§708A-3  Money laundering; criminal penalty. 
(1)  It is unlawful for any person:



(a) Who knows that the property involved is the
proceeds of some form of unlawful activity, to knowingly transport, transmit,
transfer, receive, or acquire the property or to conduct a transaction
involving the property, when, in fact, the property is the proceeds of
specified unlawful activity:



(i)  With the intent to promote the carrying on
of specified unlawful activity; or



(ii)  Knowing that the transportation, transmission,
transfer, receipt, or acquisition of the property or the transaction or
transactions is designed in whole or in part to:



(A)  Conceal or disguise the nature, the
location, the source, the ownership, or the control of the proceeds of
specified unlawful activity; or



(B)  Avoid a transaction reporting requirement
under state or federal law;



(b) Who knows that the property involved in the
transaction is the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity, to knowingly
engage in the business of conducting, directing, planning, organizing,
initiating, financing, managing, supervising, or facilitating transactions
involving the property that, in fact, is the proceeds of specified unlawful
activity:



(i)  With the intent to promote the carrying on
of specified unlawful activity; or



(ii)  Knowing that the business is designed in
whole or in part to:



(A)  Conceal or disguise the nature, the
location, the source, the ownership, or the control of the proceeds of
specified unlawful activity; or



(B)  Avoid a transaction reporting requirement
under state or federal law; or



(c) To knowingly conduct or attempt to conduct a
financial transaction involving property represented to be the proceeds of
specified unlawful activity, or property used to conduct or facilitate
specified unlawful activity, with the intent to:



(i)  Promote the carrying on of specified
unlawful activity; or



(ii)  Conceal or disguise the nature, the
location, the source, the ownership, or the control of property believed to be
the proceeds of specified unlawful activity.



(2)  For the purpose of the offense described
in subsection (1)(c), the defendant's knowledge may be established by proof
that a law enforcement officer represented the matter specified in subsection
(1)(c) as true, and the defendant's subsequent statements or actions indicate
that the defendant believed the representations to be true.



(3)  For the purposes of subsection (1)(c), the
term "represented" means any representation made by a law enforcement
officer or by another person at the direction of, or with the approval of, a
state or county official authorized to investigate or prosecute violations of
this section.



(4)  This section shall not apply to any person
who commits any act described in this section unless:



(a) The person believes the value or aggregate value
of the property transported, transmitted, transferred, received, or acquired is
$8,000 or more; or



(b) The value or the aggregate value of the property
transported, transmitted, transferred, received, or acquired is $8,000 or more.



(5)  A person who violates subsection (1):



(a) Is guilty of a class C felony where the value or
aggregate value of the property transported, transmitted, transferred,
received, or acquired is less than $10,000, and may be fined not more than
$16,000 or twice the value of the property involved, whichever is greater; or



(b) Is guilty of a class B felony where the value or
aggregate value of the property transported, transmitted, transferred,
received, or acquired is $10,000 or more, and may be fined not more than
$25,000 or twice the value of the property involved, whichever is greater. [L
1995, c 119, pt of §2; am L 1999, c 226, §1]



 



COMMENTARY ON §708A-3



 



Act 226, Session Laws 1999, amended this section by, among
other things, creating a class C felony for persons guilty of money laundering
when the value or aggregate value of the property involved is less than $10,000
but greater than $8,000, and imposing fines of no more than $16,000 or no more
than twice the value of the property, whichever is greater, upon individuals
found guilty of a class C felony.  The legislature found that the minimum
$10,000 ceiling for a money laundering transaction enables criminal
organizations to avoid prosecution by structuring their illegal transactions 
to remain below $10,000.  The legislature further found that this frustrates
attempts by law enforcement and prosecutors to pursue criminal penalties
against money launderers until the amount that they can prove has been
laundered surpasses the $10,000 level.  The legislature agreed that adding a
lower offense for money laundering a lower sum would appropriately penalize
such behavior.  Senate Standing Committee Report No. 1494.