N.Y. PEN Law § 470.20

This is the official text of N.Y. PEN Law § 470.20, part of New York’s Penal Law — defines crimes and punishments in New York.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Money laundering in the first degree

Official statutory text

§ 470.20 Money laundering in the first degree.\n A person is guilty of money laundering in the first degree when:\n 1. Knowing that the property involved in one or more financial\ntransactions represents:\n (a) the proceeds of the criminal sale of a controlled substance, he or\nshe conducts one or more such financial transactions which in fact\ninvolve the proceeds of the criminal sale of a controlled substance:\n (i) With intent to:\n (A) promote the carrying on of specified criminal conduct; or\n (B) engage in conduct constituting a felony as set forth in section\neighteen hundred three, eighteen hundred four, eighteen hundred five, or\neighteen hundred six of the tax law; or\n (ii) Knowing that the transaction or transactions in whole or in part\nare designed to:\n (A) conceal or disguise the nature, the location, the source, the\nownership or the control of the proceeds of specified criminal conduct;\nor\n (B) avoid any transaction reporting requirement imposed by law; and\n (iii) The total value of the property involved in such financial\ntransaction or transactions exceeds five hundred thousand dollars; or\n (b) the proceeds of a class A, B or C felony, or of a crime in any\nother jurisdiction that is or would be a class A, B or C felony under\nthe laws of this state, he or she conducts one or more such financial\ntransactions which in fact involve the proceeds of any such felony:\n (i) With intent to:\n (A) promote the carrying on of specified criminal conduct; or\n (B) engage in conduct constituting a felony as set forth in section\neighteen hundred three, eighteen hundred four, eighteen hundred five,\neighteen hundred six of the tax law; or\n (ii) Knowing that the transaction or transactions in whole or in part\nare designed to:\n (A) conceal or disguise the nature, the location, the source, the\nownership or the control of the proceeds of specified criminal conduct;\nor\n (B) avoid any transaction reporting requirement imposed by law; and\n (iii) The total value of the property involved in such financial\ntransaction or transactions exceeds one million dollars.\n 2. He or she conducts one or more financial transactions involving\nproperty represented to be:\n (a) the proceeds of the criminal sale of a controlled substance, or\nrepresented to be property used to conduct or facilitate the criminal\nsale of a controlled substance:\n (i) With intent to:\n (A) promote the carrying on of specified criminal conduct; or\n (B) conceal or disguise the nature, the location, the source, the\nownership or the control of property believed to be the proceeds of\nspecified criminal conduct; or\n (C) avoid any transaction reporting requirement imposed by law; and\n (ii) The total represented value of the property involved in such\nfinancial transaction or transactions exceeds five hundred thousand\ndollars; or\n (b) the proceeds of a class A, B or C felony or of a crime in any\nother jurisdiction that is or would be a class A, B or C felony under\nthe laws of this state, or represented to be property used to conduct or\nfacilitate such crimes:\n (i) With intent to:\n (A) promote the carrying on of specified criminal conduct; or\n (B) conceal or disguise the nature, the location, the source, the\nownership or the control of property believed to be the proceeds of\nspecified criminal conduct; or\n (C) avoid any transaction reporting requirement imposed by law; and\n (ii) The total represented value of the property involved in such\nfinancial transaction or transactions exceeds one million dollars.\n Money laundering in the first degree is a class B felony.\n

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.