I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5283 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to reform certain forfeiture 

procedures, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 19, 2016 

Mr. SENSENBRENNER (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. GOODLATTE, Ms. 

JACKSON LEE, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. ISSA, Mr. FORBES, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. COHEN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. JORDAN, Mr. 

CHAFFETZ, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. ROSKAM, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. TROTT, 

Mrs. MIMI WALTERS of California, and Mr. COLLINS of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services and Energy and Commerce, 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 amend title 18, United States Code, to reform certain 

forfeiture procedures, 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘DUE PROCESS Act 

5 of 2016’’ or the ‘‘Deterring Undue Enforcement by ProVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 May 23, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5283.IH H5283

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1 tecting Rights of Citizens from Excessive Searches and 

2 Seizures Act of 2016’’. 

3 SEC. 2. GENERAL RULES FOR CIVIL FORFEITURE PRO4 CEEDINGS. 

5 Section 983(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking 

8 ‘‘COMPLAINT’’ and inserting ‘‘COMPLAINT; INITIAL

9 HEARING’’; 

10 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

12 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘60 days’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘30 days’’; 

14 (ii) by striking clause (ii); 

15 (iii) in clause (iii)— 

16 (I) in the matter preceding sub17 clause (I)— 

18 (aa) by striking ‘‘60-day’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘30-day’’; and 

20 (bb) by striking ‘‘does not 

21 file’’ and all that follows through 

22 ‘‘obtain’’ and inserting ‘‘obtains’’; 

23 and 

24 (II) in subclause (I), by striking 

25 ‘‘60 days’’ and inserting ‘‘30 days’’; 


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1 (iv) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘90 

2 days’’ and inserting ‘‘60 days’’; 

3 (v) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘60 

4 days’’ and inserting ‘‘30 days’’; and 

5 (vi) by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(vi) The notice under this subparagraph shall 

8 include an address, which shall also be widely pub9 lished, at which the seizing agency can receive until 

10 5 p.m. on any business day an interested party’s 

11 claim contesting a seizure or forfeiture. The inter12 ested party may send such a claim to that address 

13 by courier or overnight mail. For the purpose of de14 termining compliance with any deadlines in filing 

15 such a claim, an interested party completes the filing 

16 by placing the communication making the claim in 

17 the control of an independent third delivery service 

18 such as a courier company or the United States 

19 mail. In determining whether any legal deadline for 

20 the filing of such a claim has been met a court shall 

21 allow for the equitable tolling of the deadline in ap22 propriate cases. 

23 ‘‘(vii) The seizing agency shall make publicly 

24 available for each nonjudicial forfeiture, with respect 

25 to which a request for mitigation or remission is 


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1 made, a statement of the agency’s disposition of that 

2 request, redacted if necessary, including the reasons 

3 for the decision.’’; 

4 (B) in subparagraph (C)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘60’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘30’’; and 

7 (ii) by striking ‘‘which period may’’ 

8 and all that follows through ‘‘as nec9 essary,’’; 

10 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(G) Any notice described in subparagraph (A) 

12 that is provided to a party shall include notice of— 

13 ‘‘(i) the right of the party to request an 

14 initial hearing in accordance with paragraph 

15 (5); 

16 ‘‘(ii) the right of the party to be rep17 resented by counsel at the initial hearing de18 scribed in clause (i) and any civil forfeiture pro19 ceeding under a civil forfeiture statute; 

20 ‘‘(iii) the right of the party to request that 

21 the party be represented by counsel at the ini22 tial hearing described in clause (i) and any civil 

23 forfeiture proceeding under a civil forfeiture 

24 statute if the party meets the requirements de25 scribed in subsection (b).’’; and 


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1 (D) by striking ‘‘nonjudicial’’ each place it 

2 appears; 

3 (3) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘non4 judicial’’; 

5 (4) in paragraph (2)(B)— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘35 days’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘65 days’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘30 days’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘60 days’’; 

10 (5) so that subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) 

11 reads as follows: 

12 ‘‘(A) Not later than 90 days after a claim has 

13 been filed, the Government shall file a complaint for 

14 forfeiture in the manner set forth in the Supple15 mental Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime 

16 Claims or return the property pending the filing of 

17 a complaint, except that a court in the district in 

18 which the complaint has been filed may extend the 

19 period for filing a complaint upon agreement of the 

20 parties.’’; and 

21 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(5)(A) A party claiming property seized in a civil 

23 forfeiture proceeding under a civil forfeiture statute may 

24 request, not later than 30 days after the date on which 

25 a notice described in paragraph (1)(A) is received or if 


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1 notice is not received, not later than 30 days after the 

2 date of final publication of notice of seizure, an initial 

3 hearing to take place before a magistrate judge in the ap4 propriate United States district court not later than the 

5 date on which a civil forfeiture proceeding under a civil 

6 forfeiture statute relating to the seized property com7 mences. 

8 ‘‘(B) If a party makes a request under subparagraph 

9 (A), a magistrate judge shall conduct an initial hearing 

10 not later than 10 days after the date on which the request 

11 is made. 

12 ‘‘(C) At the initial hearing— 

13 ‘‘(i) the magistrate judge shall— 

14 ‘‘(I) inform the party in easily understood 

15 terms of— 

16 ‘‘(aa) the right of the party to be rep17 resented by counsel at the initial hearing 

18 and any civil forfeiture proceeding under a 

19 civil forfeiture statute; 

20 ‘‘(bb) the right of the party to request 

21 that the party be represented by counsel at 

22 the initial hearing and any civil forfeiture 

23 proceeding under a civil forfeiture statute 

24 if the magistrate judge finds that the party 


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1 meets the requirements described in sub2 section (b); 

3 ‘‘(cc) sufficiently detailed facts re4 garding the seizure of the property if the 

5 property was seized pursuant to a warrant 

6 described in the matter preceding subpara7 graph (A) of section 981(b)(2); and 

8 ‘‘(dd) the right of the party to chal9 lenge the lawfulness of the seizure of the 

10 property, including on the grounds that at 

11 the time the property was seized— 

12 ‘‘(AA) if the property was seized 

13 pursuant to a warrant described in 

14 the matter preceding subparagraph 

15 (A) of section 981(b)(2), the warrant 

16 was not supported by probable cause; 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(BB) if the property was seized 

19 without a warrant described in 

20 subitem (AA), none of the exceptions 

21 described in subparagraphs (A) and 

22 (B) of section 981(b)(2) apply to the 

23 seizure of the property; and 

24 ‘‘(II) if the party meets the requirements 

25 described in subsection (b), authorize counsel to 


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1 represent the party or insure that the party is 

2 represented by an attorney for the Legal Serv3 ices Corporation, as applicable, in accordance 

4 with that subsection; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the burden of proof is on the Government 

6 to establish that at the time the property was 

7 seized— 

8 ‘‘(I) if the property was seized pursuant to 

9 a warrant described in the matter preceding 

10 subparagraph (A) of section 981(b)(2), the war11 rant was supported by probable cause; or 

12 ‘‘(II) if the property was seized without a 

13 warrant described in subclause (I)— 

14 ‘‘(aa) sufficiently detailed facts re15 garding the seizure of the property; and 

16 ‘‘(bb) an exception described in sub17 paragraphs (A) and (B) of section 

18 981(b)(2) applies to the seizure of the 

19 property. 

20 ‘‘(D) The magistrate judge shall enter an order for 

21 the immediate release of the seized property with prejudice 

22 to the right of the Government to commence a forfeiture 

23 proceeding at a later time if the magistrate judge finds 

24 that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the requirements described in subpara2 graphs (A) through (E) of subsection (f)(1) are met; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the Government did not meet the burden 

5 of proof described in subparagraph (C)(ii).’’. 

6 SEC. 3. REPRESENTATION. 

7 Section 983(b) of title 18, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘judicial’’; 

10 and 

11 (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘judicial 

12 civil forfeiture proceeding under a civil forfeiture 

13 statute is financially unable to obtain representation 

14 by counsel, and the property subject to forfeiture is 

15 real property that is being used by the person as a 

16 primary residence’’ and inserting ‘‘civil forfeiture 

17 proceeding under a civil forfeiture statute is finan18 cially unable to obtain representation by counsel’’. 

19 SEC. 4. BURDEN OF PROOF. 

20 Section 983(c) of title 18, United States Code, is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a preponder23 ance of the evidence’’ and inserting ‘‘clear and con24 vincing evidence’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘a preponder2 ance of the evidence’’ and inserting ‘‘clear and con3 vincing evidence’’. 

4 SEC. 5. RIGHT TO REQUEST HEARING ON PRETRIAL RE5 STRAINT OF PROPERTY TO RETAIN COUNSEL 

6 OF CHOICE. 

7 (a) TITLE 18.—Section 1963(d) of title 18, United 

8 States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(1)(A) Upon application of the United States, the 

12 court may enter a restraining order or injunction, require 

13 the execution of a satisfactory performance bond, or take 

14 any other action to preserve the availability of property 

15 described in subsection (a) for forfeiture under this sec16 tion— 

17 ‘‘(i) upon the filing of an indictment or infor18 mation charging a violation of section 1962 and al19 leging that the property with respect to which the 

20 order is sought would, in the event of conviction, be 

21 subject to forfeiture under this section; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) prior to the filing of such an indictment or 

23 information, if, after notice to persons appearing to 

24 have an interest in the property and opportunity for 

25 a hearing, the court determines that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) there is a substantial probability that 

2 the United States will prevail on the issue of 

3 forfeiture and that failure to enter the order 

4 will result in the property being destroyed, re5 moved from the jurisdiction of the court, or 

6 otherwise made unavailable for forfeiture; and 

7 ‘‘(II) the need to preserve the availability 

8 of the property through the entry of the re9 quested order outweighs the hardship on any 

10 party against whom the order is to be entered. 

11 ‘‘(B)(i) Upon motion of a defendant charged with a 

12 violation of section 1962 for which criminal forfeiture is 

13 ordered under this section and against whom the order 

14 is entered, supported by an affidavit, the court shall hold 

15 a hearing to determine whether to modify or rescind, in 

16 whole or in part, an order entered under subparagraph 

17 (A) to allow the defendant to use the property subject to 

18 the order to retain counsel of choice. 

19 ‘‘(ii) At the hearing, the court shall consider— 

20 ‘‘(I) the weight of the evidence against the de21 fendant with respect to the violation of section 1962 

22 for which criminal forfeiture is ordered under this 

23 section; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the weight of the evidence with respect to 

2 whether the property will be subject to forfeiture 

3 under this section; 

4 ‘‘(III) the history and characteristics of the de5 fendant; and 

6 ‘‘(IV) the nature and circumstances of the case. 

7 ‘‘(C) An order entered pursuant to subparagraph 

8 (A)(ii) shall be effective for not more than 90 days, un9 less— 

10 ‘‘(i) extended by the court for good cause 

11 shown; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) an indictment or information described in 

13 subparagraph (A)(i) has been filed.’’; and 

14 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘that the de15 fendant committed a violation of section 1962 for 

16 which criminal forfeiture may be ordered under this 

17 section and probable cause to believe’’ after ‘‘be18 lieve’’. 

19 (b) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.—Section 413(e) 

20 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853(e)) is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(1)(A) Upon application of the United States, the 

25 court may enter a restraining order or injunction, require 


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1 the execution of a satisfactory performance bond, or take 

2 any other action to preserve the availability of property 

3 described in subsection (a) for forfeiture under this sec4 tion— 

5 ‘‘(i) upon the filing of an indictment or infor6 mation charging a violation of this title or title III 

7 for which criminal forfeiture may be ordered under 

8 this section and alleging that the property with re9 spect to which the order is sought would, in the 

10 event of conviction, be subject to forfeiture under 

11 this section; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) prior to the filing of such an indictment or 

13 information, if, after notice to persons appearing to 

14 have an interest in the property and opportunity for 

15 a hearing, the court determines that— 

16 ‘‘(I) there is a substantial probability that 

17 the United States will prevail on the issue of 

18 forfeiture and that failure to enter the order 

19 will result in the property being destroyed, re20 moved from the jurisdiction of the court, or 

21 otherwise made unavailable for forfeiture; and 

22 ‘‘(II) the need to preserve the availability 

23 of the property through the entry of the re24 quested order outweighs the hardship on any 

25 party against whom the order is to be entered. 


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1 ‘‘(B)(i) Upon motion of a defendant charged with a 

2 violation of section 1962 for which criminal forfeiture is 

3 ordered under this section and against whom the order 

4 is entered, supported by an affidavit sufficient to dem5 onstrate a genuine need for the defendant to use the prop6 erty subject to an order entered under subparagraph (A) 

7 to retain counsel of choice, the court shall hold a hearing 

8 to determine whether to modify or rescind, in whole or 

9 in part, the order to allow the defendant to use the prop10 erty to retain counsel of choice. 

11 ‘‘(ii) At the hearing, the court shall consider— 

12 ‘‘(I) the weight of the evidence against the de13 fendant with respect to the violation of this title or 

14 title III for which criminal forfeiture is be ordered 

15 under this section; 

16 ‘‘(II) the weight of the evidence with respect to 

17 whether the property will be subject to forfeiture 

18 under this section; 

19 ‘‘(III) the history and characteristics of the de20 fendant; and 

21 ‘‘(IV) the nature and circumstances of the case. 

22 ‘‘(C) An order entered pursuant to subparagraph 

23 (A)(ii) shall be effective for not more than 90 days, un24 less— 


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1 ‘‘(i) extended by the court for good cause 

2 shown; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) an indictment or information described in 

4 subparagraph (A)(i) has been filed.’’; and 

5 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘that the de6 fendant committed a violation of this title or title III 

7 for which criminal forfeiture may be ordered under 

8 this section and probable cause to believe’’ after ‘‘be9 lieve’’. 

10 SEC. 6. RECOVERY OF ATTORNEYS FEES. 

11 Section 2465(b) of title 28, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘substan14 tially’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(3) If the claim is resolved by a settlement in which 

17 the claimant prevails, the claimant is entitled to attorneys 

18 fees under this subsection to the same extent that the 

19 claimant would be if a judgment were issued in the pro20 ceeding for the property recovered under the settlement. 

21 The payment of attorneys fees under this subsection may 

22 not be waived as a part of any settlement with the claim23 ant. That payment is not subject to any offset or deduc24 tion by the United States in connection with any claim 

25 the United States may have against the claimant. 


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1 ‘‘(4) For the purposes of this subsection, a claimant 

2 prevails if the claimant recovers more than 50 percent, 

3 by value, of the money or other property that is claimed.’’. 

4 SEC. 7. ANNUAL AUDIT OF CIVIL FORFEITURES. 

5 The Inspector General shall annually conduct an 

6 audit of a representative sample of Federal civil forfeitures 

7 under statutes described in section 983(i) of title 18, 

8 United States Code, to ensure those forfeitures are con9 stitutionally sound and consistent with the letter and spirit 

10 of the law. The Inspector General shall report the results 

11 of the audit to the Attorney General and to Congress. 

12 Such report shall also include the fiscal status of the Asset 

13 Forfeiture Fund, including any projected growth or 

14 shrinking of the Fund in future years, and the viability 

15 of the fund. 

16 SEC. 8. PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABASES. 

17 (a) QUARTERLY UPDATED DATABASE ON DETAILS

18 OF FORFEITURES.—The Attorney General shall establish 

19 and maintain, with updates on a quarterly basis, a publicly 

20 available database that describes with respect to seizures 

21 for all Federal civil forfeiture containing the following: 

22 (1) For each such seizure: 

23 (A) Unit of an agency responsible for the 

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1 imum the State, city, and judicial district where 

2 and date when the seizure took place. 

3 (B) The type of initial seizure (such as 

4 during a stop based on probable cause, or pur5 suant to a Federal warrant). 

6 (C) The nature and value of the seized 

7 property. 

8 (D) In what manner forfeiture of seized 

9 property was conducted (whether by a civil or 

10 administrative proceeding, through settlement, 

11 or otherwise). 

12 (E) Whether a forfeiture of the seized 

13 property was of the entire property, or only a 

14 part, and if partial, the proportion of the whole 

15 that was forfeited. 

16 (F) The disposition of the seized property, 

17 the date of forfeiture, if any, and the date the 

18 disposition took place. 

19 (G) What type of criminal activity any for20 feited property relates to. 

21 (H) Whether any forfeited money was re22 turned to the victim of a crime in connection 

23 with which the forfeiture occurred, and the 

24 amount returned. 


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1 (I) The status of any concurrent or related 

2 criminal proceeding against the owner of the 

3 property, any pending case under title 11 in 

4 which the owner of record of the property is the 

5 debtor, and any pending civil case in which a 

6 receiver has been ordered to take control of the 

7 property. 

8 (J) Whether the forfeiture was contested. 

9 (K) Whether the innocent owner made a 

10 claim on the property. 

11 (L) The total expenses associated with the 

12 forfeiture. 

13 (M) The total net proceeds of the for14 feiture. 

15 (2) A statistical breakdown for each agency of 

16 the cases of remission and mitigation, including— 

17 (A) the numbers of requests for remission 

18 and mitigation that were— 

19 (i) fully granted; 

20 (ii) partially granted; or 

21 (iii) returned; and 

22 (B) with respect to requests that were par23 tially granted— 


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1 (i) the average percentage of the value 

2 of seized property that was returned to the 

3 owner; and 

4 (ii) what percentage of requests re5 sulted in returned property in each of the 

6 following categories: 

7 (I) More than zero but less than 

8 25 percent of the property was re9 turned. 

10 (II) 25 percent or more of the 

11 property was returned, but less than 

12 50 percent. 

13 (III) 50 percent or more of the 

14 property was returned, but less than 

15 75 percent. 

16 (IV) 75 percent or more of the 

17 property was returned, but less than 

18 100 percent. 

19 (3) Any money given from the Asset Forfeiture 

20 Fund or Treasury Forfeiture Fund to State or local 

21 law enforcement for Joint Law Enforcement Oper22 ations (commonly referred to as ‘‘JLEO’’) funding, 

23 or for any other purpose, and the name of the State 

24 or local entity receiving that funding. 


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1 (b) REAL-TIME DATABASE TO ASSIST PERSONS

2 WHOSE PROPERTY IS SEIZED.— 

3 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Attorney General 

4 shall establish and maintain, with updates on a real5 time basis, a database, organized by State and coun6 ty, with respect to each Federal seizure of real and 

7 personal property for Federal civil forfeiture under 

8 statutes described in section 983(i) of title 18, 

9 United States Code. 

10 (2) DESIGN.—The Attorney General shall de11 sign the database to allow any interested party, in12 cluding any owner, creditor, or lienholder, to deter13 mine whether that party has an interest in any such 

14 property and to inform that party, and the general 

15 public, on the specifics of how to contest each sei16 zure before the forfeiture. 

17 (c) HEADS OF AGENCIES TO SUBMIT INFORMATION

18 FOR DATABASES.—Not less frequently than quarterly, on 

19 a schedule determined by the Attorney General, the head 

20 of each Federal agency shall submit to the Attorney Gen21 eral a report that provides, in such form as the Attorney 

22 General may prescribe, the information the Attorney Gen23 eral is required to include in the databases established 

24 under this section. 


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1 SEC. 9. STANDARD OF PROOF RELATING TO POSSIBLY IN2 NOCENT OWNERS. 

3 (a) BURDEN OF PROOF.—Paragraph (3) of section 

4 983(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read 

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘(3) if the Government’s theory of forfeiture is 

7 that the property was used to commit or facilitate 

8 the commission of a criminal offense, or was in9 volved in the commission of a criminal offense, the 

10 Government shall establish by clear and convincing 

11 evidence that— 

12 ‘‘(A) there was a substantial connection 

13 between the property and the offense; and 

14 ‘‘(B) the owner of any interest in the 

15 seized property— 

16 ‘‘(i) intentionally used the property in 

17 connection with the offense; 

18 ‘‘(ii) knowingly consented to the use 

19 of the property by another in connection 

20 with the offense; or 

21 ‘‘(iii) should have reasonably known 

22 that the property was being used in con23 nection with the offense.’’. 

24 (b) INNOCENT OWNER DEFENSE.—Paragraph (1) of 

25 section 983(d) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

26 to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) An innocent owner’s interest in property 

2 shall not be forfeited under any civil forfeiture stat3 ute. The Government shall have the burden of prov4 ing that the claimant is not an innocent owner by 

5 clear and convincing evidence.’’. 

6 SEC. 10. PROPORTIONALITY. 

7 Section 983(g) of title 18, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or otherwise 

10 disproportional to the gravity of the offense’’ before 

11 the period at the end; and 

12 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(2) In making this determination, the court 

15 shall consider, in addition to the analysis as to 

16 whether the forfeiture is constitutionally excessive, 

17 the value of the property, the seriousness of the of18 fense, the level of the claimant’s culpability in the 

19 offense giving rise to forfeiture, the claimant’s prior 

20 record, the claimant’s financial condition, and 

21 whether the forfeiture statute is intended to address 

22 the type of conduct alleged as the basis for for23 feiture.’’. 


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1 SEC. 11. SEARCH AND FORFEITURE OF MONETARY INSTRU2 MENTS. 

3 Section 5317(c) of title 31, United States Code, is 

4 amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(2) CIVIL FORFEITURE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any property involved 

8 in a violation of section 5313 or 5316, or any 

9 conspiracy to commit any such violation, and 

10 any property traceable to any such violation or 

11 conspiracy, may be seized and forfeited to the 

12 United States in accordance with the proce13 dures governing civil forfeitures in money laun14 dering cases pursuant to section 981(a)(1)(A) 

15 of title 18. 

16 ‘‘(B) STRUCTURING.—Any property in17 volved in a violation of section 5324, or any 

18 conspiracy to commit any such violation, and 

19 any property traceable to any such violation or 

20 conspiracy, may be seized and forfeited to the 

21 United States in accordance with the proce22 dures governing civil forfeitures in money laun23 dering cases pursuant to section 981(a)(1)(A) 

24 of title 18 only if the property to be seized and 

25 forfeited is derived from an illegal source or if 


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1 the structuring offense was used to conceal vio2 lations of other criminal laws.’’. 

3 SEC. 12. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY. 

4 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

5 take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and 

6 apply only with respect to seizures made on or after that 

7 date. Seizures made before that date shall continue to be 

8 governed by the law as it existed without regard to this 

9 Act or the amendments made by this Act. 

Æ 


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