Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Counterfeiting Act of 2026
Grassley, Klobuchar Bill Would Double Prison Time for Cash Smuggling, Close Money Laundering Loopholes
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- This bill, introduced by Senators Grassley and Klobuchar, aims to make it harder for criminals and terrorists to move money. It doubles the maximum prison time for smuggling large amounts of cash across borders from 5 years to 10 years and adds heavy new fines for people caught breaking these laws.
- The proposal closes a loophole regarding blank checks. If someone carries a blank check for an account with more than $10,000 to avoid reporting rules, it will now be treated the same as carrying $10,000 in cash. It also allows the government to combine several smaller transactions to prove someone is trying to hide illegal money.
- For the first time, international money laundering laws would specifically apply to people trying to evade U.S. taxes. The bill also makes it a crime to possess tools or machinery used for counterfeiting money with the intent to defraud, and it gives the Secret Service more power to investigate these financial crimes.
- The Treasury Department would be required to study how "remittances"—money sent by individuals to people in other countries—are being used by drug cartels and human traffickers. While the goal is to stop crime, the study must also look at how new rules might affect regular people who send money home to their families legally.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
Life & Work
The bill significantly increases penalties across multiple financial crime categories. Bulk cash smuggling maximum sentences double from 5 to 10 years. Aggravated cases carry doubled fines. The government gains new tools to aggregate smaller transactions and prosecute money laundering as a 'course of conduct' in a single count, making convictions easier to obtain and sentences potentially harsher for people involved in financial crimes.
Activities
Broader Impacts
Milestones
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
2 articles
Bipartisan Senate bill targets money laundering linked to drug trafficking, terrorism
Senators Chuck Grassley and Amy Klobuchar introduced the Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Counterfeiting Act of 2026. The bill doubles prison time for cash smuggling to 10 years and closes a loophole treating blank checks for accounts over $10,000 as cash.
Best Practices for Responding to Government Investigations
Legal experts analyze the 2026 Combating Money Laundering Act, highlighting its expansion of international money laundering laws to include tax evasion and new criminal penalties for possessing counterfeiting tools. The bill also grants the Secret Service broader investigative powers.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Counterfeiting Act of 2026
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.