Money Laundering Forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. § 981

Federal agencies seize U.S. Currency, cryptocurrency, and other valuable property after alleging the property is involved in money laundering or other violations of federal law. The most commonly alleged money laundering offense alleged in civil asset forfeiture cases is 18 U.S.C. § 981.

Real or personal property “involved in a transaction or attempted transaction in violation of section . . . 1957 . . . of this title, or any property traceable to such property” is subject to forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(A).

Section 1957 prohibits knowingly engaging in or attempting to engage in “a monetary transaction in criminally derived property of a value greater than $10,000” in proceeds “derived from specified unlawful activity.” 18 U.S.C. § 1957(a).

“Criminally derived property” is defined as “property constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained from a criminal offense.” 18 U.S.C. § 1957(f)(2).

“Specified unlawful activity” as defined in section 1956(c)(7) includes any offense listed in 18 U.S.C. § 1961(1), which provides for “dealing in a controlled substance.”

For these reasons, “the knowledge element of the offense requires that the defendant know that the property in question is ‘criminally derived,’ although it does not require knowledge that the property was derived from ‘specified unlawful activity.'” United States v. $8,192.70 Held in First Bank Account #2026030437, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 220032, *6, 2020 WL 6894672 (citing United States v. Bornfield, 145 F.3d 1123, 1132 (10th Cir. 1998)).

Attorney for Money Laundering Forfeiture under Section 981

If the federal government seized your property for forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. § 981, contact an experienced civil asset forfeiture attorney at Sammis Law Firm. We can help you file a verified claim, even before you receive a “notice of seizure” letter in the mail.

Contact us to find out if filing a petition for remission or mitigation might not be the best course of action, since it allows the agency that seized the property to decide what happens to it. Many of those cases result in a nine-month delay and a form letter denying any relief.

On the other hand, if you file a verified claim for court action, the federal agency no longer gets to decide what happens to your property. In some of those cases, the United States Attorney’s office might decline to file a complaint for forfeiture, which means you might get the property back much quicker.

We can help you file the verified claim for court action, and respond appropriate if an Assistant United States Attorney files a complaint for forfeiture in the U.S. District Court.

Call 813-250-0500.

This article was last updated on Friday, May 23, 2025.