OFAC Licensure for Investigators Act in plain language
1: Short title
This section would let the Act be called the OFAC Licensure for Investigators Act.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the OFAC Licensure for Investigators Act .
2: Sending and receiving of nominal amounts
This section would require the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to set up a pilot program, no later than 1 year after the Act becomes law, that lets a private sector firm apply for and receive a license to carry out small-dollar (nominal) financial transactions to support the firm's own investigations. While setting up and running the pilot program, the Director of OFAC would have to coordinate with the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), for the purpose of supporting the activities of the FinCEN Exchange described in section 310(d) of title 31 of the United States Code. Any private sector firm that receives a license under the program would have to send the Director of OFAC a detailed report every month on the activities it carried out under that license. Starting 1 year after the pilot program is established, and every year after that until 1 year after the program ends, the Director of OFAC would have to send a report to the House Committees on Financial Services and Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and on Foreign Relations. Each report would have to state the number of licenses requested under the program, the number of licenses granted, and a broad discussion of how useful the program has been. After sending each such report, the Director of OFAC would also have to give those same four committees a classified briefing covering: more detail on who applied for a license; the identity of the firms that were granted a license; how the program is being run, including how long each license lasted and the staff needed to manage the program; information the Office gathered from running the program; how useful that information has been; any obstacles to running the program or to its usefulness; and any recommendations for improving or extending it. The pilot program would end 5 years after the date the Director of OFAC establishes it.
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2. Sending and receiving of nominal amounts (a) In general The Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control shall, not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, establish a pilot program under which a private sector firm may receive a license to conduct nominal financial transactions in furtherance of the firm’s investigations. (b) Coordination When establishing and carrying out the pilot program required under subsection (a), the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control shall coordinate with the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network for the purposes of supporting activities of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Exchange, as described in section 310(d) of title 31 of the United States Code. (c) Reporting on activities Each private sector firm that receives a license described under subsection (a) shall submit a detailed monthly report to the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control on the activities of the firm conducted under such license. (d) Report to Congress (1) In general On the date that is 1 year after the date on which the pilot program is established under this section, and annually thereafter until the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date the pilot program is terminated, the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control shall submit a report to the Committees on Financial Services and Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and Foreign Relations of the Senate containing— (A) the number of licenses requested under the pilot program; (B) the number of licenses granted under the pilot program; and (C) a broad discussion of the utility of the pilot program. (2) Classified briefing After submission of each report required under paragraph (1), the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control shall provide the Committees on Financial Services and Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and Foreign Relations of the Senate with a classified briefing containing— (A) additional detail on the applicants for a license under the pilot program; (B) identification of the firms granted a license; (C) information on the operation of the pilot program, including how long each license lasted and the personnel needed to manage the pilot program; (D) information gleaned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control from running the pilot program; (E) the utility of that information; (F) any obstacles to the operation or utility of the pilot program; and (G) any recommendations for improving or extending the pilot program. (e) Termination The pilot program established by the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control under subsection (a) shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date on which the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control establishes such program.