Testimony — Thompson Page 1 of 7

U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON

BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAII

Hearing on "The Administration's National Money Laundering Strategy

for 2002."

Prepared Statement of the Honorable Larry D. Thompson

Deputy Attorney General
United States Department of Justice
9:30 a.m., Thursday, October 3, 2002 - Dirksen 538

Chairman Sarbanes, Ranking Minority Senator Gramm, Members of the Committee, I am

pleased to appear before the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs to
discuss with issues related to money laundering, including the 2002 National Money
Laundering Strategy and our progress on the financial front of the ongoing war on
terrorism. I appreciate your attention to this important issue and your interest in the
Administration's ongoing efforts to refine our battle plan against domestic and
international money laundering.

Initially, I would like to thank the Members of this Committee, as well as all of the
Members of Congress, for your efforts in developing and passing two landmark pieces of
legislation in prompt response to the threats that our nation has encountered over the past
year. The USA PATRIOT Act, passed in response to the reprehensible attacks of
September 11, provided those of us whose mission it is to protect the people of the
United States with a wide array of new measures that will serve to enhance our ability to
carry out this work. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, passed in response to the threat to
our economic well-being posed by corporate criminals, was a signal to those who seek to
cheat hard-working Americans that these kinds of actions will not be tolerated. You
should be proud of your accomplishments in passing these extraordinary bills, just as we
at the Department of Justice are proud of our efforts to protect the physical and economic
well being of the people in this country.

As the Members of this Committee are well aware, money laundering enforcement is a
critical component in the fight against all kinds of criminal activity, whether it be
international terrorism, drug trafficking, health care fraud or white collar crime. It makes
no difference whether money is the motive of the crime, as it is in the case of drug
trafficking and fraud, or whether money is the fuel that powers the engine, as it is in the
case of terrorism. Money is the key, and money laundering and other financial
investigations allow us to unlock the doors to these criminal organizations and provide us

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