---
kind: "section"
citation: "31 U.S.C. § 5335"
title: "31"
title_heading: "Money and Finance"
number: "5335"
heading: "Prohibition on concealment of the source of assets in monetary transactions"
release: "119-102"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/31/5335"
units:
  - "Subtitle IV — Money"
  - "Chapter 53 — Monetary Transactions"
  - "Subchapter II — Records and Reports on Monetary Instruments Transactions"
---

# §5335. Prohibition on concealment of the source of assets in monetary transactions

- (a) **Definition of Monetary Transaction.—** In this section, the term the term “monetary transaction”—
  - (1) means the deposit, withdrawal, transfer, or exchange, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, of funds or a monetary instrument (as defined in [section 1956(c)(5) of title 18](/usc/18/1956.md?p=c-5)) by, through, or to a [financial institution](/usc/31/5312.md?p=a-2) (as defined in [section 1956(c)(6) of title 18](/usc/18/1956.md?p=c-6));
  - (2) includes any transaction that would be a financial transaction under [section 1956(c)(4)(B) of title 18](/usc/18/1956.md); and
  - (3) does not include any transaction necessary to preserve the right to representation of a [person](/usc/31/3701.md?p=c) as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the [United States](/usc/31/5312.md?p=a-6).
- (b) **Prohibition.—** No [person](/usc/31/3701.md?p=c) shall knowingly conceal, falsify, or misrepresent, or attempt to conceal, falsify, or misrepresent, from or to a [financial institution](/usc/31/5312.md?p=a-2), a [material](/usc/31/3801.md?p=a-10) fact concerning the ownership or control of assets involved in a [monetary transaction](#a) if—
  - (1) the [person](/usc/31/3701.md?p=c) or entity who owns or controls the assets is a senior foreign political figure, or any immediate family member or close associate of a senior foreign political figure, as set forth in this title or the regulations promulgated under this title; and
  - (2) the aggregate value of the assets involved in 1 or more [monetary transactions](#a) is not less than $1,000,000.
- (c) **Source of Funds.—** No [person](/usc/31/3701.md?p=c) shall knowingly conceal, falsify, or misrepresent, or attempt to conceal, falsify, or misrepresent, from or to a [financial institution](/usc/31/5312.md?p=a-2), a [material](/usc/31/3801.md?p=a-10) fact concerning the source of funds in a [monetary transaction](#a) that—
  - (1) involves an entity found to be a primary money laundering concern under [section 5318A](/usc/31/5318A.md) or the regulations promulgated under this title; and
  - (2) violates the prohibitions or conditions prescribed under [section 5318A(b)(5)](/usc/31/5318A.md?p=b-5) or the regulations promulgated under this title.
- (d) **Penalties.—** A [person](/usc/31/3701.md?p=c) convicted of an offense under subsection [(b)](#b) or [(c)](#c), or a conspiracy to commit an offense under subsection [(b)](#b) or [(c)](#c), shall be imprisoned for not more than 10 years, fined not more than $1,000,000, or both.
- (e) **Forfeiture.—**
  - (1) **Criminal forfeiture.—**
    - (A) **In general.—** The court, in imposing a sentence under [subsection (d)](#d), shall order that the defendant forfeit to the [United States](/usc/31/5312.md?p=a-6) any property involved in the offense and any property traceable thereto.
    - (B) **Procedure.—** The seizure, restraint, and forfeiture of property under this paragraph shall be governed by section 413 of the Controlled Substances Act ([21 U.S.C. 853](/usc/21/853.md)).
  - (2) **Civil forfeiture.—**
    - (A) **In general.—** Any property involved in a violation of subsection [(b)](#b) or [(c)](#c), or a conspiracy to commit a violation of subsection [(b)](#b) or [(c)](#c), and any property traceable thereto may be seized and forfeited to the [United States](/usc/31/5312.md?p=a-6).
    - (B) **Procedure.—** Seizures and forfeitures under this paragraph shall be governed by the provisions of [chapter 46](/usc/18/chptI-ch46.md) of title 18 relating to civil forfeitures, except that such duties, under the customs laws described in [section 981(d) of title 18](/usc/18/981.md?p=d), given to the Secretary of the Treasury shall be performed by such officers, agents, and other [persons](/usc/31/3701.md?p=c) as may be designated for that purpose by the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney General.

## Source credit

(Added Pub. L. 116–283, div. F, title LXIII, § 6313(a), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4596.)