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Union Calendar No. 273 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6245 

[Report No. 118–334] 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to report on financial institutions’ 

involvement with officials of the Iranian Government, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 6, 2023 

Mr. HILL (for himself and Mr. VARGAS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

DECEMBER 19, 2023 

Additional sponsors: Ms. DE LA CRUZ and Mr. SESSIONS

DECEMBER 19, 2023 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on November 6, 2023] 

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A BILL 

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

Government, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Holding Iranian Lead5 ers Accountable Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Iran is characterized by high levels of official 

9 and institutional corruption, and substantial involve10 ment by Iran’s security forces, particularly the Is11 lamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in the 

12 economy. 

13 (2) The Department of Treasury in 2019 des14 ignated the Islamic Republic of Iran’s financial sector 

15 as a jurisdiction of primary money laundering con16 cern, concluding, ‘‘Iran has developed covert methods 

17 for accessing the international financial system and 

18 pursuing its malign activities, including misusing 

19 banks and exchange houses, operating procurement 

20 networks that utilize front or shell companies, exploit21 ing commercial shipping, and masking illicit trans22 actions using senior officials, including those at the 

23 Central Bank of Iran (CBI).’’. 

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

25 Force (FATF) urged all jurisdictions to require inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Dec 20, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6245.RH H6245
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1 creased supervisory examination for branches and 

2 subsidiaries of financial institutions based in Iran. 

3 The FATF later called upon its members to introduce 

4 enhanced relevant reporting mechanisms or system5 atic reporting of financial transactions, and require 

6 increased external audit requirements, for financial 

7 groups with respect to any of their branches and sub8 sidiaries located in Iran. 

9 (4) According to the State Department’s ‘‘Coun10 try Reports on Terrorism’’ in 2021, ‘‘Iran continued 

11 to be the leading state sponsor of terrorism, facili12 tating a wide range of terrorist and other illicit ac13 tivities around the world. Regionally, Iran supported 

14 acts of terrorism in Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, 

15 and Yemen through proxies and partner groups such 

16 as Hizballah and Hamas.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. REPORT ON FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND ASSETS 

18 CONNECTED TO CERTAIN IRANIAN OFFI19 CIALS. 

20 (a) FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND ASSETS REPORT.— 

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

22 the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 

23 years thereafter, the President shall submit a report 

24 to the appropriate Members of Congress containing— 

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1 (A) the estimated total funds or assets that 

2 are under direct or indirect control by each of 

3 the natural persons described under subsection 

4 (b), and a description of such funds or assets, ex5 cept that the President may limit coverage of the 

6 report to not fewer than 5 of such natural per7 sons in order to meet the submission deadline de8 scribed under this paragraph; 

9 (B) a description of how such funds or as10 sets were acquired, and how they have been used 

11 or employed; 

12 (C) a list of any non-Iranian financial in13 stitutions that— 

14 (i) maintain an account in connection 

15 with funds or assets described in subpara16 graph (A); or 

17 (ii) knowingly provide significant fi18 nancial services to a natural person covered 

19 by the report; and 

20 (D) a description of any illicit or corrupt 

21 means employed to acquire or use such funds or 

22 assets. 

23 (2) EXEMPTIONS.—The requirements described 

24 under paragraph (1) may not be applied with respect 

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1 to a natural person or a financial institution, as the 

2 case may be, if the President determines: 

3 (A) The funds or assets described under sub4 paragraph (A) of paragraph (1) were acquired 

5 through legal or noncorrupt means. 

6 (B) The natural person has agreed to pro7 vide significant cooperation to the United States 

8 for an important national security or law en9 forcement purpose with respect to Iran. 

10 (C) A financial institution that would oth11 erwise be listed in the report required by para12 graph (1) has agreed to— 

13 (i) no longer maintain an account de14 scribed under subparagraph (C)(i) of para15 graph (1); 

16 (ii) no longer provide significant fi17 nancial services to a natural person covered 

18 by the report; or 

19 (iii) provide significant cooperation to 

20 the United States for an important national 

21 security or law enforcement purpose with 

22 respect to Iran. 

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

24 to 1 year at a time any requirement under paragraph 

25 (1) with respect to a natural person or a financial inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Dec 20, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6245.RH H6245
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1 stitution after reporting in writing to the appropriate 

2 Members of Congress that the waiver is in the na3 tional interest of the United States, with a detailed 

4 explanation of the reasons therefor. 

5 (b) PERSONS DESCRIBED.—The natural persons de6 scribed in this subsection are the following: 

7 (1) The Supreme Leader of Iran. 

8 (2) The President of Iran. 

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

10 (4) The members of the Expediency Council. 

11 (5) The Minister of Intelligence and Security. 

12 (6) The Commander and the Deputy Commander 

13 of the IRGC. 

14 (7) The Commander and the Deputy Commander 

15 of the IRGC Ground Forces. 

16 (8) The Commander and the Deputy Commander 

17 of the IRGC Aerospace Force. 

18 (9) The Commander and the Deputy Commander 

19 of the IRGC Navy. 

20 (10) The Commander of the Basij-e-Mostaz’afin. 

21 (11) The Commander of the Qods Force. 

22 (12) The Commander in Chief of the Police 

23 Force. 

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

25 (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 the 

4 IRGC. 

5 (17) The Chief Executive Officer and the Chair6 man 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 Co10 operative 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 subsection 

21 (a) and any waiver under subsection (a)(3) shall be 

22 submitted in unclassified form but may contain a 

23 classified annex. 

24 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall 

25 make the unclassified portion of such report public if 

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1 the Secretary notifies the appropriate Members of 

2 Congress that the publication is in the national inter3 est of the United States and would substantially pro4 mote— 

5 (A) deterring or sanctioning official corrup6 tion 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 por16 tion of a report public pursuant to paragraph (2), the 

17 Secretary shall make it available to the public on the 

18 website of the Department of the Treasury— 

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

20 and 

21 (B) in precompressed, easily downloadable 

22 versions that are made available in all appro23 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 90 

4 days after submitting a report described under section 

5 3(a)(1), the Secretary shall undertake the following with re6 spect to a financial institution that is described under sec7 tion 3(a)(1)(C) and listed in the report: 

8 (1) If the financial institution is a United States 

9 financial institution, require the closure of any ac10 count described in section 3(a)(1)(C)(i), and prohibit 

11 the provision of significant financial services, directly 

12 or indirectly, to a natural person covered by the re13 port. 

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 ap21 plication of subsection (a) with respect to a financial insti22 tution upon reporting to the appropriate Members of Con23 gress that the suspension is in the national interest of the 

24 United States, with a detailed explanation of the reasons 

25 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 require6 ments under title V of the National Security Act of 

7 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.), or to any authorized 

8 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 00:17 Dec 20, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6245.RH 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 stra16 tegic objective that is important to the national 

17 interest of the United States, as specified in the 

18 report by the Secretary. 

19 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

20 For purposes of this Act: 

21 (1) APPROPRIATE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—The 

22 term ‘‘appropriate Members of Congress’’ means the 

23 Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Rep24 resentatives, the Majority Leader and Minority Lead25 er of the Senate, the Chairman and Ranking Member 

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1 of the Committee on Financial Services of the House 

2 of Representatives, and the Chairman and Ranking 

3 Member of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

4 Urban Affairs of the Senate. 

5 (2) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘finan6 cial institution’’ means a United States financial in7 stitution or a foreign financial institution. 

8 (3) FOREIGN FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The term 

9 ‘‘foreign financial institution’’ has the meaning given 

10 that term in section 561.308 of title 31, Code of Fed11 eral Regulations. 

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

13 (A) cash; 

14 (B) equity; 

15 (C) any other asset whose value is derived 

16 from a contractual claim, including bank depos17 its, bonds, stocks, a security as defined in section 

18 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 

19 77b(a)), or a security or an equity security as 

20 defined in section 3(a) of the Securities Ex21 change Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)); and 

22 (D) anything else that the Secretary deter23 mines appropriate. 

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

25 respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means 

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1 that a person has actual knowledge, or should have 

2 known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the result. 

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

4 the Secretary of the Treasury. 

5 (7) UNITED STATES FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.— 

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

7 the meaning given the term ‘‘U.S. financial institu8 tion’’ under section 561.309 of title 31, Code of Fed9 eral Regulations. 

Union Calendar No. 273 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6245 

[Report No. 118–334] 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to report 

purposes. cials of the Iranian Government, and for other on financial institutions’ involvement with offiDECEMBER 19, 2023 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,