IntroducedIntroduced Apr 3, 2025

S. 1273: Combatting Money Laundering in Cyber Crime Act of 2025

This legislation was introduced in the on 2025-04-03. It currently has a status of Introduced.

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AI Short Summary

This bill expands the authority of the U.S. Secret Service to investigate cyber crimes, money laundering, and fraud involving digital assets, while extending financial intelligence sharing programs to better combat transnational cyber crime.

Law Enforcement Digital Assets Cybersecurity Finance Criminal Justice

Sponsors

Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV]

Primary Sponsor (D-NV)

This bill expands the investigative authority of the U.S. Secret Service to target cyber crimes, digital asset transactions, unlicensed money transmitters, and money laundering. It also extends the authorization of certain federal financial intelligence-sharing programs and orders a government study on how effectively law enforcement is combatting cyber-related money laundering.

Summary: S. 1273, the "Combatting Money Laundering in Cyber Crime Act of 2025," is designed to modernize federal law enforcement capabilities against digital and transnational financial crimes. The bill amends existing federal statutes to grant the United States Secret Service explicit authority to investigate unlicensed money transmitting businesses, money laundering, and structured transactions. Additionally, it extends the operational life of key financial intelligence initiatives and mandates a comprehensive review of the government's current effectiveness in deterring cyber-related money laundering.

Key Provisions:

Expansion of Secret Service Investigative Powers (Section 2):
- Explicitly authorizes the Secret Service to investigate unlicensed money transmitting businesses (under 18 U.S.C. § 1960), a category that frequently includes illegal cryptocurrency exchanges and peer-to-peer digital asset transfer platforms.
- Grants the Secret Service the authority to investigate money laundering and "structured transactions" (financial transactions intentionally broken down into smaller amounts to avoid federal reporting requirements).
- Expands the agency's jurisdiction over financial institutions by replacing the narrow term "federally insured" with the broader definition of "financial institution" used in the Bank Secrecy Act (31 U.S.C. § 5312). This broadens their investigative reach to include money services businesses (MSBs), cryptocurrency exchanges, and broker-dealers.
FinCEN Exchange Extension (Section 3): Extends the statutory timeline (or authorization period) for the FinCEN Exchange—a public-private information-sharing partnership convened by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to combat illicit finance—from 5 years to 10 years.
International Financial Institutions Sanctions Extension (Section 4): Extends a key reporting or authorization provision within the Otto Warmbier North Korea Nuclear Sanctions and Enforcement Act of 2019 from 6 years to 10 years.
GAO Evaluation and Report (Section 5): Instructs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study within one year of enactment to evaluate the implementation of Section 6102 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, focusing specifically on how well law enforcement can identify and deter money laundering in cyber crimes.

Impact Analysis:

On Law Enforcement (U.S. Secret Service): This bill formally expands the Secret Service's jurisdiction deeper into the digital and cyber-financial realm. While the agency has historically investigated electronic and financial crimes, these amendments explicitly align its statutory powers with modern cyber threats, such as illicit cryptocurrency operations and structured money laundering networks.
On the Digital Asset and Fintech Industry: Unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges, peer-to-peer money transmitters, and decentralized platforms will face heightened federal enforcement. Because the Secret Service can now investigate unlicensed money transmitters directly, entities operating in the digital asset space without appropriate state or federal registration will be subject to greater criminal exposure.
On Financial Institutions: By shifting the legal definition of "financial institutions" beyond federally insured banks, non-traditional financial entities—such as digital wallet providers, money transmitters, and casinos—will fall under the same level of federal investigative scrutiny by the Secret Service regarding fraud and money laundering.
On Public-Private Cooperation: Extending the timeline of the FinCEN Exchange ensures stable, long-term avenues for financial institutions and federal law enforcement to share information on emerging cyber-crime patterns and illicit financial activities.

Co-Sponsors (1)

Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]

Co-Sponsor (R-IA)

Bill Rendering

116 S1273 IS: Combatting Money Laundering in Cyber Crime Act of 2025U.S. Senate2025-04-03text/xmlENPursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1273

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

April 3, 2025 Ms. Cortez Masto (for herself and Mr. Grassley) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

A BILL

To strengthen the authority of the United States Secret Service to investigate various crimes related to digital asset transactions and to counter transnational cyber criminal activity, including unlicensed money transmitting businesses, structured transactions, and fraud against financial institutions, and for other purposes.

This Act may be cited as the "Combatting Money Laundering in Cyber Crime Act of 2025".

Section 3056(b) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (1), by striking "or" after "871" and inserting ", or 1960" after "879"; and

(2)

in paragraph (3)—

(A)

by inserting "money laundering, structured transactions," after "documents or devices,";

(B)

by striking "federally insured"; and

(C)

by inserting ", as defined in section 5312 of title 31" after "institution".

Section 310(d)(3)(A) of title 31, United States Code, is amended, in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking "5 years" and inserting "10 years".

Section 7125(b) of the Otto Warmbier North Korea Nuclear Sanctions and Enforcement Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 262p–13 note) is amended by striking "6" and inserting "10".

(a)

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Government Accountability Office shall conduct a study and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the implementation of section 6102 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (title LXI of division F of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283; 134 Stat. 4552)).

(b)

In conducting the study under subsection (a), the Government Accountability Office shall focus on evaluating the ability of law enforcement to identify and deter money laundering in cyber crimes.

Official Source

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