Money Laundering Control Act

The Money Laundering Control Act came into force in 1986 and is the United States Act of Congress that made money laundering a federal crime. The MLCA forbids individuals from participating in a financial transaction where the proceeds were generated from certain specific crimes, known as Specified Unlawful Activities (SUAs). SUAs cover a huge number of crimes, from fraud, bribery, tax evasion and embezzlement, to manufacturing, importing, and distributing drugs, through robbery, people trafficking and terrorism. There is no minimum value, the transaction does not need to involve a financial institution and the individual does not need to succeed in disguising the money for the action to be a crime.