What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Secretary of State to label the Wagner Group (a Russian military company) as a foreign terrorist organization. The bill also directs the government to create a task force to counter Russian mercenary groups and develop strategies to stop their activities worldwide.
##
Who It Affects
- The Secretary of State and the Department of State
- The Department of Defense, Treasury Department, and intelligence agencies
- U.S. diplomatic missions in countries where Wagner operates
- International financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund
- Any individual or organization that provides material support to Wagner or its affiliated groups
- Countries considering loans from international financial institutions
##
Key Provisions
- The Secretary of State must designate Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organization within the law's timeframe (Sec. 4(a))
- The designation applies equally to any successor organizations or affiliated entities of Wagner (Sec. 4(b))
- The President may waive sanctions if he determines and reports to Congress that doing so serves national security interests (Sec. 4(c))
- A task force must be established within 90 days to counter Russian mercenary groups and coordinate actions across federal agencies (Sec. 5(a))
- The Secretary of State must submit annual reports describing Wagner's international activities for at least one year (Sec. 4(d))
- Humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding activities are excluded from material support restrictions (Sec. 4(f))
- The Secretary of State must develop a diplomatic enhancement plan within 90 days (Sec. 6(a))
- A staffing plan for key African diplomatic posts must be submitted within 180 days to increase monitoring of Wagner activities (Sec. 6(b))
- A comprehensive strategy to counter Wagner must be developed and submitted within 90 days (Sec. 7(a))
##
What Changes
Once signed into law, Wagner Group becomes officially classified as a foreign terrorist organization under U.S. law. This means people cannot legally provide money, equipment, training or services to Wagner without federal permission. The U.S. government will establish a dedicated task force across multiple agencies to coordinate efforts against Russian mercenary groups. U.S. diplomatic missions in affected countries will receive additional staff and resources to monitor and counter Wagner's activities. International financial institutions will be advised to consider Wagner's mining operations when deciding on loans to countries. Federal agencies must submit annual reports to Congress describing these counter-Wagner efforts.
##
Important Definitions
- **Foreign terrorist organization**: A foreign entity that engages in terrorism or terrorist activity and whose terrorist activity threatens the security of the United States or its citizens (Sec. 2(1))
- **Terrorism**: Premeditated, politically motivated violence directed at non-combatants by groups operating outside normal government structures or secret agents (Sec. 2(6))
- **Russian mercenary groups and their proxies**: Private military companies like Wagner PMC, PMC Patriot, Andreyevsky Krest PMC and others, plus organizations carrying out influence operations in the U.S. or allied countries, plus financial and supply networks supporting these actors (Sec. 5(a)(2))
- **Material support or resources**: Not fully defined in this bill; the bill references definitions in other laws (Sec. 4(f))
##
Effective Date
Upon enactment of this Act (Sec. 4(a))
II
Calendar No. 147
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 416
To designate the Russian-based mercenary Wagner Group as a foreign
terrorist organization, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 14, 2023
Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. TILLIS, Mr.
BLUMENTHAL, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. RUBIO, Mrs.
BLACKBURN, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mr. KELLY, Mr.
GRASSLEY, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. PADILLA)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations
JULY 25, 2023
Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
A BILL
To designate the Russian-based mercenary Wagner Group
as a foreign terrorist organization, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Holding Accountable
4
Russian Mercenaries Act’’ or the ‘‘HARM Act’’.
5
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•S 416 RS
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
1
Congress makes the following findings:
2
(1) The Secretary of State’s designation of an
3
entity as a foreign terrorist organization results
4
from a determination that—
5
(A) the entity is foreign and engages in
6
terrorism or terrorist activity; and
7
(B) the terrorist activity threatens the se-
8
curity of the United States or its nationals.
9
(2) The activities of the Wagner Group and af-
10
filiated
entities
of
Russian
national
Yevgeniy
11
Prigozhin pose a threat to the national interests and
12
national security of the United States and allies and
13
partners of the United States, including with respect
14
to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which President Biden
15
declared, on March 2, 2022, ‘‘pose[s] an unusual
16
and extraordinary threat to the national security
17
and foreign policy of the United States’’.
18
(3) On June 20, 2017, the Department of the
19
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control des-
20
ignated the Wagner Group and its military leader,
21
Dmitry Utkin, pursuant to Executive Order 13660
22
(50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property
23
of certain persons contributing to the situation in
24
Ukraine) ‘‘for being responsible for or complicit in,
25
or having engaged in, directly or indirectly, actions
26
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•S 416 RS
or policies that threaten the peace, security, sta-
1
bility,
sovereignty
or
territorial
integrity
of
2
Ukraine’’.
3
(4) On September 20, 2018, the Department of
4
State added Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated
5
entities, including the Wagner Group, to the list of
6
persons identified as part of, or operating for or on
7
behalf of, the defense or intelligence sectors of the
8
Government of the Russian Federation under section
9
231
of
the
Countering
America’s
Adversaries
10
Through Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 9525).
11
(5) On January 20, 2023, a White House
12
spokesperson announced that the Department of the
13
Treasury will designate the Wagner Group as a sig-
14
nificant transnational criminal organization pursu-
15
ant to Executive Order 13581 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note;
16
relating to blocking property of transnational crimi-
17
nal organizations), consistent with the authority
18
granted to the President under section 203(a) of the
19
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50
20
U.S.C. 1702).
21
(6) The Wagner Group, a self-described private
22
actor that undertakes military action and subversive
23
operations at the behest of the Government of the
24
Russian Federation, is a ‘‘terrorist group’’ that en-
25
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•S 416 RS
gages in ‘‘terrorism’’ (as defined in section 140(d) of
1
the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal
2
Year 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. 2656f(d))), which
3
is ‘‘premeditated, politically motivated violence per-
4
petrated
against
noncombatant
targets
by
sub-
5
national groups or clandestine agents’’.
6
(7) The Wagner Group and its affiliated enti-
7
ties have committed, or are credibly accused of com-
8
mitting, terrorist activity (as defined in section
9
212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality
10
Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B))), through their in-
11
volvement in—
12
(A) the massacres, rape, and torture of ci-
13
vilians in Bucha, Ukraine, in March 2022;
14
(B) the massacres in Moura, Mali, in
15
March 2022;
16
(C) the massacres of migrant workers and
17
civilians in mining regions along the Sudan-
18
Central African Republic border in 2022;
19
(D) the murder of Russian journalists in
20
the Central African Republic in June 2018 as
21
well as threats against United States journalists
22
investigating such incident;
23
(E) the kidnapping of children in the Cen-
24
tral African Republic in 2022 to work in mines;
25
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•S 416 RS
(F) the rape and sex trafficking of women
1
and children in the Central African Republic
2
between 2018 and 2022;
3
(G) the sabotage and lethal suppression of
4
civilian protestors in Sudan in 2019;
5
(H)
the
use
of
nerve
agents
against
6
Libya’s Government of National Accord and de-
7
ployment of illegal land mines and booby-traps
8
in civilian areas of Tripoli between 2019 and
9
2020;
10
(I) the torture and execution of a Syrian
11
national in June 2017;
12
(J) efforts to assassinate Ukrainian Presi-
13
dent Volodymyr Zelensky in March 2022; and
14
(K) the receipt of weapons shipments ini-
15
tially reported in December 2022 from the
16
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which
17
the Secretary of State had designated a state
18
sponsor of terrorism on November 20, 2017.
19
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
20
It is the sense of Congress that—
21
(1)
the
Russian-based
mercenary
Wagner
22
Group meets the criteria for designation by the Sec-
23
retary of State as a foreign terrorist organization
24
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•S 416 RS
under section 219(a) of the Immigration and Na-
1
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)); and
2
(2) the Secretary of State should designate the
3
Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organization
4
under such section 219(a).
5
SEC.
4.
DESIGNATION
OF
THE
MERCENARY
WAGNER
6
GROUP AS A FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANI-
7
ZATION.
8
(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the enactment of this Act,
9
the Secretary of State shall designate the Wagner Group
10
as a foreign terrorist organization in accordance with sec-
11
tion 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
12
U.S.C. 1189(a)).
13
(b) APPLICATION.—The designation required under
14
subsection (a) shall equally apply to any affiliated and suc-
15
cessor entities to the Wagner Group undertaking malign
16
activities against the United States and its allies and part-
17
ners, including activities taking place in Ukraine, Africa,
18
and the Middle East.
19
(c) WAIVER.—The President may waive the applica-
20
tion of sanctions under this section if the President deter-
21
mines and reports to the appropriate congressional com-
22
mittees that such a waiver is in the national security inter-
23
est of the United States.
24
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•S 416 RS
(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after
1
the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there-
2
after, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the
3
appropriate congressional committees describing the inter-
4
national activities of the Russian-based mercenary Wagner
5
Group.
6
(e) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap-
7
propriate congressional committees’’ means—
8
(1) the Committee on Armed Services of the
9
Senate;
10
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
11
Senate;
12
(3) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
13
Urban Affairs of the Senate;
14
(4) the Committee on Financial Services of the
15
House of Representatives;
16
(5) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
17
House of Representatives;
18
(6) the Committee on the Judiciary of the
19
House of Representatives; and
20
(7) the Committee on Armed Services of the
21
House of Representatives.
22
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.
23
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Holding Accountable
24
Russian Mercenaries Act’’ or the ‘‘HARM Act’’.
25
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•S 416 RS
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
1
Congress makes the following findings:
2
(1) The Secretary of State’s designation of an
3
entity as a foreign terrorist organization results from
4
a determination that—
5
(A) the entity is foreign and engages in ter-
6
rorism or terrorist activity; and
7
(B) the terrorist activity threatens the secu-
8
rity of the United States or its nationals.
9
(2) The activities of the Wagner Group and af-
10
filiated
entities
of
Russian
national
Yevgeniy
11
Prigozhin pose a threat to the national interests and
12
national security of the United States and allies and
13
partners of the United States, including with respect
14
to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which President Biden
15
declared, on March 2, 2022, ‘‘pose[s] an unusual and
16
extraordinary threat to the national security and for-
17
eign policy of the United States’’.
18
(3) On June 20, 2017, the Department of the
19
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated
20
the Wagner Group and its military leader, Dmitry
21
Utkin, pursuant to Executive Order 13660 (50 U.S.C.
22
1701 note; relating to blocking property of certain
23
persons contributing to the situation in Ukraine) ‘‘for
24
being responsible for or complicit in, or having en-
25
gaged in, directly or indirectly, actions or policies
26
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•S 416 RS
that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty
1
or territorial integrity of Ukraine’’.
2
(4) On September 20, 2018, the Department of
3
State added Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated en-
4
tities, including the Wagner Group, to the list of per-
5
sons identified as part of, or operating for or on be-
6
half of, the defense or intelligence sectors of the Gov-
7
ernment of the Russian Federation under section 231
8
of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through
9
Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 9525).
10
(5) On January 20, 2023, a White House spokes-
11
person announced that the Department of the Treas-
12
ury will designate the Wagner Group as a significant
13
transnational criminal organization pursuant to Ex-
14
ecutive Order 13581 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to
15
blocking property of transnational criminal organiza-
16
tions), consistent with the authority granted to the
17
President under section 203(a) of the International
18
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702).
19
(6) The Wagner Group, a self-described private
20
actor that undertakes military action and subversive
21
operations at the behest of the Government of the Rus-
22
sian Federation, is a ‘‘terrorist group’’ that engages
23
in ‘‘terrorism’’ (as defined in section 140(d) of the
24
Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year
25
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•S 416 RS
1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. 2656f(d))), which is ‘‘pre-
1
meditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated
2
against noncombatant targets by subnational groups
3
or clandestine agents’’.
4
(7) The Wagner Group and its affiliated entities
5
have committed, or are credibly accused of commit-
6
ting, terrorist activity (as defined in section
7
212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
8
(8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B))), through their involvement
9
in—
10
(A) the massacres, rape, and torture of ci-
11
vilians in Bucha, Ukraine, in March 2022;
12
(B) the massacres in Moura, Mali, in
13
March 2022;
14
(C) the massacres of migrant workers and
15
civilians in mining regions along the Sudan-
16
Central African Republic border in 2022;
17
(D) the murder of Russian journalists in
18
the Central African Republic in June 2018 as
19
well as threats against United States journalists
20
investigating such incident;
21
(E) the kidnapping of children in the Cen-
22
tral African Republic in 2022 to work in mines;
23
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•S 416 RS
(F) the rape and sex trafficking of women
1
and children in the Central African Republic be-
2
tween 2018 and 2022;
3
(G) the sabotage and lethal suppression of
4
civilian protestors in Sudan in 2019;
5
(H) the use of nerve agents against Libya’s
6
Government of National Accord and deployment
7
of illegal land mines and booby-traps in civilian
8
areas of Tripoli between 2019 and 2020;
9
(I) the torture and execution of a Syrian
10
national in June 2017;
11
(J) efforts to assassinate Ukrainian Presi-
12
dent Volodymyr Zelensky in March 2022; and
13
(K) the receipt of weapons shipments ini-
14
tially reported in December 2022 from the Demo-
15
cratic People’s Republic of Korea, which the Sec-
16
retary of State had designated a state sponsor of
17
terrorism on November 20, 2017.
18
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
19
It is the sense of Congress that—
20
(1) the Russian-based mercenary Wagner Group
21
meets the criteria for designation by the Secretary of
22
State as a foreign terrorist organization under section
23
219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
24
U.S.C. 1189(a)); and
25
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•S 416 RS
(2) the Secretary of State should designate the
1
Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organization
2
under such section 219(a).
3
SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF THE MERCENARY WAGNER GROUP
4
AS A FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.
5
(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the enactment of this Act, the
6
Secretary of State shall designate the Wagner Group
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]