To be prosecuted for a crime in the United States, the crime must have occurred in the United States or had an impact on the United States. If there is no evidence to support those claims, then the crime cannot be prosecuted in the U.S.
To convict a member of a drug importation conspiracy the U.S. Government must prove that the defendant knew the drugs involved were going to the United States. To be guilty of a money laundering offense the government must prove that the money a defendant was laundering had a connection to the United States. Indeed, if all that is presented at a trial were that a defendant was a drug dealer or a money launderer in his or her home country, a U.S. judge would have to dismiss the charges as being legally insufficient.
To be guilty of money laundering under federal law, the government must prove that the defendant knew the funds were proceeds of “illegal activity” and that the intent was to: (a) promote narcotics activity; (b) avoid paying U.S. taxes; (c) avoid declaring more than ten thousand dollars in cash; or (d) conceal the identity of the owner or recipient of the monies.
So while any number of defendants whose cases are now pending in the United States may believe they will be pleading guilty to drug dealing or money laundering in the U.S., they have to make these additional admissions. Judges will not—indeed cannot— accept their pleas of guilty without these admissions.
For some defendants this may not be a problem. But for others it may be impossible, especially for defendants who are so peripherally involved, i.e., truck drivers, laboratory workers, messengers, deliverymen, that they would never have known where the drugs were going, where laundered money came from, or the actual intent of the people involved in the money laundering.
For example, an air traffic controller falsifies a flight plan so it appears a plane will land in Medellin. However, the plane is actually traveling to Santa Marta to pickup cocaine. Standing alone, this is not proof that the air traffic controller either knew the merchandise was drugs, or where the drugs were going. But if the air traffic controller pleads guilty, he will have to make those admissions.
A truck driver who transports drugs to a port or someone who helps load or unload drugs from a tractor trailer can only plead guilty to conspiracy to import drugs if he openly admits in court that he knew the drugs he was transporting or offloading were going to the United States.
Money laundering, in fact, is becoming more of a problem to prove in view of the Supreme Court’s decision in Cuellar vs. United States, which reversed a conviction of a defendant whose only act was to physically transport money from one place to another. The Court said what should have been obvious, that just delivering money is not “money laundering”, and hiding money under the floorboards of a car is not “concealing” for purposes of the money laundering statute. Cuellar won by a 9-0 vote.
I hasten to add that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has by inference accepted that the operations of peso brokers is evidence of “concealment” sufficient to satisfy the anti-money laundering laws.
In the context of money-laundering, there is a way defendants can plead guilty that may be palatable in that it allows them to avoid admitting that they knew the proceeds came from narcotics trafficking. Defendants could admit that they knew only that the money came from illicit activity (an easy concession if the money is passed in a suspicious manner, spoken of in coded language or sent under an assumed name). The law only requires the defendant to admit he or she knew or believed the money came from “illicit sources.” Knowing that the proceeds came from narcotics is a sentencing issue that a judge would have to rule upon. Admitting that the money is proceeds of narcotics activity has grave consequences since it significantly increases the sentencing range under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
I bring this to your attention now so you do not have to make these weighty decisions on the eve of pleading guilty. Take your time. You may not even be guilty of a United States crime.