United States: The Guide To Anti-Money Laundering: Money Laundering And International Corruption

Zachary Goldman, Erin Sloane, Emily Stark and Jason Raymond¹

With a different structure from the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Money Laundering Control Act (MLCA) has become an important tool in the US government's fight against international corruption. The reach of the MLCA is not limited to individuals or companies who personally visit the shores of the United States. Indeed, federal prosecutors have increasingly used the MLCA to charge foreign officials and others in international bribery schemes who had limited or no direct contact with the United States, especially after a decision by the Second Circuit in December 2020. That decision, United States v. Ho, held that the MLCA permits prosecutions in the United States when a transaction clears or goes through a US correspondent bank² – reasoning that stands to see the MLCA continue to figure prominently in international corruption prosecutions, in addition to a new wave of sanctions enforcement actions coming out of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, an area in which the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has pledged increased activity.³

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Footnotes

1. Zachary Goldman and Erin Sloane are partners, Emily Stark is a counsel and Jason Raymond is an associate at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP.

2. 984 F.3d 191 (2d Cir. 2020), cert. denied, 141 S. Ct. 2862 (2021).

3. See US Dep't of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, 'Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco Delivers Keynote Remarks at 2022 GIR Live: Women in Investigations' (16 June 2022) (https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/deputy-attorney-general-lisa-o-monaco-delivers -keynote-remarks-2022-gir-live-women (accessed 10 July 2023) (discussing increased sanctions enforcement and noting: 'Over the last couple of months, I've given notice of that sea change by describing sanctions as "the new FCPA".')); see also Joseph R Biden, Jr, President of the United States, 'Memorandum on Establishing the Fight Against Corruption as a Core United States National Security Interest' (3 June 2021) (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/06/03/ memorandum-on-establishing-the-fight-against-corruption-as-a-core-united-states -national-security-interest/ (accessed 10 July 2023) (describing efforts to fight corruption globally by, among other things, using anti-money laundering and sanctions tools in concert with the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)).

Originally published by GIR, August 2023.

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