling businesses), section 1956 (relating to the laundering of monetary instruments), section 1957 (relating to engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity), section 1958 (relating to use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire), section 1960 (relating to illegal money transmitters), sections 2251, 2251A, 2252, and 2260 (relating to sexual exploitation of children), sections 2312 and 2313 (relating to interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles), sections 2314 and 2315 (relating to interstate transportation of stolen property), section 2318 (relating to trafficking in counterfeit labels for phonorecords, computer programs or computer program documentation or packaging and copies of motion pictures or other audiovisual works), section 2319 (relating to criminal infringement of a copyright), section 2319A (relating to unauthorized fixation of and trafficking in sound recordings and music videos of live musical performances), section 2320 (relating to trafficking in goods or services bearing counterfeit marks), section 2321 (relating to trafficking in certain motor vehicles or motor vehicle parts), sections 2341-2346 (relating to trafficking in contraband cigarettes), sections 2421-24 (relating to white slave traffic), 
(C) any act which is indictable under title 29, United States Code, section 186 (dealing with restrictions on payments and loans to labor organizations) or section 501(c) (relating to embezzlement from union funds), 
(D) any offense involving fraud connected with a case under title 11 (except a case under section 157 of this title), fraud in the sale of securities, or the felonious manufacture, importation, receiving, concealment, buying, selling, or otherwise dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act), punishable under any law of the United States, 
(E) any act which is indictable under the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, 
(F) any act which is indictable under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 274 (relating to bringing in and harboring certain aliens), section 277 (relating to aiding or assisting certain aliens to enter the United States), or section 278 (relating to importation of alien for immoral purpose) if the act indictable under such section of such Act was committed for the purpose of financial gain, or
(G) any act that is indictable under any provision listed in section 2332b(g)(5)(B) [federal crimes of terrorism];
(2) "State" means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any territory or possession of the United States, any political subdivision, or any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof;
(3) "person" includes any individual or entity capable of holding a legal or beneficial interest in property;
(4) "enterprise" includes any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, and any union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity;
(5) "pattern of racketeering activity" requires at least two acts of racketeering activity, one of which occurred after the effective date of this chapter and the last of which occurred within ten years (excluding any period of imprisonment) after the commission of a prior act of racketeering activity;
(6) "unlawful debt" means a debt 
(A) incurred or contracted in gambling activity which was in violation of the law of the United States, a State or political subdivision thereof, or which is unenforceable under State or Federal law in whole or in part as to principal or interest because of the laws relating to usury, and 
(B) which was incurred in connection with the business of gambling in violation of the law of the United States, a State or political subdivision thereof, or the business of lending money or a thing of value at a rate usurious under State or Federal law, where the usurious rate is at least twice the enforceable rate;
(7) "racketeering investigator" means any attorney or investigator so designated by the Attorney General and charged with the duty of enforcing or carrying into effect this chapter;
(8) "racketeering investigation" means any inquiry conducted by any racketeering investigator for the purpose of ascertaining whether any person has been involved in any violation of this chapter or of any final order, judgment, or decree of any court of the United States, duly entered in any case or proceeding arising under this chapter;
(9) "documentary material" includes any book, paper, document, record, recording, or other material; and
(10) "Attorney General" includes the Attorney General of the United States, the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, the Associate Attorney General of the United States, any Assistant Attorney General of the United States, or any employee of the Department of Justice or any employee of any department or agency of the United States so designated by the Attorney General to carry out the powers conferred on the Attorney General by this chapter. Any department or agency so designated may use in investigations authorized by this chapter either the investigative provisions of this chapter or the investigative power of such department or agency otherwise conferred by law.
section_title: 18 U.S.C. § 1963. Criminal penalties
paragraphs: (a) Whoever violates any provision of section 1962 of this chapter shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years (or for life if the violation is based on a racketeering activity for which the maximum penalty includes life imprisonment), or both, and shall forfeit to the United States, irrespective of any provision of State law –
(1) any interest the person has acquired or maintained in violation of section 1962;
(2) any –
(A) interest in;
(B) security of;
(C) claim against; or
(D) property or contractual right of any kind affording a source of influence over;
any enterprise which the person has established, operated, controlled, conducted, or participated in the conduct of, in violation of section 1962; and
(3) any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds which the person obtained, directly or indirectly, from racketeering activity or unlawful debt collection in violation of section 1962.
The court, in imposing sentence on such person shall order, in addition to any other sentence imposed pursuant to this section, that the person forfeit to the United States all property described in this subsection. In lieu of a fine otherwise authorized by this section, a defendant who derives profits or other proceeds from an offense may be fined not more than twice the gross profits or other proceeds.
(b) Property subject to criminal forfeiture under this section includes–
(1) real property, including things growing on, affixed to, and found in land; and
(2) tangible and intangible personal property, including rights, privileges, interests, claims, and securities.
(c) All right, title, and interest in property described in subsection (a) vests in the United States upon the commission of the act giving rise to forfeiture under this section. Any such property that is subsequently transferred to a person other than the defendant may be the subject of a special verdict of forfeiture and thereafter shall be ordered forfeited to the United States, unless the transferee establishes in a hearing pursuant to subsection (l) that he is a bona fide purchaser for value of such property who at the time of purchase was reasonably without cause to believe that the property was subject to forfeiture under this section.
(d)(1) Upon application of the United States, the court may enter a restraining order or injunction, require the execution of a satisfactory performance bond, or take any other action to preserve the availability of property described in subsection (a) for forfeiture under this section–
(A) upon the filing of an indictment or information charging a violation of section 1962 of this chapter and alleging that the property with respect to which the order is sought would, in the event of conviction, be subject to forfeiture under this section; or
(B) prior to the filing of such an indictment or information, if, after notice to persons appearing to have an interest in the property and opportunity for a hearing, the court determines that–
(i) there is a substantial probability that the United States will prevail on the issue of forfeiture and that failure to enter the order will result in the property being destroyed, removed from the jurisdiction of the court, or otherwise made unavailable for forfeiture; and
(ii) the need to preserve the availability of the property through the entry of the requested order outweighs the hardship on any party against whom the order is to be entered:
Provided, however , That an order entered pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall be effective for not more than ninety days, unless extended by the court for good cause shown or unless an indictment or information described in subparagraph (A) has been filed.
(2) A temporary restraining order under this subsection may be entered upon application of the United States without notice or opportunity for a hearing when an information or indictment has not yet been filed with respect to the property, if the United States demonstrates that there is probable cause to believe that the property with respect to which the order is sought would, in the event of conviction, be subject to forfeiture under this section and that provision of notice will jeopardize the availability of the property for forfeiture. Such a temporary order shall expire not more than fourteen days after the date on which it is entered, unless extended for good cause shown or unless the party against whom it is entered consents to an extension for a longer period. A hearing requested concerning an order entered under this paragraph shall be held at the earliest possible time, and prior to the expiration of the temporary order.
(3) The court may receive and consider, at a hearing held pursuant to this subsection, evidence and information that would be inadmissible under the Federal Rules of Evidence.
(e) Upon conviction of a person under this section, the court shall enter a judgment of forfeiture of the property to the United States and shall also authorize the Attorney General to seize all property ordered forfeited upon such terms and conditions as the court shall deem proper. Following the entry of an order declaring the property forfeited, the court may, upon application of the United States, enter such appropriate restraining orders or injunctions, require the execution of satisfactory performance bonds, appoint receivers, conservators, appraisers, accountants, or trustees, or take any other action to protect the interest of the United States in the property ordered forfeited. Any income accruing to, or derived from, an enterprise or an interest in an enterprise which has been ordered forfeited under this section may be used to offset ordinary and necessary expenses to the enterprise which are required by law, or which are necessary to protect the interests of the United States or third parties.
(f) Following the seizure of property ordered forfeited under this section, the Attorney General shall direct the disposition of the property by sale or any other commercially feasible means, making due provision for the rights of any innocent persons. Any property right or interest not exercisable by, or transferable for value to, the United States shall expire and shall not revert to the defendant, nor shall the defendant or any person acting in concert with or on behalf of the defendant be eligible to purchase forfeited property at any sale held by the United States. Upon application of a person, other than the defendant or a person acting in concert with or on behalf of the defendant, the court may restrain or stay the sale or disposition of the property pending the conclusion of any appeal of the criminal case giving rise to the forfeiture, if the applicant demonstrates that proceeding with the sale or disposition of the property will result in irreparable injury, harm or loss to him. Notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302(b), the proceeds of any sale or other disposition of property forfeited under this section and any moneys forfeited shall be used to pay all proper expenses for the forfeiture and the sale, including expenses of seizure, maintenance and custody of the property pending its disposition, advertising and court costs. The Attorney General shall deposit in the Treasury any amounts of such proceeds or moneys remaining after the payment of such expenses.
(g) With respect to property ordered forfeited under this section, the Attorney General is authorized to–
(1) grant petitions for mitigation or remission of forfeiture, restore forfeited property to victims of a violation of this chapter, or take any other action to protect the rights of innocent persons which is in the interest of justice and which is not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter;
(2) compromise claims arising under this section;
(3) award compensation to persons providing information resulting in a forfeiture under this section;
(4) direct the disposition by the United States of all property ordered forfeited under this section by public sale or any other commercially feasible means, making due provision for the rights of innocent persons; and
(5) take appropriate measures necessary to safeguard and maintain property ordered forfeited under this section pending its disposition.
(h) The Attorney General may promulgate regulations with respect to–
(1) making reasonable efforts to provide notice to persons who may have an interest in property ordered forfeited under this section;
(2) granting petitions for remission or mitigation of forfeiture;
(3) the restitution of property to victims of an offense petitioning for remission or mitigation of forfeiture under this chapter;
(4) the disposition by the United States of forfeited property by public sale or other commercially feasible means;
(5) the maintenance and safekeeping of any property forfeited under this section pending its disposition; and
(6) the compromise of claims arising under this chapter.
Pending the promulgation of such regulations, all provisions of law relating to the disposition of property, or the proceeds from the sale thereof, or the remission or mitigation of forfeitures for violation of the customs laws, and the compromise of claims and the award of compensation to informers in respect of such forfeitures shall apply to forfeitures incurred, or alleged to have been incurred, under the provisions of this section, insofar as applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions hereof. Such duties as are imposed upon the Customs Service or any person with respect to the disposition of property under the customs law shall be performed under this chapter by the Attorney General.
(i) Except as provided in subsection (l), no party claiming an interest in property subject to forfeiture under this section may–
(1) intervene in a trial or appeal of a criminal case involving the forfeiture of such property under this section; or
(2) commence an action at law or equity against the United States concerning the validity of his alleged interest in the property subsequent to the filing of an indictment or information alleging that the property is subject to forfeiture under this section.
(j) The district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction to enter orders as provided in this section without regard to the location of any property which may be subject to forfeiture under this section or which has been ordered forfeited under this section.
(k) In order to facilitate the identification or location of property declared forfeited and to facilitate the disposition of petitions for remission or mitigation of forfeiture, after the entry of an order declaring property forfeited to the United States the court may, upon application of the United States, order that the testimony of any witness relating to the property forfeited be taken by deposition and that any designated book, paper, document, record, recording, or other material not privileged be produced at the same time and place, in the same manner as provided for the taking of depositions under Rule 15 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
(l)(1) Following the entry of an order of forfeiture under this section, the United States shall publish notice of the order and of its intent to dispose of the property in such manner as the Attorney General may direct. The Government may also, to the extent practicable, provide direct written notice to any person known to have alleged an interest in the property that is the subject of the order of forfeiture as a substitute for published notice as to those persons so notified.
(2) Any person, other than the defendant, asserting a legal interest in property which has been ordered forfeited to the United States pursuant to this section may, within thirty days of the final publication of notice or his receipt of notice under paragraph (1), whichever is earlier, petition the court for a hearing to adjudicate the validity of his alleged interest in the property. The hearing shall be held before the court alone, without a jury.
(3) The petition shall be signed by the petitioner under penalty of perjury and shall set forth the nature and extent of the petitioner's right, title, or interest in the property, the time and circumstances of the petitioner's acquisition of the right, title, or interest in the property, any additional facts supporting the petitioner's claim, and the relief sought.
(4) The hearing on the petition shall, to the extent practicable and consistent with the interests of justice, be held within thirty days of the filing of the petition. The court may consolidate the hearing on the petition with a hearing on any other petition filed by a person other than the defendant under this subsection.
(5) At the hearing, the petitioner may testify and present evidence and witnesses on his own behalf, and cross-examine witnesses who appear at the hearing. The United States may present evidence and witnesses in rebuttal and in defense of its claim to the property and cross-examine witnesses who appear at the hearing. In addition to testimony and evidence presented at the hearing, the court shall consider the relevant portions of the record of the criminal case which resulted in the order of forfeiture.
(6) If, after the hearing, the court determines that the petitioner has established by a preponderance of the evidence that – 
(A) the petitioner has a legal right, title, or interest in the property, and such right, title, or interest renders the order of forfeiture invalid in whole or in part because the right, title, or interest was vested in the petitioner rather than the defendant or was superior to any right, title, or interest of the defendant at the time of the commission of the acts which gave rise to the forfeiture of the property under this section; or
(B) the petitioner is a bona fide purchaser for value of the right, title, or interest in the property and was at the time of purchase reasonably without cause to believe that the property was subject to forfeiture under this section;
the court shall amend the order of forfeiture in accordance with its determination.
(7) Following the court's disposition of all petitions filed under this subsection, or if no such petitions are filed following the expiration of the period provided in paragraph (2) for the filing of such petitions, the United States shall have clear title to property that is the subject of the order of forfeiture and may warrant good title to any subsequent purchaser or transferee.
(m) If any of the property described in subsection (a), as a result of any act or omission of the defendant–
(1) cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence;
(2) has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party;
(3) has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court;
(4) has been substantially diminished in value; or
(5) has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without difficulty;
the court shall order the forfeiture of any other property of the defendant up to the value of any property described in paragraphs (1) through (5).
section_title: 18 U.S.C. § 1964. Civil remedies
paragraphs: (a) The district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations of section 1962 of this chapter by issuing appropriate orders, including, but not limited to: ordering any person to divest himself of any interest, direct or indirect, in any enterprise; imposing reasonable restrictions on the future activities or investments of any person, including, but not limited to, prohibiting any person from engaging in the same type of endeavor as the enterprise engaged in, the activities of which affect interstate or foreign commerce; or ordering dissolution or reorganization of any enterprise, making due provision for the rights of innocent persons.
(b) The Attorney General may institute proceedings under this section. Pending final determination thereof, the court may at any time enter such restraining orders or prohibitions, or take such other actions, including the acceptance of satisfactory performance bonds, as it shall deem proper.
(c) Any person injured in his business or property by reason of a violation of section 1962 of this chapter may sue therefore in any appropriate United States district court and shall recover threefold the damages he sustains and the cost of the suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee, except that no person may rely upon any conduct that would have been actionable as fraud in the purchase or sale of securities to establish a violation of section 1962. The exception contained in the preceding sentence does not apply to an action against any person that is criminally convicted in connection with the fraud, in which case the statute of limitations shall start to run on the date on which the conviction becomes final.
(d) A final judgment or decree rendered in favor of the United States in any criminal proceeding brought by the United States under this chapter shall stop the defendant from denying the essential allegations of the criminal offense in any subsequent civil proceeding brought by the United States.