Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Counterfeiting Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Senator Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]
Introduced
Summary
Tighten enforcement against money laundering, terrorist financing, and counterfeiting. This bill would expand who is covered, increase penalties, restore investigative authorities, and require a Treasury remittance threat analysis and a 10-year strategy.
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- Families and remittance users: Treasury would produce a remittance threat analysis within 1 year and, within 180 days after that, a 10-year Remittances Strategy and Implementation Plan that assesses illicit remittance risks like human trafficking and identity theft and recommends mitigations.
- Money services businesses and remitters: Operating an unlicensed money services business (MSB) would become a broader federal crime with tiered penalties. The bill raises penalties when MSB activity exceeds $1 million in a 12-month period and standardizes the term "money services business" across statutes.
- Prosecutors and investigators: The bill would let prosecutors meet the $10,000 monetary transaction requirement by showing commingled proceeds or aggregated closely related transactions. It would allow charging multiple laundering violations in a single count, restore and expand wiretap authority for listed offenses, raise the maximum prison term for bulk cash smuggling from 5 to 10 years and add fines, and strengthen counterfeiting offenses by penalizing possession of counterfeiting tools and creating a new class B felony for certain counterfeit-related items.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.
Stronger wiretaps and counterfeiting penalties
If enacted, federal wiretap permission would extend to evading transaction reports, illegal money services, and a counterfeiting offense. The Secret Service would be able to investigate money laundering, structured transactions, and unlicensed money transmission more broadly. Possessing tools to make or alter currency or securities with intent to defraud would be a crime, and removing anti-counterfeit ink could be a class B felony unless done under Treasury authority. The bill would raise the maximum prison term for bulk cash smuggling from 5 years to 10 years and create a structured fine scheme, while also clarifying that authorized law enforcement, protective, and intelligence activities are not changed by the Act.
New rules for remittances and MSBs
This bill would criminalize running an unlicensed money services business that serves the public. Penalties would be up to 5 years in prison, and up to 10 years plus higher fines if the business moved more than $1,000,000 in 12 months. The bill would treat blank bearer instruments as over $10,000 for reporting when held to avoid reporting and drawn on an account that had or was meant to have more than $10,000. Prosecutors would be able to count commingled funds or many closely related small transactions together to meet the $10,000 laundering threshold and could add certain tax evasion offenses as laundering predicates. The Treasury would have to deliver a remittances threat analysis in 1 year and a remittances strategy and implementation plan within 180 days after that, and update the plan every 5 years for 10 years.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]
IA • R
Cosponsors
Amy Klobuchar
MN • D
Sponsored 2/5/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov