Union Calendar No. 273
118th CONGRESS 1st Session |
[Report No. 118–334]
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to report on financial institutions’ involvement with officials of the Iranian Government, and for other purposes.
November 6, 2023
Mr. Hill (for himself and Mr. Vargas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
December 19, 2023
Additional sponsors: Ms. De La Cruz and Mr. Sessions
December 19, 2023
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on November 6, 2023]
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to report on financial institutions’ involvement with officials of the Iranian Government, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Holding Iranian Leaders Accountable Act of 2023”.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Iran is characterized by high levels of official and institutional corruption, and substantial involvement by Iran’s security forces, particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in the economy.
(2) The Department of Treasury in 2019 designated the Islamic Republic of Iran’s financial sector as a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern, concluding, “Iran has developed covert methods for accessing the international financial system and pursuing its malign activities, including misusing banks and exchange houses, operating procurement networks that utilize front or shell companies, exploiting commercial shipping, and masking illicit transactions using senior officials, including those at the Central Bank of Iran (CBI).”.
(3) In June 2019, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) urged all jurisdictions to require increased supervisory examination for branches and subsidiaries of financial institutions based in Iran. The FATF later called upon its members to introduce enhanced relevant reporting mechanisms or systematic reporting of financial transactions, and require increased external audit requirements, for financial groups with respect to any of their branches and subsidiaries located in Iran.
(4) According to the State Department’s “Country Reports on Terrorism” in 2021, “Iran continued to be the leading state sponsor of terrorism, facilitating a wide range of terrorist and other illicit activities around the world. Regionally, Iran supported acts of terrorism in Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen through proxies and partner groups such as Hizballah and Hamas.”.
SEC. 3. Report on financial institutions and assets connected to certain Iranian officials.
(a) Financial institutions and assets report.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the President shall submit a report to the appropriate Members of Congress containing—
(A) the estimated total funds or assets that are under direct or indirect control by each of the natural persons described under subsection (b), and a description of such funds or assets, except that the President may limit coverage of the report to not fewer than 5 of such natural persons in order to meet the submission deadline described under this paragraph;
(B) a description of how such funds or assets were acquired, and how they have been used or employed;
(2) EXEMPTIONS.—The requirements described under paragraph (1) may not be applied with respect to a natural person or a financial institution, as the case may be, if the President determines:
(A) The funds or assets described under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) were acquired through legal or noncorrupt means.
(B) The natural person has agreed to provide significant cooperation to the United States for an important national security or law enforcement purpose with respect to Iran.
(3) WAIVER.—The President may waive for up to 1 year at a time any requirement under paragraph (1) with respect to a natural person or a financial institution after reporting in writing to the appropriate Members of Congress that the waiver is in the national interest of the United States, with a detailed explanation of the reasons therefor.
(c) Form of report; public availability.—
(1) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) and any waiver under subsection (a)(3) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may contain a classified annex.
(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make the unclassified portion of such report public if the Secretary notifies the appropriate Members of Congress that the publication is in the national interest of the United States and would substantially promote—
SEC. 4. Restrictions on certain financial institutions.
(a) In general.—Not later than the date that is 90 days after submitting a report described under section 3(a)(1), the Secretary shall undertake the following with respect to a financial institution that is described under section 3(a)(1)(C) and listed in the report:
(1) If the financial institution is a United States financial institution, require the closure of any account described in section 3(a)(1)(C)(i), and prohibit the provision of significant financial services, directly or indirectly, to a natural person covered by the report.
(2) If the financial institution is a foreign financial institution, actively seek the closure of any account described in section 3(a)(1)(C)(i), and the cessation of significant financial services to a natural person covered by the report, using any existing authorities of the Secretary, as appropriate.
SEC. 5. Exceptions for national security; implementation authority.
The following activities shall be exempt from requirements under sections 3 and 4:
(1) Any activity subject to the reporting requirements under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.), or to any authorized intelligence activities of the United States.
(2) The admission of an alien to the United States if such admission is necessary to comply with United States obligations under the Agreement between the United Nations and the United States of America regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, or under the Convention on Consular Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered into force March 19, 1967, or other applicable international obligations of the United States.
(3) The conduct or facilitation of a transaction for the sale of agricultural commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices to Iran or for the provision of humanitarian assistance to the people of Iran, including engaging in a financial transaction relating to humanitarian assistance or for humanitarian purposes or transporting goods or services that are necessary to carry out operations relating to humanitarian assistance or humanitarian purposes.
The provisions of this Act shall have no force or effect on the earlier of—
(2) 30 days after the Secretary reports in writing to the appropriate Members of Congress that—
(B) the Government of Iran is providing significant cooperation to the United States for the purpose of preventing acts of international terrorism, or for the promotion of any other strategic objective that is important to the national interest of the United States, as specified in the report by the Secretary.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) APPROPRIATE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—The term “appropriate Members of Congress” means the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the Senate, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives, and the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
(2) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The term “financial institution” means a United States financial institution or a foreign financial institution.
(3) FOREIGN FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The term “foreign financial institution” has the meaning given that term in section 561.308 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations.
(4) FUNDS.—The term “funds” means—
(C) any other asset whose value is derived from a contractual claim, including bank deposits, bonds, stocks, a security as defined in section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77b(a)), or a security or an equity security as defined in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)); and
Union Calendar No. 273 | |||||
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[Report No. 118–334] | |||||
A BILL | |||||
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to report on financial institutions’ involvement with officials of the Iranian Government, and for other purposes. | |||||
December 19, 2023 | |||||
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed |