NCJ Number
160332
Date Published
1995
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes findings from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's Money Laundering Working Group Reports relating to the operation of sentencing guidelines 2S1.1 and 2S1.2.
Abstract
Generally, "money laundering" refers to a broad category of offenses that involve financial transactions with funds or monetary instruments gained through criminal activity. The working group concluded that the apparent anomalies in the operation of the money-laundering sentencing guideline were primarily attributable to reliance on inflexible base offense levels. The inherent rigidity of this approach means that offense levels for the money laundering conduct and for the crime from which the laundered proceeds derived may bear little relationship to each other. To ensure that sentencing under 2S1.1 reflects the seriousness of the offense, the working group recommends that the Commission consider amending 2S1.1 to link money laundering base offense levels to the actual or approximate offense level applicable to the offense from which the laundered proceeds derived. The working group further recommends that offense levels in money laundering cases be increased appropriately through specific offense characteristics to account for traditional money laundering conduct, i.e., concealment of the source of proceeds (especially sophisticated concealment) and money-laundering conduct aimed at promoting further criminal conduct. The group also recommends that the Commission consider merging guidelines 2S1.1 and 2S1.2 for simplicity. The postscript notes that the latter recommendation was implemented by the Commission in late April 1995.