Which statement about proceeds means?

• A. Only physical cash.
• B. The government's income from penalties.
• C. Assets obtained from, or used to commit, a crime; money derived from illegal activity, or assets traced to crime.
• D. Assets that are legally owned and free of crime.

Answer: (C)

Proceeds means assets that come from crime or are used to commit crime, including money derived from illegal activity or assets traced to crime. This covers not just cash, but any property tied to criminal activity—cars, real estate, jewelry, or other items bought with crime proceeds or connected to criminal conduct. So the best statement reflects that broad idea: proceeds include money or assets obtained from crime and those linked to it, not assets that are clean or unrelated. The other descriptions are too narrow or off-base: limiting proceeds to physical cash misses non-cash assets; framing proceeds as government penalties talks about a different source of funds; and assets that are legally owned and crime-free have no connection to proceeds.