Smurfing Soon: Money Laundering Under G.S. 14-118.8

In general, the term “money laundering” refers to transferring illegally obtained money through legitimate people or accounts so that its original source cannot be traced. In North Carolina, however, the crime of money laundering is defined more broadly to include activities beyond disguising the source of dirty money. Under Chapter 14, Section 118.8 of the North Carolina General Statutes, a person commits money laundering if he or she knowingly and willfully, among other things, merely possesses the proceeds of criminal activity. The same statute prescribes seven categories of conduct that, if undertaken with the requisite mental state and involving proceeds or funds of a certain amount, constitute the crime of money laundering.

Enacted in 2024, North Carolina’s money laundering statute criminalizes a wide range of conduct, making it difficult to summarize the essential elements of the offense. Further, G.S. 14-118.8 includes several relatively untested mechanisms: one provision permits aggregation, allowing transactionally related conduct to be considered “as one offense,” while another declares that each violation is a separate offense, precluding merger. One provision recognizes a mens rea (i.e., mental state) defense, while another disallows a common law defense to conspiracy. A few provisions incorporate by reference other statutory provisions existing elsewhere in state or federal law. Despite this complexity, G.S. 14-118.8 contains no provisions for how to plead or prosecute the offense of money laundering, leaving some questions unanswered. This bulletin explores the provisions of G.S. 14-118.8, with a view toward illuminating the offense of money laundering in North Carolina.