I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 389 

To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to pay rewards under an asset 

recovery rewards program to help identify and recover stolen assets 

linked to foreign government corruption and the proceeds of such corruption hidden behind complex financial structures in the United States 

and abroad. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2019 

Mr. LYNCH (for himself, Mr. COHEN, and Mr. BUDD) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to pay rewards 

under an asset recovery rewards program to help identify 

and recover stolen assets linked to foreign government 

corruption and the proceeds of such corruption hidden 

behind complex financial structures in the United States 

and abroad. 

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 (a) The Act may be cited as the ‘‘Kleptocracy Asset 

5 Recovery Rewards Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative 

4 (StAR), a World Bank and United Nations anti5 money-laundering effort, estimates that between $20 

6 billion to $40 billion has been lost to developing 

7 countries annually through corruption. 

8 (2) In 2014, more than $480 million in corrup9 tion proceeds hidden in bank accounts around the 

10 world by former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and 

11 his co-conspirators was forfeited through efforts by 

12 the Department of Justice. 

13 (3) In 2010, the Department of Justice estab14 lished the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, to 

15 work in partnership with Federal law enforcement 

16 agencies to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official 

17 corruption and, where appropriate, return those pro18 ceeds to benefit the people harmed by these acts of 

19 corruption and abuse of office. 

20 (4) Of the $20 billion to $40 billion lost by de21 veloping countries annually through corruption, only 

22 about $5 billion has been repatriated in the last 15 

23 years. 

24 (5) Governments weakened by corruption and 

25 loss of assets due to corruption have fewer resources 

26 to devote to the fight against terrorism and fewer reVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:06 Jan 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H389.IH H389

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1 sources to devote to building strong financial, law 

2 enforcement, and judicial institutions to aid in the 

3 fight against the financing of terrorism. 

4 (6) The United States has a number of effective 

5 programs to reward individuals who provide valuable 

6 information that assist in the identification, arrest, 

7 and conviction of criminal actors and their associ8 ates, as well as seizure and forfeiture of illicitly de9 rived assets and the proceeds of criminal activity. 

10 (7) The Internal Revenue Service has the Whis11 tleblower Program, which pays awards to individuals 

12 who provide specific and credible information to the 

13 IRS if the information results in the collection of 

14 taxes, penalties, interest or other amounts from non15 compliant taxpayers. 

16 (8) The Department of State administers re17 wards programs on international terrorism, illegal 

18 narcotics, and transnational organized crime with 

19 the goal of bringing perpetrators to justice. 

20 (9) None of these existing rewards programs 

21 specifically provide monetary incentives for identi22 fying and recovering stolen assets linked solely to 

23 foreign government corruption, as opposed to crimi24 nal prosecutions or civil or criminal forfeitures. 


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1 (10) The recovery of stolen assets linked to for2 eign government corruption and the proceeds of such 

3 corruption may not always involve a BSA violation 

4 or lead to a forfeiture action. In such cases there 

5 would be no ability to pay rewards under existing 

6 Treasury Department authorities. 

7 (11) Foreign government corruption can take 

8 many forms but typically entails government officials 

9 stealing, misappropriating, or illegally diverting as10 sets and funds from their own government treasuries 

11 to enrich their personal wealth directly through em12 bezzlement or bribes to allow government resources 

13 to be expended in ways that are not transparent and 

14 may not either be necessary or be the result of open 

15 competition. Corruption also includes situations 

16 where public officials take bribes to allow govern17 ment resources to be expended in ways which are 

18 not transparent and may not be necessary or the re19 sult of open competition. These corrupt officials 

20 often use the United States and international finan21 cial system to hide their stolen assets and the pro22 ceeds of corruption. 

23 (12) The individuals who come forward to ex24 pose foreign governmental corruption and kleptocra25 cy often do so at great risk to their own safety and 


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1 that of their immediate family members and face re2 taliation from persons who exercise foreign political 

3 or governmental power. Monetary rewards and the 

4 potential award of asylum can provide a necessary 

5 incentive to expose such corruption and provide a fi6 nancial means to provide for their well-being and 

7 avoid retribution. 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that a Department of the Treasury stolen asset re10 covery rewards program to help identify and recover stolen 

11 assets linked to foreign government corruption and the 

12 proceeds of such corruption hidden behind complex finan13 cial structures is needed in order to— 

14 (1) intensify the global fight against corruption; 

15 and 

16 (2) serve United States efforts to identify and 

17 recover such stolen assets, forfeit proceeds of such 

18 corruption, and, where appropriate and feasible, re19 turn the stolen assets or proceeds thereof to the 

20 country harmed by the acts of corruption. 

21 SEC. 3. IN GENERAL. 

22 (a) DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY KLEPTOCRACY

23 ASSET RECOVERY REWARDS PROGRAM.—Chapter 97 of 

24 title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

25 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 9706. Department of the Treasury Kleptocracy 

2 Asset Recovery Rewards Program 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

5 Department of the Treasury a program to be known 

6 as the ‘Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Pro7 gram’ for the payment of rewards to carry out the 

8 purposes of this section. 

9 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The rewards program shall be 

10 designed to support U.S. Government programs and 

11 investigations aimed at restraining, seizing, for12 feiting, or repatriating stolen assets linked to foreign 

13 government corruption and the proceeds of such cor14 ruption. 

15 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION.—The rewards program 

16 shall be administered by, and at the sole discretion 

17 of, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation, as 

18 appropriate, with the Secretary of State, the Attor19 ney General, and the heads of such other depart20 ments and agencies as the Secretary may find ap21 propriate. 

22 ‘‘(b) REWARDS AUTHORIZED.—In the sole discretion 

23 of the Secretary and in consultation, as appropriate, with 

24 the heads of other relevant Federal departments or agen25 cies, the Secretary may pay a reward to any individual, 

26 or to any nonprofit organization designated by such indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:06 Jan 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H389.IH H389

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1 vidual, if that individual furnishes information leading 

2 to— 

3 ‘‘(1) the restraining or seizure of stolen assets 

4 in an account at a U.S. financial institution (includ5 ing a U.S. branch of a foreign financial institution), 

6 that come within the United States, or that come 

7 within the possession or control of any United States 

8 person; 

9 ‘‘(2) the forfeiture of stolen assets in an ac10 count at a U.S. financial institution (including a 

11 U.S. branch of a foreign financial institution), that 

12 come within the United States, or that come within 

13 the possession or control of any United States per14 son; or 

15 ‘‘(3) where appropriate, the repatriation of sto16 len assets in an account at a U.S. financial institu17 tion (including a U.S. branch of a foreign financial 

18 institution), that come within the United States, or 

19 that come within the possession or control of any 

20 United States person. 

21 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) PROCEDURES.—To ensure that the pay23 ment of rewards pursuant to this section does not 

24 duplicate or interfere with any other payment au25 thorized by the Department of Justice or other FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:06 Jan 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H389.IH H389

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1 eral law enforcement agencies for the obtaining of 

2 information or other evidence, the Secretary of the 

3 Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of 

4 State, the Attorney General, and the heads of such 

5 other agencies as the Secretary may find appro6 priate, shall establish procedures for the offering, 

7 administration, and payment of rewards under this 

8 section, including procedures for— 

9 ‘‘(A) identifying actions with respect to 

10 which rewards will be offered; 

11 ‘‘(B) the receipt and analysis of data; and 

12 ‘‘(C) the payment of rewards and approval 

13 of such payments. 

14 ‘‘(2) PRIOR APPROVAL OF THE ATTORNEY GEN15 ERAL REQUIRED.—Before making a reward under 

16 this section in a matter over which there is Federal 

17 criminal jurisdiction, the Secretary of the Treasury 

18 shall obtain the written concurrence of the Attorney 

19 General. 

20 ‘‘(d) PAYMENT OF REWARDS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

22 For the purpose of paying rewards pursuant to this 

23 section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

24 $450,000 for fiscal year 2020. 


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1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON ANNUAL PAYMENTS.—Ex2 cept as provided under paragraph (3), the total 

3 amount of rewards paid pursuant to this section 

4 may not exceed $25,000,000 in any calendar year. 

5 ‘‘(3) PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY.—The Presi6 dent may waive the limitation under paragraph (2) 

7 with respect to a calendar year if the President pro8 vides written notice of such waiver to the Secretary 

9 and the appropriate committees of the Congress at 

10 least 30 days before any payment in excess of such 

11 limitation is made pursuant to this section. 

12 ‘‘(4) PAYMENT FROM STOLEN ASSET

13 AMOUNTS.—In paying any reward under this section 

14 with respect to information furnished by an indi15 vidual, the Secretary shall, to the extent possible, 

16 make such payments using the stolen assets recov17 ered based on such information before using appro18 priated funds authorized under paragraph (1). 

19 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS AND CERTIFICATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—No award 

21 may be made under this section based on informa22 tion submitted to the Secretary unless such informa23 tion is submitted under penalty of perjury. 

24 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—No reward paid 

25 under this section may exceed $5,000,000, except as 


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1 personally authorized in writing by the Secretary, if 

2 the Secretary determines that offer or payment of a 

3 reward of a greater amount is necessary in excep4 tional cases. 

5 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No reward amount 

7 may be paid under this section without the 

8 written approval and certification of the Sec9 retary. 

10 ‘‘(B) DELEGATION.—The Secretary may 

11 not delegate the certification required under 

12 subparagraph (A) to anyone other than an 

13 Under Secretary of the Department of the 

14 Treasury. 

15 ‘‘(4) PROTECTION MEASURES.—If the Secretary 

16 determines that the identity of the recipient of a re17 ward or of the members of the recipient’s immediate 

18 family must be protected, the Secretary shall take 

19 such measures in connection with the payment of 

20 the reward as the Secretary considers necessary to 

21 effect such protection. 

22 ‘‘(5) FORMS OF REWARD PAYMENT.—The Sec23 retary may make a reward under this section in the 

24 form of a monetary payment. 


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1 ‘‘(f) INELIGIBILITY, REDUCTION IN, OR DENIAL OF

2 REWARD.— 

3 ‘‘(1) OFFICER AND EMPLOYEES.—An officer or 

4 employee of any entity of Federal, State, or local 

5 government or of a foreign government who, while in 

6 the performance of official duties, furnishes informa7 tion described under subsection (b) shall not be eligi8 ble for a reward under this section. 

9 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPATING INDIVIDUALS.—If the 

10 claim for a reward is brought by an individual who 

11 planned, initiated, directly participated in, or facili12 tated the actions that led to assets of a foreign state 

13 or governmental entity being stolen, misappro14 priated, or illegally diverted or to the payment of 

15 bribes or other foreign governmental corruption, the 

16 Secretary may appropriately reduce such award. If 

17 such individual is convicted of criminal conduct aris18 ing from the role described in the preceding sen19 tence, the Secretary shall deny any reward. 

20 ‘‘(g) DETERMINATIONS OF SECRETARY.—A deter21 mination made by the Secretary under this section shall 

22 be final and conclusive and shall not be subject to judicial 

23 review. 

24 ‘‘(h) REPORT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days of the en2 actment of this section, and annually thereafter, the 

3 Secretary shall issue a report to the appropriate 

4 committees of the Congress— 

5 ‘‘(A) detailing to the greatest extent pos6 sible the amount, location, and ownership or 

7 beneficial ownership of any stolen assets that, 

8 on or after the date of the enactment of this 

9 section, come within the United States or that 

10 come within the possession or control of any 

11 United States person, including any foreign 

12 branch; 

13 ‘‘(B) discussing efforts being undertaken 

14 to identify more such stolen assets and their 

15 owners or beneficial owners; and 

16 ‘‘(C) including a discussion of the inter17 actions of the Department of the Treasury with 

18 the international financial institutions (as de19 fined in section 1701(c)(2) of the International 

20 Financial Institutions Act) to identify the 

21 amount, location, and ownership, or beneficial 

22 ownership, of stolen assets held in financial in23 stitutions outside the United States. 

24 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR ONGOING INVESTIGA25 TIONS.—The report issued under paragraph (1) 


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1 shall not include information related to ongoing in2 vestigations. 

3 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF THE CON5 GRESS.—The term ‘appropriate committees of the 

6 Congress’ means the Committees on Financial Serv7 ices, Foreign Affairs, and the Judiciary of the House 

8 of Representatives and the Committees on Banking, 

9 Housing, and Urban Affairs, Foreign Relations, and 

10 the Judiciary of the Senate. 

11 ‘‘(2) FINANCIAL ASSET.—The term ‘financial 

12 asset’ means any funds, investments, or ownership 

13 interests, as defined by the Secretary, that on or 

14 after the date of the enactment of this section come 

15 within the United States or that come within the 

16 possession or control of any United States person, 

17 including through a U.S. branch of a foreign finan18 cial institution. 

19 ‘‘(3) FOREIGN GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION.— 

20 The term ‘foreign government corruption’ includes 

21 bribery of a foreign public official, or the misappro22 priation, theft, or embezzlement of public funds or 

23 property by or for the benefit of a foreign public of24 ficial. 


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1 ‘‘(4) FOREIGN PUBLIC OFFICIAL.—The term 

2 ‘foreign public official’ includes any person who oc3 cupies a public office by virtue of having been elect4 ed, appointed, or employed, including any military, 

5 civilian, special, honorary, temporary, or uncompen6 sated official. 

7 ‘‘(5) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER.—The term 

8 ‘immediate family member’, with respect to an indi9 vidual, has the meaning given the term ‘member of 

10 the immediate family’ under section 36(k) of the 

11 State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 

12 U.S.C. 2708(k)). 

13 ‘‘(6) REWARDS PROGRAM.—The term ‘rewards 

14 program’ means the program established in sub15 section (a)(1) of this section. 

16 ‘‘(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

17 the Secretary of the Treasury. 

18 ‘‘(8) STOLEN ASSETS.—The term ‘stolen assets’ 

19 means financial assets within the jurisdiction of the 

20 United States, constituting, derived from, or trace21 able to, any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly 

22 from foreign government corruption.’’. 

23 (b) REPORT ON DISPOSITION OF RECOVERED AS24 SETS.—Within 180 days of the enactment of this Act, the 

25 Secretary of the Treasury shall issue a report to the apVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:06 Jan 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H389.IH H389

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1 propriate committees of Congress (as defined under sec2 tion 9706(i) of title 31, United States Code) describing 

3 policy choices for disposition of stolen assets recovered 

4 pursuant to section 9706 of title 31, United States Code. 

5 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 

6 of contents for chapter 97 of title 31, United States Code, 

7 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘9706. Department of the Treasury Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Program.’’. 

Æ 


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