Treasury Forfeiture Fund

FY 2017

President’s Budget

February 9, 2016
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Table of Contents

Section 1 – Purpose ....................................................................................................................... 3

1A – Mission Statement.............................................................................................................. 3

1.1 – Resource Detail Table........................................................................................................ 3

1B – Vision, Priorities and Context............................................................................................ 3

Section 2 – Budget Adjustments and Appropriation Language............................................... 7

2.2 – Operating Levels Table...................................................................................................... 7

2B – Appropriations Language and Explanation of Changes..................................................... 7

2C – Legislative Proposals.......................................................................................................... 7

Section 3 – Budget and Performance Plan ................................................................................. 8

3A – Asset Forfeiture Fund......................................................................................................... 8

3.1.1 – Asset Forfeiture Fund Budget Activity Budget and Performance Plan.......................... 9

Section 4 – Supplemental Information...................................................................................... 10

4A – Summary of Capital Investments..................................................................................... 10
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Section 1 – Purpose

1A – Mission Statement

To affirmatively influence the consistent and strategic use of asset forfeiture by our participating 

agencies to disrupt and dismantle criminal enterprises.

The Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture (TEOAF) administers the Treasury 

Forfeiture Fund. The Treasury Forfeiture Fund (the Fund) is the receipt account for the deposit of 

non-tax forfeitures made pursuant to laws enforced or administered by participating Treasury and 

Department of Homeland Security agencies. The Fund was established in 1992 as the successor 

to the Customs Forfeiture Fund.

1.1 – Resource Detail Table

Dollars in Thousands

Treasury Forfeiture Fund FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2016 to FY 2017

Budgetary Resources Actual Estimated Estimated $ Change % Change

FTE AMOUNT FTE AMOUNT FTE AMOUNT FTE AMOUNT FTE AMOUNT

Revenue/Offsetting Collections

Interest 0 955 0 1,000 0 1,000 0 0 0 0.00%

Restored Temporary Rescission 0 836,000 0 944,000 0 876,000 0 (68,000) 0 -7.20%

Restored Sequestration 0 124,923 0 399,291 0 97,302 0 (301,989) 0 -75.63%

Forfeiture Revenue 0 4,632,791 0 485,909 0 413,000 0 (72,909) 0 -15.00%

Recovery from Prior Years 0 25,567 0 3,588,568 0 30,000 0 (3,558,568) 0 -99.16%

Unobligated Balances from Prior Years 0 144,147 0 97,184 0 157,131 0 59,947 0 61.68%

Total Revenue/Offsetting Collections 0 $5,764,383 0 $5,515,952 0 $1,574,433 0 ($3,941,519) .2.26.00 -71.46%

Expenses/Obligations

Asset Forfeiture

Mandatory Obligations1

25 4,302,751 25 481,159 25 450,000 0 (31,159) 0 -6.48%

Secretary's Enforcement Fund 0 21,157 0 65,560 0 30,000 0 (35,560) 0 -54.24%

Super Surplus Obligations 0 0 0 0 0 0

2 0 0 0 N/A

Total Expenses/Obligations 25 $4,323,908 25 $546,719 25 $480,000 0 ($66,719) 0 -12.20%

Rescissions/Cancellations

Sequestration Reduction 0 (399,291) 0 (97,302) 0 0

3 0 97,302 0 -100.00%

Temporary Rescission 0 (944,000) 0 (876,000) 0 0 0 876,000 0 -100.00%

Permanent Cancellation 0 0 0 (3,800,000) 0 (657,000) 0 3,143,000 0 -82.71%

Appropriations Precluded from Obligation 0 0 0 (38,800)4 0 (38,800) 0 0 0 0.00%

Total Rescissions/Cancellations 0($1,343,291) 0 ($4,812,102) 0 ($695,800) 0 $4,116,302 .00 -85.54%

Net Results 0 $97,184 0 $157,131 0 $398,633 0 $241,502 .00 153.69%

1. The Treasury Forfeiture Fund is staffed by Departmental Offices employees and positions are funded via reimbursable agreement.

2. Treasury is planning for a tentative $100 million Super Surplus in FY 2017 and will submit a spend plan to Congress once more is known 

about actual collections and expenses. See pages 6-7 for additional details.

3. Treasury will calculate the FY 2017 sequestration reduction once the OMB Report to Congress on the Joint Committee Sequestration for 

Fiscal Year 2017 is released.

4. P.L. 114-113 cancelled $3,800,000,000 of the $3,838,800,000 forfeited in United States v. BNPP, No.14 Cr. 460 (S.D.N.Y.). Treasury is 

unable to obligate the remaining $38,800,000 due to a provision in section 405, Title IV limiting the use of these funds.

1B – Vision, Priorities and Context

The Treasury Forfeiture Fund (the Fund) is the receipt account for the deposit of non-tax 

forfeitures made pursuant to laws enforced or administered by bureaus participating in the Fund. 

Special funds are federal fund collections that are earmarked by law for a specific purpose. The 

enabling legislation for the Treasury Forfeiture Fund (31 U.S.C. § 9705) defines those purposes 

for which Treasury forfeiture revenue may be used. In addition to the agencies listed below, the 

funds can be allocated to other law enforcement entities that do not have forfeiture authority, 

such as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Federal Law Enforcement 
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Training Center (FLETC), and Alcohol & Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).

The principal revenue-producing member bureaus include the Internal Revenue Service’s 

Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and 

Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the U.S. Secret Service (Secret Service). The latter three 

bureaus are part of the Department of Homeland Security pursuant to the Homeland Security Act 

of 2002. These member bureaus are joined by the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Homeland 

Security, as a result of the longstanding close law enforcement relationship with CBP and ICE. 

Vision: As the administrator for the Treasury Forfeiture Fund, TEOAF performs the following 

functions:

• Promotes the use of proceeds from asset forfeiture to fund programs and activities aimed at 

disrupting criminal enterprises and enhancing forfeiture capabilities;

• Manages revenue to cover the costs of asset forfeiture programs;

• Promotes the financial stability and vitality of the Fund;

• Identifies and addresses program risks.

TEOAF focuses on supporting cases and investigations that result in high impact forfeitures. 

This approach will have the greatest impact on criminal organizations and facilitate the ultimate 

mission of the Fund to disrupt and dismantle criminal enterprises. To this end, TEOAF 

prioritizes major case initiatives when allocating funding to member agencies, including the 

purchase of evidence and information, joint operations expenses, investigative expenses leading 

to seizure, and asset identification and removal teams.

Goals and Relationship to Departmental Goal: The goal of the Fund is to support the asset 

forfeiture programs of member law enforcement bureaus in a manner that results in federal law 

enforcement’s continued and effective use of asset forfeiture as a high-impact law enforcement 

sanction to punish and deter criminal activity. “High impact” is defined as a cash forfeiture 

equal to or greater than $100,000 in value. 

The Fund supports Treasury Strategic Goal 4: Safeguard the financial system and use financial 

measures to counter national security threats. A primary feature of asset forfeiture as a criminal 

sanction is that it disrupts and dismantles criminal syndicates by removing their financial assets 

and viability. This feature of asset forfeiture relates to Treasury Strategic Objective 4.2: Develop, 

implement, and enforce sanctions and other targeted financial measures.

Priorities: Asset seizure and forfeiture is a priority for the Fund’s participating law enforcement 

organizations and is linked directly to the National Money Laundering and Southwest Border 

Strategy. TEOAF has identified the following priorities for mission success: 

• Continue to educate and focus stakeholders on the vision and mission of Treasury’s multiDepartmental asset forfeiture program (i.e., affirmatively influence the consistent and 

strategic use of asset forfeiture by law enforcement bureaus participating in the Fund to 

disrupt and dismantle criminal enterprises); 

• Focus resources in a manner that supports law enforcement’s implementation of the National 

Money Laundering Strategy, Southwest Border Strategy, and counter-terrorism financing 

efforts;
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• Use forfeiture resources to promote program excellence and strengthen the overall quality of 

criminal investigations led by participating law enforcement bureaus; and 

• Develop and modify forfeiture training and awareness programs to be responsive to the 

current environment and continually re-evaluate training to incorporate best practices. 

Context: The Fund continues to represent the forfeiture interests of law enforcement 

components of the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security. In the 

midst of the budget constraints and policy changes, the Fund’s law enforcement bureaus continue

the difficult work of enforcing and applying asset forfeiture as a criminal sanction.

FY 2015: The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2015 (P.L. 113-235) temporarily rescinded 

$944 million of the Fund’s unobligated balances. In addition, approximately $399 million was

sequestered from the Fund as part of the government-wide sequestration order. The Fund 

received collections from two major cases that contributed to total revenue of approximately $4.6

billion. The proceeds were used to fund investigations, asset management, joint operations, 

remission and mitigation payments, equitable sharing, and the cancellation enacted by the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (P.L. 114-113).

FY 2016: P.L. 114-113 cancelled $3.8 billion of the Fund’s budget authority and temporarily 

rescinded $876 million in unobligated balances. An estimated $97 million will be sequestered 

from the Fund as part of the government-wide sequestration order. TEOAF forecasts another 

successful forfeiture program in FY 2016 with estimated revenue of $487 million from forfeiture 

deposits and interest. This estimate does not account for ongoing investigations where TEOAF 

lacks sufficient information to project an outcome. TEOAF estimates $481 million in mandatory 

authority expenses and $66 million in Secretary’s Enforcement Fund (SEF) expenses in FY 

2016. SEF expenses are higher than previously estimated in the FY 2016 President’s Budget due 

to a new case that is expected to result in a deposit of $46 million.

FY 2017: TEOAF intends to maintain a dynamic and evolving asset forfeiture program that is 

responsive to the needs of member law enforcement bureaus. Treasury proposes a $657 million

permanent cancellation of unobligated balances and will provide regular updates to Congress on 

the Fund’s balances. The Fund estimates $414 million in revenue from forfeiture deposits and

interest in FY 2017.

Super Surplus: Treasury proposes a $100 million Super Surplus in FY 2017. The Super 

Surplus authority, established by Congress in 31 U.S.C. § 9705 (g)(4)(B), allows TEOAF to use 

unobligated balances to fund priority law enforcement initiatives once enough funds have been

reserved for the next fiscal year’s operating expenses. Since the Fund’s establishment in 1992, 

the Super Surplus has been used to fund high priority information technology projects, multiyear 

criminal investigations, pilot programs, and urgent homeland security needs at no cost to 

taxpayers. The investigations funded by the Super Surplus bring criminals to justice and 

generate a significant share of the revenue used to pay for forfeiture program expenses, including 

the management of seized and forfeited assets. 

Due to a shortage of resources, TEOAF was unable to declare a Super Surplus in FY 2015 and 

does not expect to in FY 2016. FY 2015 marked the first time in the Fund’s 22 years history that 
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law enforcement was unable to rely on this funding source. Member agencies have less funding 

to sustain long-term investigations and have postponed several projects.

TEOAF intends to reverse this trend in FY 2017 by proposing a $100 million in Super Surplus. 

A Super Surplus of this size would allow TEOAF to fund backlog of investigations, technology 

upgrades, and infrastructure projects at the member agencies. Provided funding is available, 

TEOAF will prioritize the following initiatives with the FY 2017 Super Surplus:

• Priority investigative areas at IRS-CI such as identity theft, as well as IT infrastructure 

upgrades to enhance investigative data analysis;

• Technology upgrades at ICE, specifically the Technical Operations division within 

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), for operational support of investigations 

involving trade-based money laundering; computer/mobile forensics and cyber 

investigation capabilities, and initiatives supporting major financial investigations;

• On-going efforts at CBP to strengthen outbound monitoring infrastructure, as well as 

enhancing Border Patrol capabilities and upgrades of seizure vaults; and

• Secret Service network intrusion and cybercrime investigations.

If funding is available, Treasury will submit a Super Surplus plan to Congress in accordance with

31 U.S.C. § 9705.
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Section 2 – Budget Adjustments and Appropriation Language

2.2 – Operating Levels Table

Dollars in Thousands

Treasury Forfeiture Fund FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Object Classification Actual Estimated Estimated

25.2 - Other services 53,327 38,270 40,600

25.3 - Other purchases of goods & serv frm Govt accounts 164,212 109,344 116,000

41.0 - Grants, subsidies, and contributions 4,106,3691 399,105 323,400

Total Non-Personnel 4,323,908 546,719 480,000

Total Budgetary Resources $4,323,908 $546,719 $480,000

Budget Activities:

Asset Forfeiture Fund 4,323,908 546,719 480,000

Total Budgetary Resources $4,323,908 $546,719 $480,000

FTE 25 25 25

1. The $3.589 billion obligated in FY 2015 for victim’s compensation related to the BNP Paribas case was permanently cancelled by 

P.L. 114-113, which increased recoveries in FY 2016, as shown in Table 1.1.

2B – Appropriations Language and Explanation of Changes

Appropriations Language Explanation of Changes

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

TREASURY FORFEITURE FUND

Of the unobligated balances available under this 

heading, [$700,000,000]$657,000,000 are 

[rescinded]hereby permanently cancelled not later 

than September 30, 2017. (Department of the 

Treasury Appropriations Act, 2016.)

The addition of “not later than 

September 30, 2017” will allow 

Treasury to manage the timing of the 

reduction and help prevent cash flow

disruptions.

2C – Legislative Proposals

The Fund has no legislative proposals for FY 2017.
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Section 3 – Budget and Performance Plan

3A – Asset Forfeiture Fund

($480,000,000 in obligations from revenue/offsetting collections): 

The function of the Fund is to ensure resources are managed to cover the costs of an effective 

asset seizure and forfeiture program, including the costs of seizing, evaluating, inventorying, 

maintaining, protecting, advertising, forfeiting, and disposing of property. The goal owner for 

this budget activity is the Director of TEOAF. 

The Treasury Forfeiture Fund is special fund with permanent indefinite budget authority. 

Special fund collections are earmarked by law for a specific purpose. The enabling legislation 

for the Fund (31 U.S.C. § 9705) defines those purposes for which the Fund’s revenue may be 

used. Revenue deposited to the Fund can be allocated and expended as the result of the

permanent indefinite appropriation provided by Congress. 

The forfeiture process begins once currency or property is seized. Seized currency is deposited 

into a suspense account (holding account) until forfeited. At that time, the proceeds are

transferred (deposited) to the Fund as revenue. Forfeited property is usually sold and the 

proceeds are also deposited into the Fund as revenue. This revenue composes the budget 

authority for meeting the obligations and expenses of the program. Expenses of the Fund are set 

in a relative priority so that operating costs are met first and may not exceed revenues.

Spending Authorities:

Mandatory authority is generally used for operating expenses, including storing and maintaining 

seized and forfeited assets, liens and mortgages, investigative expenses incurred in seizure, 

information and inventory systems, remissions, victim restoration, and certain costs of local 

police agencies incurred in joint law enforcement operations. Following seizure, equitable 

shares are paid to state and local law enforcement agencies that contributed to the seizure activity 

at a level proportionate to their involvement, as required by the enabling legislation.

Secretary’s Enforcement Fund (SEF) authority is derived from equitable shares received from 

the Department of Justice (DOJ) or U.S. Postal Service (USPS) forfeitures. These shares 

represent Treasury’s participation in investigative efforts that result in forfeiture. SEF revenue is 

available to member agencies for any federal law enforcement purpose.

Super Surplus (SS) authority represents the remaining unobligated balance at the close of the 

fiscal year after an amount is reserved for the Fund’s operations in the next fiscal year. This 

balance can be used for any federal law enforcement purpose.

Description of Performance Measure:

The Fund continues to track the performance of the participating law enforcement bureaus by 

measuring the percentage of forfeited cash proceeds from high impact cases, which are cases that 

result in a cash forfeiture deposit of $100,000 or more. 
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Focusing on strategic cases and investigations that result in high impact forfeitures will do the 

greatest damage to criminal organizations while accomplishing the ultimate objective to disrupt 

and dismantle criminal activity. Member law enforcement bureaus participating in the Fund 

have met or exceeded the performance target in nine of the eleven fiscal years since the measure 

was established in FY 2002. As a result, TEOAF increased the target from 75 percent in FY 

2010 to 80 percent beginning in FY 2011. The Fund maintains a target of 80 percent, 

recognizing that some otherwise high priority cases may not produce a forfeiture of $100,000.

In FY 2015, the member bureaus exceeded the target 80 percent by more than 18 percentage 

points. The target has been set at 80 percent for FY 2016 and FY 2017.

3.1.1 – Asset Forfeiture Fund Budget Activity Budget and Performance Plan

Dollars in Thousands

Asset Forfeiture Fund Budget Activity

Resource Level FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual Estimated Estimated

 Expenses/Obligations $852,078 $590,415 $527,417 $908,113 $787,849 $4,323,908 $546,719 $480,000

Budget Activity Total $852,078 $590,415 $527,417 $908,113 $787,849 $4,323,908 $546,719 $480,000

Measure FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual Target Actual Estimated Estimated

Percent of Forfeited 

Cash Proceeds 

Resulting from HighImpact Cases (%) 

93.11 91.44 76.38 95.01 86.73 80.00 98.25 80.0 80.0

Key: DISC - Discontinued
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Section 4 – Supplemental Information

4A – Summary of Capital Investments

TEOAF is a component of the Departmental Offices (DO) and is included in the DO capital 

investment plan.

A summary of capital investment resources, including major information technology and nontechnology investments, can be viewed and downloaded 

at: http://www.treasury.gov/about/budget-performance/pages/summary-of-capitalinvestments.aspx. 

This website also contains a digital copy of the plan.