S. 3801 — Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Counterfeiting Act of 2026

This section designates the Act as the “Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Counterfeiting Act of 2026” and sets forth its table of contents.

This section establishes, for purposes of the international monetary instrument transportation reporting requirement (31 U.S.C. §5316), that a bearer-form monetary instrument with a blank amount—possessed to avoid reporting—is deemed to exceed the $10,000 threshold if drawn on an account that contained or was intended to contain more than $10,000 at the time of transport, negotiation, or intended negotiation. (Thus, this treats blank checks and similar instruments as reportable when linked to high-value accounts.)

This section revises criminal penalties for bulk cash smuggling (i.e., knowingly concealing and transporting more than $10,000 in currency or monetary instruments across U.S. borders) under section 5332(b) of title 31, United States Code, by (1) increasing the maximum term of imprisonment to 10 years (from 5 years); and (2) adding a new fine provision that imposes fines under title 18, United States Code, doubled—for violations committed while violating another U.S. law (other than 31 U.S.C. 5316 or 5324(c)) or as part of a pattern of unlawful activity, including those sections—relative to amounts specified in 18 U.S.C. 3571(b)(3) or (c)(3).

This section amends the money laundering statute (18 U.S.C. 1957), which prohibits knowingly engaging in (or attempting) a monetary transaction involving criminally derived property (i.e., proceeds of specified unlawful activity) valued over $10,000, by adding a new subsection (f). The new subsection allows the government to satisfy the $10,000 value requirement in a prosecution by proving either (1) the transaction involved the transfer, withdrawal, encumbrance, or other disposition of more than $10,000 from an account in which more than $10,000 in proceeds of specified unlawful activity was commingled with other funds; or (2) the defendant conducted a series of transactions, each not more than $10,000, that exceeded $10,000 in the aggregate and were closely related based on factors such as the time period between transactions, identity of parties involved, nature or purpose of the transactions, and manner in which conducted. (Thus, prosecutors may now aggregate related smaller transactions or rely on commingled accounts to establish the jurisdictional threshold previously requiring a single transaction over $10,000.)

This section amends the money laundering statute (18 USC 1956) by (1) expanding the conspiracy provision in subsection (h) to include violations of 18 USC 1960 (i.e., conducting unlicensed money transmitting businesses), and (2) adding subsection (k) to authorize the government, at its election, to charge multiple violations of the statute in a single count when part of the same scheme or continuing course of conduct. (Thus, a pattern of money laundering transactions or international transfers of criminally derived funds may be prosecuted as one offense.)

This section revises 18 U.S.C. 1960 to prohibit illegal money services businesses by striking existing subsections (a) and (b) and inserting new provisions that criminalize the knowing conduct, control, management, supervision, direction, or ownership of a covered money services business (MSB) operating without required state licensure (punishable as a state misdemeanor or felony), failing to register under Bank Secrecy Act requirements (31 U.S.C. 5330), or engaging in transactions involving known criminal funds or funds intended for unlawful activity; sets penalties of fines and imprisonment for up to 5 years (enhanced to double fines under 18 U.S.C. 3571 and up to 10 years imprisonment if involving more than $1 million in a 12-month period); and defines covered MSB (i.e., public-facing operations affecting interstate or foreign commerce) and MSB (i.e., incorporating 31 U.S.C. 5330 definition and including non-profit transfers, transportation, or exchanges of currency, funds, or virtual currency). It also updates the section heading to "Prohibition of illegal money services businesses" and the table of sections for 18 U.S.C. ch. 95. This section makes conforming amendments to 31 U.S.C. §§ 5330, 5336, 5362, and 5363—including section and subsection headings and tables of sections—to replace "money transmitting business" with "money services business"; and amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1829b(b)(3)(A)) to replace "money transmitting businesses" with "money services businesses (as that term is defined in section 1960 of title 18, United States Code)" and "money transmitting business" with "money services business" (thus, adopting the new, broader MSB definition for insured depository institution recordkeeping regulations).

This section extends the definition of financial transaction under 18 U.S.C. 1956(a)(1)(B)(ii)—which includes transfers through hawalas and other informal value transfer systems—to also apply to monetary transactions under 18 U.S.C. 1957. (Thus, both money laundering statutes, which prohibit financial or monetary transactions involving criminally derived property, explicitly cover such informal systems.)

This section revises the list of predicate offenses authorizing wiretap surveillance under 18 U.S.C. 2516(1) as follows: (1) in subparagraph (g), to include 31 U.S.C. 5332 (relating to evasion of Federal transaction reporting requirements) alongside 31 U.S.C. 5324 (from 5324 only); (2) in subparagraph (c), to include 18 U.S.C. 1960 (relating to illegal money services businesses); and (3) in subparagraph (d), to include 18 U.S.C. 474 and 474A alongside 473 (from 473 only). (Thus, these changes restore and expand federal law enforcement's ability to obtain court-authorized wiretaps in investigations of structuring to evade currency reporting requirements, illegal money services businesses, and additional counterfeiting offenses.)

This section expands the federal money laundering statute's prohibition on international transportation or transfer of funds (18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(2)(A)) to cover conduct done with the intent to engage in tax evasion (26 U.S.C. § 7201) or fraud and false statements (26 U.S.C. § 7206) under the Internal Revenue Code.

This section amends federal counterfeiting statutes (18 U.S.C. §§470, 474, 474A, and 481) to criminalize additional conduct in aid of counterfeiting, as follows: (1) in §474(a), inserts a new offense prohibiting, with intent to defraud, custody, control, or possession of any material, tool, machinery, or other equipment usable to make, alter, forge, or counterfeit U.S. obligations or securities (except under Treasury Secretary authority); (2) in §481, inserts a parallel offense for custody, control, or possession of such items usable for foreign government, bank, or corporate obligations or securities; (3) in §470, which applies U.S. counterfeiting penalties extraterritorially to acts abroad that would violate §§471, 473, or 474 if committed domestically, adds §474A to that list; and (4) in §474A, which prohibits trafficking in counterfeit deterrents (i.e., security features such as color-shifting ink or security threads) on U.S. obligations— (A) in subsection (a), inserts “custody” alongside “control or possession”; (B) in subsection (b), inserts “custody” alongside “control” and replaces the prohibition on “any essentially identical feature or device adapted to the making of any such obligation or security” with one on “any material or other thing made after or in similitude of any such deterrent”; (C) redesignates subsection (c) as (d); and (D) inserts new subsection (c) prohibiting control, custody, or possession of any U.S. or foreign obligation or security with ink or other counterfeit deterrent completely or partially removed (except under Treasury Secretary authority), punishable as a class B felony.

This section expands eligibility for danger pay allowances (i.e., up to 35% of basic pay for federal employees serving in foreign areas threatened by civil insurrection, civil war, terrorism, or wartime conditions) to personnel from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the United States Secret Service, in addition to the United States Marshals Service.

This section clarifies Secret Service investigative authority under 18 U.S.C. 3056(b)(3) by (1) inserting "money laundering, structured transactions, unlicensed money transmitting" after "documents or devices"; and (2) striking "federally insured". (Thus, the Secret Service may investigate those offenses involving any relevant financial institutions, not solely federally insured ones.)

This section defines terms for the section—including "appropriate congressional committees" (i.e., seven specified Senate and House committees), "drug kingpins, crime syndicates, and other persons" (i.e., those designated under specified narcotics, transnational crime, and terrorism authorities who use remittances for illicit financing), "human trafficking" (cross-referencing 22 U.S.C. 7102), and "money services business" and "money transmitting service" (cross-referencing 31 U.S.C. 5330)—and directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Attorney General, Secretary of Homeland Security, and other federal law enforcement heads, to submit to those committees (1) within one year of enactment, a threat and operational analysis of remittances used by such actors to finance terrorism, narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, and other illicit activities (addressing threats, methods, identity theft challenges, cooperation needs, and agency resource requirements); and (2) within 180 days thereafter, and every five years for 10 years, a remittances strategy and implementation plan to mitigate those threats (incorporating the analysis, reduction efforts, prevention standards, and resource needs).

This section provides a rule of construction specifying that nothing in the Act or its amendments applies to authorized law enforcement, protective, or intelligence activities of the United States or an intelligence agency of the United States.