Anti Money Laundering Law: A Guide to the US Rules

Money laundering became a federal crime in 1986. Here is the law that came before it, the duties it created, and who administers the rules today.

Published	14 October 2026

Anti money laundering law is the body of US federal rules that fight dirty money. It is a stack of laws, built over decades, that tell financial institutions what to record, what to report, and what to watch for. This guide walks through the stack in plain terms. It describes what the rules require. It does not tell any institution what to do about its own case.

What "anti money laundering law" actually refers to

The phrase covers two kinds of law. The first kind sets duties for banks and other financial businesses. They must keep records, file reports and watch for suspicious activity. The second kind makes laundering itself a crime.

Most of the first kind lives in the Bank Secrecy Act and its regulations. The second kind came later, in 1986. If you want the basics of the field first, read what is AML anti money laundering. For the crime itself, see what is money laundering and an example.

The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970: the foundation

The story starts with the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970. FinCEN's history page says this law set recordkeeping and reporting rules for individuals, banks and other financial institutions.

The name itself has a history. § 1010.100 says the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act and related statutes have come to be referred to as the Bank Secrecy Act. That is the name used today. A fuller walk through the statute is in our bank secrecy act guide.

The 1970 law did not make laundering a crime. It made banks collect information. Reports had to be filed. Records had to be kept. The idea was simple. Paper trails help investigators follow money.

The Money Laundering Control Act of 1986: when laundering became a federal crime

Here is the answer to the most common question. FinCEN's history page says the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 made money laundering a federal crime. FinCEN's page on the law says the same thing. It established money laundering as a federal crime.

Before 1986, cleaning the proceeds was not itself a federal crime. The 1986 act changed that.

So the short answer to when US anti money laundering law began has two dates. The reporting framework arrived in 1970. The crime arrived in 1986.

What the AML rules require in practice

The regulations under these laws set out concrete duties. A few examples show the shape of them.

Banks must report suspicious activity. § 1020.320 requires every bank to file a report of any suspicious transaction relevant to a possible violation of law or regulation.

Records must be kept long enough to be useful. § 1010.430 says all records required by the chapter shall be retained for a period of five years.

Structuring is itself banned. § 1010.314 says no person may structure or assist in structuring a transaction with one or more domestic financial institutions. The same section also bans causing a bank to skip a required currency report to evade the rules. And it bans causing one to file a report with a material omission or misstatement of fact.

How a bank builds a program to meet these duties is covered in our page on BSA anti money laundering.

Who enforces AML law: FinCEN's role

The rules need an administrator. FinCEN's page says the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network acts as the designated administrator of the Bank Secrecy Act.

Banks are examined as well. § 1020.320 says FinCEN or its delegatees examine banks for compliance with that section, and failure may violate the Bank Secrecy Act.

Filed reports stay quiet. § 1020.320 says a government authority may not disclose a SAR except as needed to fulfill official duties under the Bank Secrecy Act.

The international layer: FATF Recommendations

US law does not sit alone. The Financial Action Task Force publishes standards that shape how countries write their rules.

The FATF Recommendations say countries should criminalise money laundering on the basis of the Vienna Convention and the Palermo Convention. They also say countries should apply the crime of money laundering to all serious offences. The Recommendations also say a money laundering offence covers the primary offence and ancillary offences.

One recommendation is about secrecy laws. The FATF Recommendations say countries should ensure financial institution secrecy laws do not inhibit implementation of the FATF Recommendations. That is a recommendation to countries about their own laws.

What this means for an institution reading the rules

It cannot say how the law applies to any one bank, credit union or money services business. That depends on the institution's own counsel, its compliance officer and its examiners.

The statutes set the duties. The regulations fill in the details. FinCEN administers them.