Supreme Court Revisits Money Laundering

On March 3, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Cuellar v. United States. The decision, expected by the end of June, will interpret the 'intent to conceal' provision of the federal Anti-Money Laundering statutes. Specifically, the question presented is whether hiding illicit crime proceeds absent a design to create the appearance that the proceeds were derived from legitimate wealth violates section 18 U.S.C. ' 1956 (a)(2)(B)(i), which makes it an offense to transport crime proceeds across an international border with the intent to conceal or disguise. Before reaching the Supreme Court, the question was answered Yes by the district court, No by a divided panel of the Fifth Circuit, then Yes by the circuit sitting en banc.