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Strengthening Available Evidence-Gathering Tools In The Fight Against Internatoinal Money Laundering, W. Clifton Holmes

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Congress responded rapidly to the terror attacks, passing the U.S.A. Patriot Act ("Patriot Act") in October 2001. In addition to providing the death penalty for the "attempted wrecking of a mass transportation vehicle," the Patriot Act contains several anti-money laundering provisions. This article will argue that the Patriot Act's anti-money laundering scope was excessively narrow in that the Act did not address existing inadequacies under federal law in the area of grand jury investigations of transnational money laundering offenses. In order to enhance the efficacy of such investigations, Congress should take three steps: first, Congress should confer to federal courts …