Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Sen. Amy Klobuchar introduced a bipartisan measure to crack down on money laundering by increasing penalties and ensuring laws apply to systems used by drug traffickers and terrorists.

Grassley, R-Iowa, and Klobuchar, D-Minn., introduced the «Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Finance and Counterfeiting Act» Friday to enhance criminal money laundering statutes.

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The bill would update counterfeiting laws to prohibit state-of-the-art counterfeiting methods and increase penalties for bulk cash smuggling.

The bill would also ensure money laundering laws apply to informal value transfer systems that are often used by drug traffickers and terrorists.

The introduction of the bill comes as Trump administration officials warn that hostile actors, like cartels and terrorists, are funding operations through complex financial channels across the U.S. border. 

Grassley and Klobuchar also said the bill would prohibit the cross-border shipment of blank checks for the purpose of evading reporting requirements.

«Criminal enterprises and terrorist organizations depend on ill-begotten cash to carry out their dark deeds. As money laundering methods have evolved over time, so must the government’s efforts to exact justice,» Grassley said, adding that their bill would ensure law enforcement «has the tools they need to track down dirty money, hold criminals accountable and prevent further crimes.»

Klobuchar added that as criminals and terrorist organizations «develop new methods to launder money, we must provide our law enforcement with the tools they need to keep American communities safe.»

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«This bipartisan legislation makes necessary updates to anti-money laundering statutes and counterfeiting laws, ensuring the law enforcement community can stay one step ahead of those working to undermine our nation’s safety and security,» she said.

The bill also would establish a new money laundering violation that would prohibit the transfer of funds into or out of the United States — funds specifically being transferred with the intent to violate U.S. income tax laws.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) appears on «Meet the Press» in Washington D.C., Sunday, November 23, 2025  (Shannon Finney/NBC via Getty Images)

The bill would also prohibit conspiracies to create illegal money services businesses; grant wiretapping authority to investigate currency reporting, bulk cash smuggling, illegal money services businesses and counterfeiting offenses; and grant the U.S. Secret Service the explicit authority to investigate ransomware crimes and other uses of unlicensed money transmitting; and would ensure compliance with financial institutions. 

The measure has wide support in the law enforcement community and has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, the National Association of Police Organizations and the National District Attorneys Association.

Federal agents seized two kilograms of cocaine, one gun and $329,000 in the Bronx (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York)

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«By clarifying the law in response to recent court decisions, strengthening penalties and expanding investigative authorities, this legislation will restore critical law enforcement tools and help disrupt transnational criminal organizations,» Patrick Yoes, president of the Fraternal Order of Police said, adding that the organization «strongly supports this bill, which would prevent criminals and terrorists from profiting from their crimes and protect public safety and national security.»

The National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys also endorsed the bill saying the «targeted reforms will strengthen investigations, improve prosecutorial clarity and better reflect how modern money-laundering schemes actually operate.»

– «Muy injusto» –

Una estación de servicio desabastecida por la escasez de combustible, en La Habana, capital de Cuba. Foto Xinhua

The U.S. urged China to reverse what Secretary of State Marco Rubio called an «unjust and tragic» sentence against Hong Kong publisher and democracy activist Jimmy Lai, after Beijing-backed courts handed the 78-year-old a 20-year prison term under the national security law. 

«The conviction shows the world that Beijing will go to extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong,» Rubio said in a statement. «The United States urges the authorities to grant Mr. Lai humanitarian parole.»

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) used Hong Kong’s courts to sentence Lai on Monday, cementing one of the most consequential national security cases since Beijing imposed a sweeping new law in the wake of months-long anti-CCP protests.

Lai, a billionaire media entrepreneur, founded the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper in 1995 once Hong Kong’s most outspoken pro-democracy publication. He is among the highest-profile figures arrested under the 2020 National Security Law Beijing imposed following the unrest.

The protests, sparked by fears Beijing was eroding Hong Kong’s promised autonomy, were followed by a sweeping security crackdown that criminalized dissent and reshaped the city’s legal system.

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The sentence also puts renewed pressure on President Donald Trump, who has previously spoken out about Lai’s detention and is expected to travel to Beijing in April amid broader negotiations with China. Human rights advocates and some lawmakers have urged Trump to raise Lai’s case directly with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, warning that silence would be read in Beijing as acquiescence.

Trump said in December 2025 that he had personally urged Xi to release Lai. 

«I spoke to President Xi about it, and I asked to consider his release,» Trump said. «He’s not well, he’s an older man, and he’s not well, so I did put that request out. We’ll see what happens.»

Hong Kong authorities convicted Lai of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, a national security offense under the Beijing-imposed law. Prosecutors argued that Lai and his co-defendants used his media platform and international network to lobby for sanctions, blockades or other hostile actions by foreign governments against China and Hong Kong — actions the court said threatened national security. 

Judges labeled Lai the «mastermind» of the alleged plots.

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Lai also was convicted of conspiracy to publish seditious materials under a separate provision of Hong Kong’s colonial-era Crimes Ordinance, applied in conjunction with the national security regime. Prosecutors cited hundreds of Apple Daily articles they said were designed to «incite public hatred or contempt» against authorities. 

Lai and his defense team rejected that characterization as criminalizing expression.

Crowds of protesters marching on the streets of Hong Kong during the demonstration on January 1, 2020. Anti-CCP demonstrations led to a major crackdown. (Willie Siau / SOPA Images via Getty )

Sebastian Lai, the publisher’s son, said the sentence effectively amounts to a life term given his father’s age and deteriorating health.

«20 years, he’s 78 years old now. This is essentially a life sentence — or more like a death sentence, given the conditions he’s being kept in,» Sebastian Lai said on FOX Business Monday. He said his father has lost significant weight in detention and now suffers from heart issues and diabetes, adding, «we’re incredibly worried about his life.»

Sebastian Lai said his father, a Catholic, remains «a man of deep faith» despite years in detention, believing «no matter how hard the conditions he was under, that he still did the right thing.»

He also recalled that his father declined multiple opportunities to leave Hong Kong before his arrest, choosing instead to stay rather than abandon his principles or colleagues.

Sebastien Lai and Sen. Marco Rubio posing for a photo with a poster of Lai’s father. (Fox News)

The younger Lai said his father’s case should serve as a warning for Taiwan, arguing that Beijing’s promise of autonomy under a «one country, two systems» model in Hong Kong has revealed how tightly mainland China ultimately controls the territory.

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Lai already has spent more than five years in prison serving a separate sentence for a fraud conviction and for organizing unauthorized assemblies during the protests.

His defense has argued the case criminalized political speech and journalism rather than genuine national security threats, saying Lai’s calls for international pressure on Beijing amounted to lawful advocacy and that meetings with U.S. officials and media appearances were routine for a prominent publisher and democracy advocate, not evidence of conspiracy.