IIB 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6245 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 17, 2024 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to report on financial institutions’ involvement with officials of the Iranian 

Government, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Holding Iranian Lead3 ers Accountable Act of 2023’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Iran is characterized by high levels of offi7 cial and institutional corruption, and substantial in8 volvement by Iran’s security forces, particularly the 

9 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in the 

10 economy. 

11 (2) The Department of Treasury in 2019 des12 ignated the Islamic Republic of Iran’s financial sec13 tor as a jurisdiction of primary money laundering 

14 concern, concluding, ‘‘Iran has developed covert 

15 methods for accessing the international financial sys16 tem and pursuing its malign activities, including 

17 misusing banks and exchange houses, operating pro18 curement networks that utilize front or shell compa19 nies, exploiting commercial shipping, and masking il20 licit transactions using senior officials, including 

21 those at the Central Bank of Iran (CBI).’’. 

22 (3) In June 2019, the Financial Action Task 

23 Force (FATF) urged all jurisdictions to require in24 creased supervisory examination for branches and 

25 subsidiaries of financial institutions based in Iran. 

26 The FATF later called upon its members to introVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 Apr 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6245.RFS H6245

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1 duce enhanced relevant reporting mechanisms or 

2 systematic reporting of financial transactions, and 

3 require increased external audit requirements, for fi4 nancial groups with respect to any of their branches 

5 and subsidiaries located in Iran. 

6 (4) According to the State Department’s 

7 ‘‘Country Reports on Terrorism’’ in 2021, ‘‘Iran 

8 continued to be the leading state sponsor of ter9 rorism, facilitating a wide range of terrorist and 

10 other illicit activities around the world. Regionally, 

11 Iran supported acts of terrorism in Bahrain, Iraq, 

12 Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen through proxies and 

13 partner groups such as Hizballah and Hamas.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. REPORT ON FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND ASSETS 

15 CONNECTED TO CERTAIN IRANIAN OFFI16 CIALS. 

17 (a) FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND ASSETS RE18 PORT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

21 every 2 years thereafter, the President shall submit 

22 a report to the appropriate Members of Congress 

23 containing— 

24 (A) the estimated total funds or assets 

25 that are under direct or indirect control by each 


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1 of the natural persons described under sub2 section (b), and a description of such funds or 

3 assets, except that the President may limit cov4 erage of the report to not fewer than 5 of such 

5 natural persons in order to meet the submission 

6 deadline described under this paragraph; 

7 (B) a description of how such funds or as8 sets were acquired, and how they have been 

9 used or employed; 

10 (C) a list of any non-Iranian financial in11 stitutions that— 

12 (i) maintain an account in connection 

13 with funds or assets described in subpara14 graph (A); or 

15 (ii) knowingly provide significant fi16 nancial services to a natural person cov17 ered by the report; and 

18 (D) a description of any illicit or corrupt 

19 means employed to acquire or use such funds or 

20 assets. 

21 (2) EXEMPTIONS.—The requirements described 

22 under paragraph (1) may not be applied with re23 spect to a natural person or a financial institution, 

24 as the case may be, if the President determines: 


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1 (A) The funds or assets described under 

2 subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) were ac3 quired through legal or noncorrupt means. 

4 (B) The natural person has agreed to pro5 vide significant cooperation to the United 

6 States for an important national security or law 

7 enforcement purpose with respect to Iran. 

8 (C) A financial institution that would oth9 erwise be listed in the report required by para10 graph (1) has agreed to— 

11 (i) no longer maintain an account de12 scribed under subparagraph (C)(i) of para13 graph (1); 

14 (ii) no longer provide significant fi15 nancial services to a natural person cov16 ered by the report; or 

17 (iii) provide significant cooperation to 

18 the United States for an important na19 tional security or law enforcement purpose 

20 with respect to Iran. 

21 (3) WAIVER.—The President may waive for up 

22 to 1 year at a time any requirement under para23 graph (1) with respect to a natural person or a fi24 nancial institution after reporting in writing to the 

25 appropriate Members of Congress that the waiver is 


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1 in the national interest of the United States, with a 

2 detailed explanation of the reasons therefor. 

3 (b) PERSONS DESCRIBED.—The natural persons de4 scribed in this subsection are the following: 

5 (1) The Supreme Leader of Iran. 

6 (2) The President of Iran. 

7 (3) The members of the Council of Guardians. 

8 (4) The members of the Expediency Council. 

9 (5) The Minister of Intelligence and Security. 

10 (6) The Commander and the Deputy Com11 mander of the IRGC. 

12 (7) The Commander and the Deputy Com13 mander of the IRGC Ground Forces. 

14 (8) The Commander and the Deputy Com15 mander of the IRGC Aerospace Force. 

16 (9) The Commander and the Deputy Com17 mander of the IRGC Navy. 

18 (10) The Commander of the Basij-e19 Mostaz’afin. 

20 (11) The Commander of the Qods Force. 

21 (12) The Commander in Chief of the Police 

22 Force. 

23 (13) The head of the IRGC Joint Staff. 

24 (14) The Commander of the IRGC Intelligence. 


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1 (15) The head of the IRGC Imam Hussein Uni2 versity. 

3 (16) The Supreme Leader’s Representative at 

4 the IRGC. 

5 (17) The Chief Executive Officer and the 

6 Chairman of the IRGC Cooperative Foundation. 

7 (18) The Commander of the Khatam-al-Anbia 

8 Construction Head Quarter. 

9 (19) The Chief Executive Officer of the Basij 

10 Cooperative Foundation. 

11 (20) The head of the Political Bureau of the 

12 IRGC. 

13 (21) The senior leadership as determined by the 

14 President of the following groups: 

15 (A) Hizballah. 

16 (B) Hamas. 

17 (C) Palestinian Islamic Jihad. 

18 (D) Kata’ib Hizballah. 

19 (c) FORM OF REPORT; PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 

20 (1) FORM.—The report required under sub21 section (a) and any waiver under subsection (a)(3) 

22 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may con23 tain a classified annex. 

24 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary 

25 shall make the unclassified portion of such report 


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1 public if the Secretary notifies the appropriate Mem2 bers of Congress that the publication is in the na3 tional interest of the United States and would sub4 stantially promote— 

5 (A) deterring or sanctioning official cor6 ruption in Iran; 

7 (B) holding natural persons or financial in8 stitutions listed in the report accountable to the 

9 people of Iran; 

10 (C) combating money laundering or the fi11 nancing of terrorism; or 

12 (D) achieving any other strategic objective 

13 with respect to the Government of Iran. 

14 (3) FORMAT OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE RE15 PORTS.—If the Secretary makes the unclassified 

16 portion of a report public pursuant to paragraph 

17 (2), the Secretary shall make it available to the pub18 lic on the website of the Department of the Treas19 ury— 

20 (A) in English, Farsi, Arabic, and Azeri; 

21 and 

22 (B) in precompressed, easily downloadable 

23 versions that are made available in all appro24 priate formats. 


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1 SEC. 4. RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN FINANCIAL INSTITU2 TIONS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date that is 

4 90 days after submitting a report described under section 

5 3(a)(1), the Secretary shall undertake the following with 

6 respect to a financial institution that is described under 

7 section 3(a)(1)(C) and listed in the report: 

8 (1) If the financial institution is a United 

9 States financial institution, require the closure of 

10 any account described in section 3(a)(1)(C)(i), and 

11 prohibit the provision of significant financial serv12 ices, directly or indirectly, to a natural person cov13 ered by the report. 

14 (2) If the financial institution is a foreign fi15 nancial institution, actively seek the closure of any 

16 account described in section 3(a)(1)(C)(i), and the 

17 cessation of significant financial services to a natural 

18 person covered by the report, using any existing au19 thorities of the Secretary, as appropriate. 

20 (b) SUSPENSION.—The Secretary may suspend the 

21 application of subsection (a) with respect to a financial 

22 institution upon reporting to the appropriate Members of 

23 Congress that the suspension is in the national interest 

24 of the United States, with a detailed explanation of the 

25 reasons therefor. 


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1 SEC. 5. EXCEPTIONS FOR NATIONAL SECURITY; IMPLEMEN2 TATION AUTHORITY. 

3 The following activities shall be exempt from require4 ments under sections 3 and 4: 

5 (1) Any activity subject to the reporting re6 quirements under title V of the National Security 

7 Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.), or to any au8 thorized intelligence activities of the United States. 

9 (2) The admission of an alien to the United 

10 States if such admission is necessary to comply with 

11 United States obligations under the Agreement be12 tween the United Nations and the United States of 

13 America regarding the Headquarters of the United 

14 Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and 

15 entered into force November 21, 1947, or under the 

16 Convention on Consular Relations, done at Vienna 

17 April 24, 1963, and entered into force March 19, 

18 1967, or other applicable international obligations of 

19 the United States. 

20 (3) The conduct or facilitation of a transaction 

21 for the sale of agricultural commodities, food, medi22 cine, or medical devices to Iran or for the provision 

23 of humanitarian assistance to the people of Iran, in24 cluding engaging in a financial transaction relating 

25 to humanitarian assistance or for humanitarian pur26 poses or transporting goods or services that are necVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 Apr 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6245.RFS H6245

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1 essary to carry out operations relating to humani2 tarian assistance or humanitarian purposes. 

3 SEC. 6. SUNSET. 

4 The provisions of this Act shall have no force or effect 

5 on the earlier of— 

6 (1) the date that is 5 years after the date of en7 actment of this Act; or 

8 (2) 30 days after the Secretary reports in writ9 ing to the appropriate Members of Congress that— 

10 (A) Iran is not a jurisdiction of primary 

11 money laundering concern; or 

12 (B) the Government of Iran is providing 

13 significant cooperation to the United States for 

14 the purpose of preventing acts of international 

15 terrorism, or for the promotion of any other 

16 strategic objective that is important to the na17 tional interest of the United States, as specified 

18 in the report by the Secretary. 

19 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

20 For purposes of this Act: 

21 (1) APPROPRIATE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 

22 The term ‘‘appropriate Members of Congress’’ 

23 means the Speaker and Minority Leader of the 

24 House of Representatives, the Majority Leader and 

25 Minority Leader of the Senate, the Chairman and 


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1 Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial 

2 Services of the House of Representatives, and the 

3 Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee 

4 on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Sen5 ate. 

6 (2) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘fi7 nancial institution’’ means a United States financial 

8 institution or a foreign financial institution. 

9 (3) FOREIGN FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The 

10 term ‘‘foreign financial institution’’ has the meaning 

11 given that term in section 561.308 of title 31, Code 

12 of Federal Regulations. 

13 (4) FUNDS.—The term ‘‘funds’’ means— 

14 (A) cash; 

15 (B) equity; 

16 (C) any other asset whose value is derived 

17 from a contractual claim, including bank depos18 its, bonds, stocks, a security as defined in sec19 tion 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 

20 U.S.C. 77b(a)), or a security or an equity secu21 rity as defined in section 3(a) of the Securities 

22 Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)); and 

23 (D) anything else that the Secretary deter24 mines appropriate. 


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1 (5) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’ with 

2 respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, 

3 means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 

4 have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the 

5 result. 

6 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

7 the Secretary of the Treasury. 

8 (7) UNITED STATES FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.— 

9 The term ‘‘United States financial institution’’ has 

10 the meaning given the term ‘‘U.S. financial institu11 tion’’ under section 561.309 of title 31, Code of 

12 Federal Regulations. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 16, 2024. 

Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 

Clerk. 


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