§ 1956.
(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—
(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));
1
So in original. The second closing parenthesis probably should not appear.
(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 the United States; or
(vii)
trafficking in persons, selling or buying of 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 (
(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.
(Added [Pub. L. 99–570, title I, § 1352(a)], Oct. 27, 1986, [100 Stat. 3207–18]; amended [Pub. L. 100–690, title VI], §§ 6183, 6465, 6466, 6469(a)(1), 6471(a), (b), title VII, § 7031, Nov. 18, 1988, [102 Stat. 4354], 4375, 4377, 4378, 4398; [Pub. L. 101–647, title I], §§ 105–108, title XII, § 1205(j), title XIV, §§ 1402, 1404, title XXV, § 2506, title XXXV, § 3557, Nov. 29, 1990, [104 Stat. 4791], 4792, 4831, 4835, 4862, 4927; [Pub. L. 102–550, title XV], §§ 1504(c), 1524, 1526(a), 1527(a), 1530, 1531, 1534, 1536, Oct. 28, 1992, [106 Stat. 4055], 4064–4067; [Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXII, § 320104(b)], title XXXIII, §§ 330008(2), 330011(l), 330012, 330019, 330021(1), Sept. 13, 1994, [108 Stat. 2111], 2142, 2145, 2146, 2149, 2150; [Pub. L. 103–325, title IV], §§ 411(c)(2)(E), 413(c)(1), (d), Sept. 23, 1994, [108 Stat. 2253–2255]; [Pub. L. 104–132, title VII, § 726], Apr. 24, 1996, [110 Stat. 1301]; [Pub. L. 104–191, title II, § 246], Aug. 21, 1996, [110 Stat. 2018]; [Pub. L. 104–294, title VI], §§ 601(f)(6), 604(b)(38), Oct. 11, 1996, [110 Stat. 3499], 3509; [Pub. L. 106–569, title VII, § 709(a)], Dec. 27, 2000, [114 Stat. 3018]; [Pub. L. 107–56, title III], §§ 315, 317, 318, 376, title VIII, § 805(b), title X, § 1004, Oct. 26, 2001, [115 Stat. 308], 310, 311, 342, 378, 392; [Pub. L. 107–273, div. B, title IV], §§ 4002(a)(11), (b)(5), (c)(2), 4005(d)(1), (e), Nov. 2, 2002, [116 Stat. 1807], 1809, 1812, 1813; [Pub. L. 108–458, title VI, § 6909], Dec. 17, 2004, [118 Stat. 3774]; [Pub. L. 109–164, title I, § 103(b)], Jan. 10, 2006, [119 Stat. 3563]; [Pub. L. 109–177, title III, § 311(c)], title IV, §§ 403(b), (c)(1), 405, 406(a)(2), 409, Mar. 9, 2006, [120 Stat. 242–244], 246; [Pub. L. 110–234, title IV], §§ 4002(b)(1)(B), (D), (2)(M), 4115(c)(1)(A)(i), (B)(ii), May 22, 2008, [122 Stat. 1096], 1097, 1109; [Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a)], title IV, §§ 4002(b)(1)(B), (D), (2)(M), 4115(c)(1)(A)(i), (B)(ii), June 18, 2008, [122 Stat. 1664], 1857, 1858, 1870; [Pub. L. 110–358, title II, § 202], Oct. 8, 2008, [122 Stat. 4003]; [Pub. L. 111–21, § 2(f)(1)], May 20, 2009, [123 Stat. 1618]; [Pub. L. 112–127, § 6], June 5, 2012, [126 Stat. 371]; [Pub. L. 114–122, title I, § 105(c)], Feb. 18, 2016, [130 Stat. 101]; [Pub. L. 114–231, title V, § 502], Oct. 7, 2016, [130 Stat. 956]; [Pub. L. 117–159, div. A, title II, § 12004(a)(4)], June 25, 2022, [136 Stat. 1328]; [Pub. L. 117–263, div. E, title LIX, § 5904(a)], Dec. 23, 2022, [136 Stat. 3441].)