Proposals to Reform the Federal Money Laundering Statutes
page 6
Proposal #1: Repeal promotion money laundering.
Far less drastic than it sounds, repealing the so-called promotion prong of 18 U.S.C. § 1956
serves the worthwhile goal of simplifying the federal criminal code — without creating a gap in
federal law enforcement.
Before passage of the federal money laundering statutes, prosecutors sometimes charged —
and in almost all circumstances could charge — money launderers with conspiracy to commit the
underlying offense. 9 The promotion prong of 18 U.S.C. § 1956 requires, by definition, that the
financial transactions were conducted “ with the intent to promote the carrying on of a specified
unlawful activity. ” Facially, one who intends to promote the underlying criminal activity and who
participates in the commission of a financial transaction, the object of which is to further the
underlying crime, is axiomatically liable as either a conspirator or an aider and abettor of the
underlying crime itself. There is simply no void in the law of criminal liability requiring the creation
or application of the promotion prong of § 1956.
9 See, e.g., United States v. Herrero, 893 F.2d 1512, 1535 (7 th Cir. 1990); United States v. Orozco-Prada, 732 F.2d 1076 (2d Cir. 1984).
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