31 U.S.C. § 5322
Section 5322 · Criminal penalties
Amended 7 times on record
Applied in 374 court decisions — leading case Ratzlaf et Ux United States (1994)
Most recently applied in United States v. Matthew Zayas (June 2025)
Applied most in the Ninth Circuit Circuit (53 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 31 U.S.C. § 5313 · 31 U.S.C. § 5324 · 31 U.S.C. § 5316
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) A person willfully violating this subchapter or a regulation prescribed or order issued under this subchapter (except section 5315, 5324, or 5336 of this title or a regulation prescribed under section 5315, 5324, or 5336), or willfully violating a regulation prescribed under section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act or section 123 of Public Law 91–508, shall be fined not more than $250,000, or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.
(b) A person willfully violating this subchapter or a regulation prescribed or order issued under this subchapter (except section 5315, 5324, or 5336 of this title or a regulation prescribed under section 5315, 5324, or 5336), or willfully violating a regulation prescribed under section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act or section 123 of Public Law 91–508, while violating another law of the United States or as part of a pattern of any illegal activity involving more than $100,000 in a 12-month period, shall be fined not more than $500,000, imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both.
(c) For a violation of section 5318(a)(2) of this title or a regulation prescribed under section 5318(a)(2), a separate violation occurs for each day the violation continues and at each office, branch, or place of business at which a violation occurs or continues.
(d) A financial institution or agency that violates any provision of subsection (i) or (j) of section 5318, or any special measures imposed under section 5318A, or any regulation prescribed under subsection (i) or (j) of section 5318 or section 5318A, shall be fined in an amount equal to not less than 2 times the amount of the transaction, but not more than $1,000,000.
(e) A person convicted of violating a provision of (or rule issued under) the Bank Secrecy Act, as defined in section 6003 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, shall—
(1) in addition to any other fine under this section, be fined in an amount that is equal to the profit gained by such person by reason of such violation, as determined by the court; and
(2) if the person is an individual who was a partner, director, officer, or employee of a financial institution at the time the violation occurred, repay to such financial institution any bonus paid to the individual during the calendar year in which the violation occurred or the calendar year after which the violation occurred.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
In subsections (a) and (b), the words "(except section 5315 of this title or a regulation prescribed under section 5315)" are added because 31:1141–1143 was not enacted as part of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act that is restated in the subchapter.
In subsection (a), the word "prescribed" is added for consistency.
In subsection (b), the words "or a regulation prescribed under this subchapter" are added because of the restatement. The words "committed" and "the commission of" are omitted as surplus. The words "United States" are substituted for "Federal" for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code.
In subsection (c), the words "the purposes of both civil and criminal penalties for" are omitted because of the restatement. The word "separate" before "office" is omitted as surplus.
Editorial Notes
References in Text
Section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b), is classified to section 1829b of Title 12, Banks and Banking.
Section 123 of Public Law 91–508, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b), is classified to section 1953 of Title 12, Banks and Banking.
Section 6003 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, referred to in subsec. (e), is section 6003 of div. F of Pub. L. 116–283, which is set out as a note under section 5311 of this title. Such section 6003 defines terms, including the Bank Secrecy Act, as used in div. F of Pub. L. 116–283.
Amendments
2021—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 116–283, §6403(b)(2), substituted "section 5315, 5324, or 5336" for "section 5315 or 5324" in two places.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 116–283, §6312(a), added subsec. (e).
2001—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–56, §353(b)(1), inserted "or order issued" after "willfully violating this subchapter or a regulation prescribed" and ", or willfully violating a regulation prescribed under section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act or section 123 of Public Law 91–508," after "under section 5315 or 5324)".
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107–56, §353(b)(2), inserted "or order issued" after "willfully violating this subchapter or a regulation prescribed" and "or willfully violating a regulation prescribed under section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act or section 123 of Public Law 91–508," after "under section 5315 or 5324),".
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 107–56, §363(b), added subsec. (d).
1994—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 103–325 inserted "or 5324" after "section 5315" wherever appearing.
1992—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–550 substituted "imprisoned for" for "imprisonment".
1986—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 99–570, §1357(g), substituted "any illegal activity involving" for "illegal activity involving transactions of" and "10 years" for "5 years".
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 99–570, §1356(c)(1), substituted "5318(a)(2)" for "5318(2)" in two places.
1984—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–473, which directed the substitution of "$250,000, or imprisonment not more than five years, or both" for "$1,000, or imprisonment not more than one year, or both", was executed by substituting the quoted wording for "$1,000, imprisoned for not more than one year, or both" to reflect the probable intent of Congress.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 1986 Amendment
Amendment by section 1357(g) of Pub. L. 99–570 applicable with respect to violations committed after Oct. 27, 1986, see section 1364(c) of Pub. L. 99–570, set out as a note under section 5321 of this title.
Construction of 2021 Amendment
Pub. L. 116–283, div. F, title LXIII, §6312(b), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4596, provided that: "The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] may not be construed to prohibit a financial institution from requiring the repayment of a bonus paid to a partner, director, officer, or employee if the financial institution determines that the partner, director, officer, or employee engaged in unethical, but non-criminal, activities."