Recovering the Proceeds of Crime from the Correspondent Account of a Foreign Bank

Stefan D. Cassella, US Dept of Justice

Abstract

This article discusses the provisions, purposes and legislative history of 18 U.S.C. 981(k), a provision of the USA Patriot Act that allows the United States to use to asset forfeiture laws to recover property deposited into a foreign bank account by seizing funds from the foreign bank's correspondent account in the U.S. The article also discusses how this provision was applied in a case involving the laundering of the proceeds of a telemarketing scheme through money exchangers and banks in the Middle East.