Sec. 302. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES
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## SEC. 302 FINDINGS AND PURPOSES **[**[31 U.S.C. 5311 note](/us/usc/t31/s5311)**]** ###
(a)Findings The Congress finds that— ####
(1)money laundering, estimated by the International Monetary Fund to amount to between 2 and 5 percent of global gross domestic product, which is at least $600,000,000,000 annually, provides the financial fuel that permits transnational criminal enterprises to conduct and expand their operations to the detriment of the safety and security of American citizens; ####
(2)money laundering, and the defects in financial transparency on which money launderers rely, are critical to the financing of global terrorism and the provision of funds for terrorist attacks; ####
(3)money launderers subvert legitimate financial mechanisms and banking relationships by using them as protective covering for the movement of criminal proceeds and the financing of crime and terrorism, and, by so doing, can threaten the safety of United States citizens and undermine the integrity of United States financial institutions and of the global financial and trading systems upon which prosperity and growth depend; ####
(4)certain jurisdictions outside of the United States that offer “offshore” banking and related facilities designed to provide anonymity, coupled with weak financial supervisory and enforcement regimes, provide essential tools to disguise ownership and movement of criminal funds derived from, or used to commit, offenses ranging from narcotics trafficking, terrorism, arms smuggling, and trafficking in human beings, to financial frauds that prey on law-abiding citizens; ####
(5)transactions involving such offshore jurisdictions make it difficult for law enforcement officials and regulators to follow the trail of money earned by criminals, organized international criminal enterprises, and global terrorist organizations; ####
(6)correspondent banking facilities are one of the banking mechanisms susceptible in some circumstances to manipulation by foreign banks to permit the laundering of funds by hiding the identity of real parties in interest to financial transactions; ####
(7)private banking services can be susceptible to manipulation by money launderers, for example corrupt foreign government officials, particularly if those services include the creation of offshore accounts and facilities for large personal funds transfers to channel funds into accounts around the globe; ####
(8)United States anti-money laundering efforts are impeded by outmoded and inadequate statutory provisions that make investigations, prosecutions, and forfeitures more difficult, particularly in cases in which money laundering involves foreign persons, foreign banks, or foreign countries; ####
(9)the ability to mount effective counter-measures to international money launderers requires national, as well as bilateral and multilateral action, using tools specially designed for that effort; and ####
(10)the Basle Committee on Banking Regulation and Supervisory Practices and the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, of both of which the United States is a member, have each adopted international anti-money laundering principles and recommendations. ###
(b)Purposes The purposes of this title are— ####
(1)to increase the strength of United States measures to prevent, detect, and prosecute international money laundering and the financing of terrorism; ####
(2)to ensure that— #####
(A)banking transactions and financial relationships and the conduct of such transactions and relationships, do not contravene the purposes of subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, or chapter 2 of title I of Public Law 91–508 (84 Stat. 1116), or facilitate the evasion of any such provision; and #####
(B)the purposes of such provisions of law continue to be fulfilled, and such provisions of law are effectively and efficiently administered; ####
(3)to strengthen the provisions put into place by the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 (18 U.S.C. 981 note), especially with respect to crimes by non-United States nationals and foreign financial institutions; ####
(4)to provide a clear national mandate for subjecting to special scrutiny those foreign jurisdictions, financial institutions operating outside of the United States, and classes of international transactions or types of accounts that pose particular, identifiable opportunities for criminal abuse; ####
(5)to provide the Secretary of the Treasury (in this title referred to as the “Secretary”) with broad discretion, subject to the safeguards provided by the Administrative Procedure Act under title 5, United States Code, to take measures tailored to the particular money laundering problems presented by specific foreign jurisdictions, financial institutions operating outside of the United States, and classes of international transactions or types of accounts; ####
(6)to ensure that the employment of such measures by the Secretary permits appropriate opportunity for comment by affected financial institutions; ####
(7)to provide guidance to domestic financial institutions on particular foreign jurisdictions, financial institutions operating outside of the United States, and classes of international transactions or types of accounts that are of primary money laundering concern to the United States Government; ####
(8)to ensure that the forfeiture of any assets in connection with the anti-terrorist efforts of the United States permits for adequate challenge consistent with providing due process rights; ####
(9)to clarify the terms of the safe harbor from civil liability for filing suspicious activity reports; ####
(10)to strengthen the authority of the Secretary to issue and administer geographic targeting orders, and to clarify that violations of such orders or any other requirement imposed under the authority contained in chapter 2 of title I of Public Law 91–508 and subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, may result in criminal and civil penalties; ####
(11)to ensure that all appropriate elements of the financial services industry are subject to appropriate requirements to report potential money laundering transactions to proper authorities, and that jurisdictional disputes do not hinder examination of compliance by financial institutions with relevant reporting requirements; ####
(12)to strengthen the ability of financial institutions to maintain the integrity of their employee population; and ####
(13)to strengthen measures to prevent the use of the United States financial system for personal gain by corrupt foreign officials and to facilitate the repatriation of any stolen assets to the citizens of countries to whom such assets belong. **[**Section 303 was repealed by section 6204 of Public Law 108–458, December 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3747.**]** ## Subtitle A International Counter Money Laundering and Related Measures
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- Pub. L. 91-508
- 84 Stat. 1116
- Pub. L. 108-458
- 118 Stat. 3747
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Sec. 302
FINDINGS AND PURPOSES
Pub. L.Pub. L. 91-508
Stat.84 Stat. 1116
Pub. L.Pub. L. 108-458
Stat.118 Stat. 3747
Cites 6Cited by 0 across 0 sources