Money Laundering Control Act

{{Short description|1986 law that made money laundering a federal crime in the United States}}

{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}

{{Infobox U.S. legislation

| shorttitle = Money Laundering Control Act

| othershorttitles = {{unbulleted list|Alcohol and Drug Abuse Amendments of 1986|Money Laundering Control Act of 1986}}

| longtitle = An Act to strengthen Federal efforts to encourage foreign cooperation in eradicating illicit drug crops and in halting international drug traffic, to improve enforcement of Federal drug laws and enhance interdiction of illicit drug shipments, to provide strong Federal leadership in establishing effective drug abuse prevention and education programs, to expand Federal support for drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation efforts, and for other purposes.

| colloquialacronym =

| nickname = Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986

| enacted by = 99th

| effective date = October 27, 1986

| public law url = http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-100/pdf/STATUTE-100-Pg3207.pdf

| cite public law = 99-570

| cite statutes at large = {{usstat|100|3207}} aka 100 Stat. 3207-18

| acts amended =

| acts repealed =

| title amended = 18 U.S.C.: Crimes and Criminal Procedure

| sections created = {{unbulleted list|{{Usc-title-chap|18|46}} § 981|{{Usc-title-chap|18|95}} § 1956-1957}}

| sections amended = {{Usc-title-chap|18|96}} § 1961

| leghisturl = http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d099:HR05484:@@@R

| introducedin = House

| introducedbill = {{USBill|99|H.R.|5484}}

| introducedby = James C. Wright Jr. (D–TX)

| introduceddate = September 8, 1986

| committees = House Armed Services, House Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, House Education and Labor, House Foreign Affairs, House Government Operations, House Energy and Commerce, House Interior and Insular Affairs, House Judiciary, House Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House Post Office and Civil Service, House Public Works and Transportation, House Ways and Means

| passedbody1 = House

| passeddate1 = September 11, 1986

| passedvote1 = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/99-1986/h787 392-16]

| passedbody2 = Senate

| passedas2 =

| passeddate2 = September 30, 1986

| passedvote2 = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/99-1986/s683 97-2], in lieu of {{USBill|99|S.|2878}}

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| agreedbody3 = House

| agreeddate3 = October 17, 1986

| agreedvote3 = unanimous consent

| agreedbody4 = Senate

| agreeddate4 = October 17, 1986

| agreedvote4 = voice vote

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| signedpresident = Ronald Reagan

| signeddate = October 27, 1986

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| amendments = USA PATRIOT Act

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}}

The Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-570) is a United States Act of Congress that made money laundering a federal crime. It was passed in 1986. It consists of two sections, {{usc|18|1956}} and {{usc|18|1957}}. It for the first time in the United States criminalized money laundering. Section 1956 prohibits individuals from engaging in a financial transaction with proceeds that were generated from certain specific crimes, known as "specified unlawful activities" (SUAs). Additionally, the law requires that an individual specifically intends in making the transaction to conceal the source, ownership or control of the funds. There is no minimum threshold of money, nor is there the requirement that the transaction succeed in actually disguising the money. Moreover, a "financial transaction" has been broadly defined, and need not involve a financial institution, or even a business. Merely passing money from one person to another, so long as it is done with the intent to disguise the source, ownership, location or control of the money, has been deemed a financial transaction under the law. Section 1957 prohibits spending in excess of $10,000 derived from an SUA, regardless of whether the individual wishes to disguise it. This carries a lesser penalty than money laundering, and unlike the money laundering statute, requires that the money pass through a financial institution.{{cite journal |last=Cassella |first=Stephan |date=September 2007 |title=Money Laundering Laws |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usab5505.pdf |journal=United States Attorneys' Bulletin |accessdate=2 March 2011}}{{cite book|last1=Doyle|first1=Charles|title=Money Laundering: An Overview of 18 U.S.C. § 1956 and Related Federal Criminal Law|date=November 30, 2017|publisher=Congressional Research Service|location=Washington, DC|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33315.pdf|accessdate=1 February 2018}}