I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4070 

To clarify certain provisions relating to the interests of Iran in certain 

assets, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2012 

Mr. TURNER of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees 

on Financial Services and the Judiciary, 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 concerned 

A BILL 

To clarify certain provisions relating to the interests of Iran 

in certain assets, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. INTERESTS IN FINANCIAL ASSETS OF IRAN. 

4 (a) INTERESTS IN BLOCKED ASSETS.—Notwith5 standing any other provision of law, and preempting any 

6 inconsistent provision of State law, the property interest 

7 of Iran in a blocked asset shall include an interest in prop8 erty of any nature whatsoever, direct or indirect, including 

9 any direct or indirect interest in securities or other finanVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:55 Feb 18, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4070.IH H4070

tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 4070 IH

1 cial assets immobilized or in any other manner held in 

2 book entry form and credited to a securities account in 

3 the United States and the proceeds thereof, or in any 

4 funds transfers held in a United States financial institu5 tion. The property interest of Iran in securities or other 

6 financial assets immobilized or in any other manner held 

7 in book entry form and credited to a securities account 

8 in the United States and proceeds thereof shall be deemed 

9 to exist at every tier of securities intermediary necessary 

10 to hold an interest in any such securities or other financial 

11 assets. The property interest of Iran in a funds transfer 

12 shall exist at any intermediary bank necessary to complete 

13 such funds transfer. 

14 (b) PROPERTY IN THE UNITED STATES OF IRAN.— 

15 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and pre16 empting any inconsistent provision of State law, the prop17 erty, including any interest in the property, of Iran shall 

18 be deemed to be property in the United States of Iran 

19 if— 

20 (1) that property is an interest, held directly or 

21 indirectly for the benefit of Iran or for the benefit 

22 of any securities intermediary that directly or indi23 rectly holds the interest for the benefit of Iran, in 

24 securities or other financial assets that are rep25 resented by certificates or are in other physical form 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 4070 IH

1 and are immobilized, custodized, or held for safe2 keeping or any other reason in the United States; or 

3 (2) that property is an interest in securities or 

4 other financial assets held in book entry form or oth5 erwise, and credited to a securities account in the 

6 United States by any securities intermediary directly 

7 or indirectly for the benefit of Iran or for the benefit 

8 of any other securities intermediary that directly or 

9 indirectly holds the interest for the benefit of Iran. 

10 (c) DETERMINATION OF WHETHER SECURITIES OR

11 OTHER ASSETS ARE HELD OR CREDITED TO A SECURI12 TIES ACCOUNT IN THE UNITED STATES.—For purposes 

13 of this section, an interest in securities or other financial 

14 assets is held and credited to a securities account in the 

15 United States by a securities intermediary if the securities 

16 intermediary is located in the United States. A securities 

17 intermediary is conclusively presumed to be located in the 

18 United States if it is regulated in its capacity as a securi19 ties intermediary under the laws of the United States. 

20 (d) COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED

21 STATES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

22 ownership by Iran, or its central bank or monetary author23 ity, of any property, including the interest in property de24 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b), or 

25 any other interest in property, shall be deemed to be comVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:55 Feb 18, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4070.IH H4070

tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 4070 IH

1 mercial activity in the United States and that property, 

2 including any interest in that property, shall be deemed 

3 not to be held for the central bank’s or monetary 

4 authority’s own account. 

5 (e) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to all at6 tachments and proceedings in aid of execution issued or 

7 obtained before, on, or after the date of the enactment 

8 of this Act with respect to judgments entered against Iran 

9 for damages for personal injury or death caused by an 

10 act of torture, extrajudicial killing, aircraft sabotage, or 

11 hostage-taking, or the provision of material support or re12 sources for such an act. 

13 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) BLOCKED ASSET.—The term ‘‘blocked 

15 asset’’— 

16 (A) means any asset seized or frozen by 

17 the United States under section 5(b) of the 

18 Trading With the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. App. 

19 5(b)) or under section 202 or 203 of the Inter20 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

21 U.S.C. 1701 and 1702); and 

22 (B) does not include property that— 

23 (i) is subject to a license issued by the 

24 United States Government for final pay25 ment, transfer, or disposition by or to a 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 4070 IH

1 person subject to the jurisdiction of the 

2 United States in connection with a trans3 action for which the issuance of the license 

4 has been specifically required by a provi5 sion of law other than the International 

6 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

7 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) or the United Nations 

8 Participation Act of 1945 (22 U.S.C. 287 

9 et seq.); or 

10 (ii) is property subject to the Vienna 

11 Convention on Diplomatic Relations or the 

12 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 

13 or that enjoys equivalent privileges and im14 munities under the laws of the United 

15 States, and is being used exclusively for 

16 diplomatic or consular purposes. 

17 (2) CLEARING CORPORATION.—The term 

18 ‘‘clearing corporation’’ means— 

19 (A) a clearing agency (as defined in section 

20 3(a)(23) of the Securities Exchange Act of 

21 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(23))); 

22 (B) a Federal reserve bank; or 

23 (C) any other person that provides clear24 ance or settlement services with respect to fi25 nancial assets that would require it to register 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 4070 IH

1 as a clearing agency under the Federal securi2 ties laws but for an exclusion or exemption 

3 from the registration requirement under section 

4 3(a)(23)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 

5 1934, if its activities as a clearing corporation, 

6 including promulgation of rules, are subject to 

7 regulation by a Federal or State governmental 

8 authority. 

9 (3) FINANCIAL ASSET; SECURITY.—The terms 

10 ‘‘financial asset’’ and ‘‘security’’ have the meanings 

11 given those terms in the Uniform Commercial Code. 

12 (4) IRAN.—The term ‘‘Iran’’ means the Govern13 ment of Iran, including the central bank or mone14 tary authority of that Government and any agency 

15 or instrumentality of that Government. 

16 (5) PROPERTY SUBJECT TO THE VIENNA CON17 VENTION ON DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS OR THE VI18 ENNA CONVENTION ON CONSULAR RELATIONS.—The 

19 term ‘‘property subject to the Vienna Convention on 

20 Diplomatic Relations or the Vienna Convention on 

21 Consular Relations’’ means any property the attach22 ment in aid of execution or execution of which would 

23 result in a violation of an obligation of the United 

24 States under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic 

25 Relations, done at Vienna April 18, 1961, or the 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 4070 IH

1 Convention on Consular Relations, done at Vienna 

2 April 24, 1963. 

3 (6) SECURITIES INTERMEDIARY.—The term 

4 ‘‘securities intermediary’’ means— 

5 (A) a clearing corporation; or 

6 (B) a person, including a bank or broker, 

7 that in the ordinary course of its business 

8 maintains securities accounts for others and is 

9 acting in that capacity. 

10 (7) UNITED STATES.—The terms ‘‘United 

11 States’’ includes all territory and waters, continental 

12 or insular, subject to the jurisdiction of the United 

13 States. 

14 SEC. 2. EXCEPTIONS TO THE IMMUNITY FROM ATTACH15 MENT OR EXECUTION. 

16 (a) TITLE 28, UNITED STATES CODE.—Section 1610 

17 of title 28, United States Code, is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)(7), by inserting after ‘‘sec19 tion 1605A’’ the following: ‘‘or section 1605(a)(7) 

20 (as such section was in effect on January 27, 

21 2008)’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (b)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (2)— 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 4070 IH

1 (i) by striking ‘‘(5), 1605(b), or 

2 1605A’’ and inserting ‘‘(5) or 1605(b)’’; 

3 and 

4 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

5 and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and 

6 (B) by adding after paragraph (2) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(3) the judgment relates to a claim for which 

9 the agency or instrumentality is not immune by vir10 tue of section 1605A of this chapter or section 

11 1605(a)(7) of this chapter (as such section was in 

12 effect on January 27, 2008), regardless of whether 

13 the property is or was involved in the act upon 

14 which the claim is based.’’; 

15 (3) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol16 lows: 

17 ‘‘(c)(1) No attachment or execution referred to in any 

18 of paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (a), or in 

19 paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b), shall be permitted 

20 until the court of original jurisdiction has ordered such 

21 attachment and execution after having determined that a 

22 reasonable period of time has elapsed following the entry 

23 of judgment and the giving of any notice required under 

24 section 1608(e) of this chapter. 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 4070 IH

1 ‘‘(2) No attachment or execution referred to in para2 graph (7) of subsection (a) or paragraph (3) of subsection 

3 (b) shall be permitted until the court of original jurisdic4 tion has ordered that such attachment and execution may 

5 proceed after having determined that a reasonable period 

6 of time has elapsed following the entry of judgment and 

7 the giving of any notice required under section 1608(e) 

8 of this chapter. For purposes of the preceding sentence, 

9 substantial compliance with the requirements of section 

10 1608(e) shall be deemed to be sufficient service under such 

11 section, and the rejection of or refusal to accept delivery 

12 of a default judgment served in substantial compliance 

13 with such requirements shall not affect the sufficiency of 

14 such service. The order of the court under this paragraph 

15 need not specify the assets that are to be subject to such 

16 attachment or execution.’’; and 

17 (4) in subsection (g)(1), in the matter pre18 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting after ‘‘section 

19 1605A’’ the following: ‘‘or section 1605(a)(7) (as 

20 such section was in effect on January 27, 2008)’’. 

21 (b) TERRORISM RISK INSURANCE ACT OF 2002.— 

22 Section 201(a) of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 

23 2002 (28 U.S.C. 1610 note) is amended by striking ‘‘sec24 tion 1605(a)(7)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 1605A or 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 4070 IH

1 1605(a)(7) (as such section was in effect on January 27, 

2 2008)’’. 

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall take effect as if included in the enact5 ment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

6 Year 2008 (Public Law 110–181; 122 Stat. 3) and shall 

7 apply with respect to— 

8 (1) any judgment pursuant to section 1605A of 

9 title 28, United States Code, or section 1605(a)(7) 

10 of such Code (as such section was in effect on Janu11 ary 27, 2008), that is entered before, on, or after 

12 the date of the enactment of such Act; and 

13 (2) any attachment or other proceedings in aid 

14 of execution, or execution, that is issued, obtained, 

15 or commenced before, on, or after the date of the en16 actment of such Act, upon a judgment described in 

17 paragraph (1). 

Æ 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS