Title 31—Money and Finance: Treasury--Volume 1
PART 560—IRANIAN TRANSACTIONS AND SANCTIONS REGULATIONS
§ 560.701   Penalties.
(a) Attention is directed to section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) (“IEEPA”), which is applicable to violations of the provisions of any license, ruling, regulation, order, directive, or instruction issued by or pursuant to the direction or authorization of the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to this part or otherwise under IEEPA.
(1) A civil penalty not to exceed the amount set forth in section 206 of IEEPA may be imposed on any person who violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of any license, order, regulation, or prohibition issued under IEEPA.
(2) The applicable maximum civil penalty per violation of IEEPA is the greater of $377,700 or an amount that is twice the amount of the transaction that is the basis of the violation with respect to which the penalty is imposed.
(3) A person who willfully commits, willfully attempts to commit, or willfully conspires to commit, or aids or abets in the commission of a violation of any license, order, regulation, or prohibition may, upon conviction, be fined not more than $1,000,000, or if a natural person, be imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both.
(4) As set forth in section 218 of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-158), a civil penalty not to exceed the amount set forth in section 206 of IEEPA may be imposed on a United States person if an entity owned or controlled by the United States person and established or maintained outside the United States violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of the prohibition set forth in § 560.215 or of any order, regulation, or license set forth in or issued pursuant to this part concerning such prohibition. The penalties set forth in this paragraph shall not apply with respect to a transaction described in § 560.215 by an entity owned or controlled by the United States person and established or maintained outside the United States if the United States person divests or terminates its business with the entity not later than February 6, 2013, such that the U.S. person no longer owns or controls the entity, as defined in § 560.215(b)(1).
(b) Adjustments to penalty amounts. (1) The civil penalties provided in IEEPA are subject to adjustment pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-410, as amended, 28 U.S.C. 2461 note).
(2) The criminal penalties provided in IEEPA are subject to adjustment pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3571.
(c) Attention is also directed to 18 U.S.C. 1001, which provides that whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact, or makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation, or makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned, or both.
(d) Attention is directed to 18 U.S.C. 2332d, as added by Public Law 104-132, section 321, which provides that, except as provided in regulations issued by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, a U.S. person, knowing or having reasonable cause to know that a country is designated under section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act, 50 U.S.C. App. 2405, as a country supporting international terrorism, engages in a financial transaction with the government of that country, shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both.
(e) Violations of this part may also be subject to relevant provisions of Customs laws and other applicable laws.
§ 560.702   Detention of shipments.
Import shipments into the United States of Iranian-origin goods in violation of § 560.201 and export shipments from the United States of goods destined for Iran in violation of § 560.204 shall be detained. No such import, export, or reexport will be permitted to proceed, except as specifically authorized by or on behalf of the Secretary of the Treasury. Unless licensed, such shipments are subject to penalty or seizure and forfeiture action, under the customs laws or other applicable provisions of law, depending on the circumstances.
§ 560.703   Pre-Penalty Notice; settlement.
(a) When required. If the Office of Foreign Assets Control has reason to believe that there has occurred a violation of any provision of this part or a violation of the provisions of any license, ruling, regulation, order, direction, or instruction issued by or pursuant to the direction or authorization of the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to this part or otherwise under IEEPA and determines that a civil monetary penalty is warranted, the Office of Foreign Assets Control will issue a Pre-Penalty Notice informing the alleged violator of the agency's intent to impose a monetary penalty. A Pre-Penalty Notice shall be in writing. The Pre-Penalty Notice may be issued whether or not another agency has taken any action with respect to the matter. For a description of the contents of a Pre-Penalty Notice, see Appendix A to part 501 of this chapter.
(b)(1) Right to respond. An alleged violator has the right to respond to a Pre-Penalty Notice by making a written presentation to the Office of Foreign Assets Control. For a description of the information that should be included in such a response, see appendix A to part 501 of this chapter.
(2) Deadline for response. A response to a Pre-Penalty Notice must be made within the applicable 30-day period set forth in this paragraph. The failure to submit a response within the applicable time period set forth in this paragraph shall be deemed to be a waiver of the right to respond.
(i) Computation of time for response. A response to a Pre-Penalty Notice must be postmarked or date-stamped by the U.S. Postal Service (or foreign postal service, if mailed abroad) or courier service provider (if transmitted to the Office of Foreign Assets Control by courier) on or before the 30th day after the postmark date on the envelope in which the Pre-Penalty Notice was mailed. If the Pre-Penalty Notice was personally delivered by a non-U.S. Postal Service agent authorized by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, a response must be postmarked or date-stamped on or before the 30th day after the date of delivery.
(ii) Extensions of time for response. If a due date falls on a federal holiday or weekend, that due date is extended to include the following business day. Any other extensions of time will be granted, at the discretion of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, only upon specific request to the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
(3) Form and method of response. A response to a Pre-Penalty Notice need not be in any particular form, but it must be typewritten and signed by the alleged violator or a representative thereof, must contain information sufficient to indicate that it is in response to the Pre-Penalty Notice, and must include the Office of Foreign Assets Control identification number listed on the Pre-Penalty Notice. A copy of the written response may be sent by facsimile, but the original also must be sent to the Office of Foreign Assets Control Civil Penalties Division by mail or courier and must be postmarked or date-stamped in accordance with paragraph (b)(2) of this section.
(c) Settlement. Settlement discussion may be initiated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the alleged violator, or the alleged violator's authorized representative. For a description of practices with respect to settlement, see Appendix A to part 501 of this chapter.
(d) Guidelines. Guidelines for the imposition or settlement of civil penalties by the Office of Foreign Assets Control are contained in appendix A to part 501 of this chapter.
(e) Representation. A representative of the alleged violator may act on behalf of the alleged violator, but any oral communication with the Office of Foreign Assets Control prior to a written submission regarding the specific allegations contained in the Pre-Penalty Notice must be preceded by a written letter of representation, unless the Pre-Penalty Notice was served upon the alleged violator in care of the representative.
§ 560.704   Penalty imposition.
If, after considering any written response to the Pre-Penalty Notice and any relevant facts, the Office of Foreign Assets Control determines that there was a violation by the alleged violator named in the Pre-Penalty Notice and that a civil monetary penalty is appropriate, the Office of Foreign Assets Control may issue a Penalty Notice to the violator containing a determination of the violation and the imposition of the monetary penalty. For additional details concerning issuance of a Penalty Notice, see appendix A to part 501 of this chapter. The issuance of the Penalty Notice shall constitute final agency action. The violator has the right to seek judicial review of that final agency action in federal district court.
§ 560.705   Administrative collection; referral to United States Department of Justice.
In the event that the violator does not pay the penalty imposed pursuant to this part or make payment arrangements acceptable to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the matter may be referred for administrative collection measures by the Department of the Treasury or to the United States Department of Justice for appropriate action to recover the penalty in a civil suit in a federal district court.
§ 560.801   Procedures.
For license application procedures and procedures relating to amendments, modifications, or revocations of licenses; administrative decisions; rulemaking; and requests for documents pursuant to the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts (5 U.S.C. 552 and 552a), see part 501, subpart E, of this chapter.
§ 560.802   Delegation by the Secretary of the Treasury.
Any action that the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to take pursuant to Executive Order 12613 of October 29, 1987 (3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 256), Executive Order 12957 of March 15, 1995 (3 CFR, 1995 Comp., p. 332), Executive Order 12959 of May 6, 1995 (3 CFR, 1995 Comp., p. 356), Executive Order 13059 of August 19, 1997 (3 CFR, 1997 Comp., p. 217), Executive Order 13599 of February 5, 2012 (77 FR 6659, February 8, 2012), and any further Executive orders relating to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957, may be taken by the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control or by any other person to whom the Secretary of the Treasury has delegated authority so to act.
§ 560.803   [Reserved]
§ 560.901   Paperwork Reduction Act notice.
For approval by the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507) of information collections relating to recordkeeping and reporting requirements, licensing procedures (including those pursuant to statements of licensing policy), and other procedures, see § 501.901 of this chapter. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid control number assigned by OMB.