The US government was passing AML legislation more than 50 years ago. Mass surveillance wasn't exactly practical back then, so I'm pretty sure those laws were passed as a real attempt to stop criminals rather than to erode the rights of US citizens. So no, I don't think the term money laundering is some thinly veiled cover for privacy violations.
This is sorta like saying the US government introduced the Communications Act of 1934 because they had predicted the internet and wanted to normalize the idea of wiretapping so there would be less friction to introducing mass surveillance 75 years later.
The US government does do a lot of horrible things that violate the rights of its citizens, but they also really don't like organized crime and terrorism. Not everything is an explicit attack on privacy.
This is sorta like saying the US government introduced the Communications Act of 1934 because they had predicted the internet and wanted to normalize the idea of wiretapping so there would be less friction to introducing mass surveillance 75 years later.
The US government does do a lot of horrible things that violate the rights of its citizens, but they also really don't like organized crime and terrorism. Not everything is an explicit attack on privacy.