Hezbollah Money Laundering Prevention Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8445 To impose certain measures with respect to Hezbollah-dominated areas in Lebanon and Latin America and to impose sanctions with respect to senior foreign political figures in Lebanon, Venezuela, Cuba, and Nica- ragua supporting Hezbollah. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 Mr. WILSON of South Carolina (for himself, Mrs. WAGNER, Mr. PERRY, Mr. YOHO, Mr. BURCHETT, Mr. WALKER, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. KELLY of Mis- sissippi, Mr. BACON, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, Mr. GOSAR, Mrs. LESKO, and Mr. MCCLINTOCK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To impose certain measures with respect to Hezbollah-domi- nated areas in Lebanon and Latin America and to im- pose sanctions with respect to senior foreign political figures in Lebanon, Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua supporting Hezbollah. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8445.IH H8445 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8445 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hezbollah Money 2 Laundering Prevention Act of 2020’’. 3 SEC. 2. MEASURES WITH RESPECT TO HEZBOLLAH-DOMI- 4 NATED AREAS IN LEBANON AND LATIN AMER- 5 ICA. 6 (a) DETERMINATION REGARDING JURISDICTIONS OF 7 LEBANON.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 9 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 10 retary of the Treasury shall determine, under section 11 5318A of title 31, United States Code, whether rea- 12 sonable grounds exist for concluding that any of the 13 jurisdictions of Lebanon described in paragraph (2) 14 are jurisdictions of primary money laundering con- 15 cern. 16 (2) JURISDICTIONS DESCRIBED.—The jurisdic- 17 tions of Lebanon described in this paragraph are the 18 following: 19 (A) The Nabatieh Governorate. 20 (B) The Haret Hreik municipality in the 21 Baabda district in the Dahieh suburbs south of 22 Beirut. 23 (C) The Chiyah municipality in the 24 Baabda district in the western suburbs of Bei- 25 rut. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8445.IH H8445 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8445 IH (D) The Hadeth Beirut municipality in the 1 Baabda district in the suburbs of Beirut. 2 (E) The Hermel district in the Baalbek- 3 Hermel Governorate. 4 (F) The Baalbek and Temnin el-Foka mu- 5 nicipalities in the Baalbe-Hermel Governorate. 6 (G) The Tyre district in the South 7 Governorate. 8 (b) DETERMINATION REGARDING THE ARGENTINA, 9 BRAZIL, PARAGUAY TRI-BORDER AREAS.—Not later than 10 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 11 Secretary of the Treasury shall determine, under section 12 5318A of title 31, United States Code, whether reasonable 13 grounds exist for concluding that the Argentina, Brazil, 14 Paraguay tri-border areas, are jurisdictions of primary 15 money laundering concern. 16 (c) PROHIBITIONS OR CONDITIONS ON OPENING OR 17 MAINTAINING CERTAIN CORRESPONDENT OR PAYABLE- 18 THROUGH ACCOUNTS.—If the Secretary of the Treasury 19 determines under subsection (a) or (b) that reasonable 20 grounds exist for concluding that any jurisdiction de- 21 scribed in subsection (a) or (b) is a jurisdiction of primary 22 money laundering concern, the Secretary, in consultation 23 with the Federal functional regulators (as defined in sec- 24 tion 509 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8445.IH H8445 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8445 IH 6809)), shall impose the special measures described in sec- 1 tion 5318A(b)(5) of title 31, United States Code, with re- 2 spect to the Central Bank of Syria. 3 (d) REPORT REQUIRED.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 5 making a determination under subsection (a) and 6 (b) with respect to whether a jurisdiction is a juris- 7 diction of primary money laundering concern, the 8 Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to the appro- 9 priate congressional committees a report that in- 10 cludes the reasons for the determination. 11 (2) FORM.—A report required by paragraph (1) 12 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may in- 13 clude a classified annex. 14 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 15 TEES DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘ap- 16 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 17 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 18 the Committee on Financial Services of the 19 House of Representatives; and 20 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 21 and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 22 Urban Affairs of the Senate. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8445.IH H8445 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8445 IH SEC. 3. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO SENIOR FOREIGN 1 POLITICAL FIGURES IN LEBANON, VEN- 2 EZUELA, CUBA, AND NICARAGUA SUP- 3 PORTING HEZBOLLAH. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose the 5 sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to each 6 individual on the list required by subsection (b). 7 (b) LIST.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 9 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 10 President shall submit to the appropriate congres- 11 sional committees a list of individuals who are senior 12 foreign political figures in Lebanon, Venezuela, 13 Cuba, and Nicaragua that the President determines 14 have knowingly provided material support to or en- 15 gaged in a significant transaction with Hezbollah or 16 meet the criteria for sanctions under the Hezbollah 17 International Financing Prevention Act, the 18 Hezbollah International Financing Amendment Act, 19 or the Global Magnitsky Human Rights and Ac- 20 countability Act. 21 (2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—The Presi- 22 dent shall include Major General Abbas Ibrahim, the 23 head of Lebanon’s General Directorate of General 24 Security, on the list required by this subsection. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8445.IH H8445 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8445 IH (3) FORM.—The list required by this subsection 1 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may con- 2 tain a classified annex. 3 (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de- 4 scribed in this subsection with respect to an individual are 5 the sanctions described in section 1263(b) of the Global 6 Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F 7 of title XII of Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note). 8 (d) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NATIONS 9 HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT; ENFORCEMENT.—Sub- 10 sections (e) and (f) of section 1263 of the Global 11 Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 12 2656 note) apply with respect to the imposition of sanc- 13 tions under this section to the same extent as such sub- 14 sections apply with respect to the imposition of sanctions 15 under such section 1263. 16 (e) WAIVER.—The President may waive the imposi- 17 tion of sanctions under subsection (c) with respect to an 18 individual if the President— 19 (1) determines that such a waiver is in the na- 20 tional interests of the United States; and 21 (2) submits to the appropriate congressional 22 committees notice of, and a justification for, the 23 waiver. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8445.IH H8445 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8445 IH (f) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The President shall 1 issue such regulations, licenses, and orders as are nec- 2 essary to carry out this section. 3 (g) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF 4 GOODS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The authorities and require- 6 ments to impose sanctions under this section shall 7 not include the authority or requirement to impose 8 sanctions on the importation of goods. 9 (2) GOOD DEFINED.—In this subsection, the 10 term ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or man- 11 made substance, material, supply or manufactured 12 product, including inspection and test equipment, 13 and excluding technical data. 14 (h) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES 15 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con- 16 gressional committees’’ means— 17 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 18 Committee on Financial Services of the House of 19 Representatives; and 20 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 21 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af- 22 fairs of the Senate. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8445.IH H8445 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8445 IH SEC. 4. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOREIGN PERSONS 1 SUPPORTING HEZBOLLAH IN LATIN AMER- 2 ICA. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose the 4 sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to each 5 foreign person on the list required by subsection (b). 6 (b) LIST.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 9 President shall submit to the appropriate congres- 10 sional committees a list of foreign persons that the 11 President determines have knowingly directly or in- 12 directly engaged in significant transactions with or 13 provided material support to Hezbollah in Mexico, 14 Venezuela, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Panama, 15 Cuba, Bolivia, or any other country in Latin Amer- 16 ica. 17 (2) FORM.—The list required by this subsection 18 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may con- 19 tain a classified annex. 20 (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de- 21 scribed in this subsection with respect to a foreign person 22 are the sanctions described in section 1263(b) of the Glob- 23 al Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle 24 F of title XII of Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 25 note). 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8445.IH H8445 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8445 IH (d) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NATIONS 1 HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT; ENFORCEMENT.—Sub- 2 sections (e) and (f) of section 1263 of the Global 3 Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act apply with 4 respect to the imposition of sanctions under this section 5 to the same extent as such subsections apply with respect 6 to the imposition of sanctions under such section 1263. 7 (e) WAIVER.—The President may waive the imposi- 8 tion of sanctions with respect to a foreign person under 9 this section if the President— 10 (1) determines that such a waiver is in the na- 11 tional interests of the United States; and 12 (2) submits to the appropriate congressional 13 committees notice of, and a justification for, the 14 waiver. 15 (f) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The President shall 16 issue such regulations, licenses, and orders as are nec- 17 essary to carry out this section. 18 (g) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF 19 GOODS.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The authorities and require- 21 ments to impose sanctions under this section shall 22 not include the authority or requirement to impose 23 sanctions on the importation of goods. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8445.IH H8445 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8445 IH (2) GOOD DEFINED.—In this subsection, the 1 term ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or man- 2 made substance, material, supply or manufactured 3 product, including inspection and test equipment, 4 and excluding technical data. 5 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 7 TEES.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con- 8 gressional committees’’ means— 9 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 10 the Committee on Financial Services of the 11 House of Representatives; and 12 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 13 and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 14 Urban Affairs of the Senate. 15 (2) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per- 16 son’’ has the meaning given the term in section 17 1262 of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Ac- 18 countability Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note). 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8445.IH H8445 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS