I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7321 

To impose sanctions with respect to Iranian financial institutions and the 

development and use of Iranian digital currency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 17, 2018 

Mr. GALLAGHER (for himself, Ms. STEFANIK, Mrs. WALORSKI, Mr. LAMBORN, 

Mr. KING of New York, Mr. BACON, and Mr. BANKS of Indiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, the Judiciary, Ways and Means, and Oversight and Government Reform, 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 impose sanctions with respect to Iranian financial institutions and the development and use of Iranian digital 

currency, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Blocking Iran Illicit Finance Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—STRENGTHENING EXISTING SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT 

TO IRAN TO ACCOUNT FOR ALL SANCTIONABLE ACTIVITY, INCLUDING HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES 

Sec. 101. Findings. 

Sec. 102. Expansion of prohibitions on correspondent accounts or payablethrough accounts for foreign financial institutions that facilitate transactions or provide financial services for certain Iranian financial institutions. 

Sec. 103. Expansion of sanctions with respect to persons knowingly and directly 

providing specialized financial messaging services to, or enabling or facilitating direct or indirect access to such messaging 

services for, the Central Bank of Iran, other designated Iranian banks, or Iranian financial institutions removed from the 

list of specially designated persons pursuant to the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 

TITLE II—NEW SANCTIONS AUTHORITIES WITH RESPECT TO 

IRANIAN BANKS 

Sec. 201. Findings. 

Sec. 202. Issuance of final rule regarding application of special measures with 

respect to Iran in connection with designation as jurisdiction 

of primary money laundering concern. 

Sec. 203. Imposition of sanctions with respect to financial sector of Iran. 

Sec. 204. Authorization of imposition of terrorism-related sanctions with respect to Iranian financial institutions. 

TITLE III—SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE DEVELOPMENT 

AND USE OF IRANIAN DIGITAL CURRENCY 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Findings. 

Sec. 303. Prohibition on transactions related to, provision of financing for, and 

other dealings in Iranian digital currency. 

Sec. 304. Sanctions with respect to foreign persons that engage in significant 

transactions for the sale, supply, or transfer to Iran of significant goods or services used in connection with the development 

of Iranian digital currency. 

Sec. 305. Sanctions with respect to foreign persons that conduct or facilitate 

significant transactions related to the purchase or sale of Iranian digital currency or maintain significant amounts in Iranian digital currency. 

Sec. 306. Report on progress of Government of Iran in creating a sovereign 

cryptocurrency. 


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1 TITLE I—STRENGTHENING EX2 ISTING SANCTIONS WITH RE3 SPECT TO IRAN TO ACCOUNT 

4 FOR ALL SANCTIONABLE AC5 TIVITY, INCLUDING HUMAN 

6 RIGHTS ABUSES 

7 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) On November 5, 2018, the Secretary of the 

10 Treasury for the first time sanctioned Iranian banks 

11 for having materially assisted, sponsored, or pro12 vided financial, material, or technological support 

13 for, or goods or services to or in support of the 

14 human rights abuses of the Government of Iran, in15 cluding— 

16 (A) Ghavamin Bank, for providing services 

17 to the Law Enforcement Forces of Iran, which 

18 had been designated for complicity ‘‘in serious 

19 human rights abuses in Iran, including oper20 ating detention centers where detained 

21 protestors were deprived of basic needs such as 

22 medical care’’; and 

23 (B) Ayandeh Bank, for providing services 

24 to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, 

25 Iran’s state-media apparatus, which had been 


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1 designated for ‘‘restricting or denying the free 

2 flow of information to or from the Iranian peo3 ple . . . [and] was implicated in censoring mul4 tiple media outlets and airing forced confessions 

5 from political detainees’’. 

6 (2) Section 220 of the Iran Threat Reduction 

7 and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 

8 8726) authorizes the imposition of sanctions with re9 spect to persons who knowingly and directly provide 

10 specialized financial messaging services to, or know11 ingly enable or facilitate direct or indirect access to 

12 such messaging services for, the Central Bank of 

13 Iran or certain other sanctioned Iranian financial in14 stitutions. 

15 SEC. 102. EXPANSION OF PROHIBITIONS ON COR16 RESPONDENT ACCOUNTS OR PAYABLE17 THROUGH ACCOUNTS FOR FOREIGN FINAN18 CIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT FACILITATE 

19 TRANSACTIONS OR PROVIDE FINANCIAL 

20 SERVICES FOR CERTAIN IRANIAN FINANCIAL 

21 INSTITUTIONS. 

22 Section 104(c)(2)(E) of the Comprehensive Iran 

23 Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 

24 (22 U.S.C. 8513(c)(2)(E)) is amended— 

25 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 


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1 (2) in clause (ii)(II), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(iii) an Iranian financial institution 

5 included on the list of specially designated 

6 nationals and blocked persons maintained 

7 by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of 

8 the Department of the Treasury.’’. 

9 SEC. 103. EXPANSION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

10 PERSONS KNOWINGLY AND DIRECTLY PRO11 VIDING SPECIALIZED FINANCIAL MESSAGING 

12 SERVICES TO, OR ENABLING OR FACILI13 TATING DIRECT OR INDIRECT ACCESS TO 

14 SUCH MESSAGING SERVICES FOR, THE CEN15 TRAL BANK OF IRAN, OTHER DESIGNATED 

16 IRANIAN BANKS, OR IRANIAN FINANCIAL IN17 STITUTIONS REMOVED FROM THE LIST OF 

18 SPECIALLY DESIGNATED PERSONS PURSU19 ANT TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 

20 JOINT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OF ACTION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 220 of the Iran Threat 

22 Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 

23 U.S.C. 8726) is amended— 

24 (1) in the section header, by striking ‘‘AU25 THORIZATION OF’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (b)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

3 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

4 ‘‘or a financial institution described in sec5 tion 104(c)(2)(E)(ii) of the Comprehensive 

6 Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divest7 ment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 

8 8513(c)(2)(E)(ii))’’ and inserting ‘‘, a fi9 nancial institution described in clause (ii) 

10 or (iii) of section 104(c)(2)(E) of the Com11 prehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, 

12 and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 

13 8513(c)(2)(E)), or a financial institution 

14 that was removed from the list of specially 

15 designated nationals and blocked persons 

16 maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets 

17 Control of the Department of the Treasury 

18 pursuant to the implementation of the 

19 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action’’; and 

20 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

21 ‘‘that section’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara22 graph (A)’’; and 

23 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or a fi24 nancial institution described in section 

25 104(c)(2)(E)(ii) of the Comprehensive Iran 


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1 Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act 

2 of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8513(c)(2)(E)(ii))’’ and in3 serting ‘‘, a financial institution described in 

4 clause (ii) or (iii) of section 104(c)(2)(E) of the 

5 Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, 

6 and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 

7 8513(c)(2)(E)), or a financial institution that 

8 was removed from the list of specially des9 ignated nationals and blocked persons main10 tained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control 

11 of the Department of the Treasury pursuant to 

12 the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive 

13 Plan of Action’’; 

14 (3) in subsection (c)— 

15 (A) in the subsection header, by striking 

16 ‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF IMPOSITION’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘IMPOSITION’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘the date that is 90 

20 days after the date of the enactment of 

21 this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘the date of the 

22 enactment of the Blocking Iran Illicit Fi23 nance Act’’; 

24 (ii) by striking ‘‘or a financial institu25 tion described in paragraph (2)(E)(ii) of 


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1 section 104(c) of the Comprehensive Iran 

2 Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment 

3 Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8513(c))’’ and in4 serting ‘‘, a financial institution described 

5 in clause (ii) or (iii) of paragraph (2)(E) of 

6 section 104(c) of the Comprehensive Iran 

7 Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment 

8 Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8513(c)), or a fi9 nancial institution that was removed from 

10 the list of specially designated nationals 

11 and blocked persons maintained by the Of12 fice of Foreign Assets Control of the De13 partment of the Treasury pursuant to the 

14 implementation of the Joint Comprehen15 sive Plan of Action’’; and 

16 (iii) by striking ‘‘the President may’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘the President shall’’; and 

18 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (i) in the matter preceding subpara20 graph (A), by striking ‘‘section 

21 104(c)(2)(E)(ii) of the Comprehensive Iran 

22 Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment 

23 Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 

24 8513(c)(2)(E)(ii))’’ and inserting ‘‘that 

25 paragraph’’; and 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (A)(ii)(I), by 

2 striking ‘‘section 104(c)(2)(E)(ii) of the 

3 Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Account4 ability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 

5 U.S.C. 8513(c)(2)(E)(ii))’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and 

7 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(e) JOINT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OF ACTION DE9 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘Joint Comprehensive 

10 Plan of Action’ means the Joint Comprehensive Plan of 

11 Action agreed to at Vienna on July 14, 2015, by Iran and 

12 by France, Germany, the Russian Federation, the People’s 

13 Republic of China, the United Kingdom, and the United 

14 States, and all implementing materials and agreements re15 lated to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

17 for the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights 

18 Act of 2012 is amended by striking the item relating to 

19 section 220 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 220. Reports on, and imposition of sanctions with respect to, the provision of specialized financial messaging services to the Central 

Bank of Iran and other sanctioned Iranian financial institutions.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—NEW SANCTIONS AU2 THORITIES WITH RESPECT TO 

3 IRANIAN BANKS 

4 SEC. 201. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) On May 8, 2018, the President issued Na7 tional Security Presidential Memorandum 11 enti8 tled ‘‘Ceasing United States Participation in the 

9 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and Taking Ad10 ditional Action to Counter Iran’s Malign Influence 

11 and Deny Iran All Paths to a Nuclear Weapon’’, 

12 that— 

13 (A) established that ‘‘it is in the national 

14 interest of the United States to re-impose sanc15 tions lifted or waived in connection with the 

16 JCPOA as expeditiously as possible’’; and 

17 (B) instructed the Secretary of State and 

18 the Secretary of the Treasury to ‘‘immediately 

19 begin taking steps to reimpose all United States 

20 sanctions lifted or waived in connection with the 

21 JCPOA, including those under the National De22 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, 

23 the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, the Iran 

24 Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act 


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1 of 2012, and the Iran Freedom and Counter2 proliferation Act of 2012’’. 

3 (2) Section 1245(b) of the National Defense 

4 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 

5 8513a(b)) designated the financial sector of Iran, in6 cluding the Central Bank of Iran, as a jurisdiction 

7 of primary money laundering concern for purposes 

8 of section 5318A of title 31, United States Code, 

9 ‘‘because of the threat to government and financial 

10 institutions resulting from the illicit activities of the 

11 Government of Iran, including its pursuit of nuclear 

12 weapons, support for international terrorism, and ef13 forts to deceive responsible financial institutions and 

14 evade sanctions’’. 

15 (3) Since October 2007, the Financial Action 

16 Task Force, an intergovernmental organization that 

17 sets standards and promotes implementation of 

18 measures to combat money laundering, terrorist fi19 nancing, and related threats to the integrity of the 

20 international financial system, identified Iran as pos21 ing a ‘‘significant vulnerability within the inter22 national financial system’’ due to deficiencies in 

23 Iran’s antimoney laundering efforts and efforts to 

24 combat the financing of terrorism (collectively known 

25 as Iran’s AML/CFT regime). 


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1 (4) On November 25, 2011, the Secretary of 

2 the Treasury issued a finding under section 5318A 

3 of title 31, United States Code, that reasonable 

4 grounds exist for concluding that Iran is a jurisdic5 tion of primary money laundering concern. 

6 (5) Since June 2016, the Financial Action Task 

7 Force has ‘‘welcomed Iran’s high-level political com8 mitment to address its strategic AML/CFT defi9 ciencies, and its decision to seek technical assistance 

10 in the implementation of the Action Plan’’, but— 

11 (A) on September 2, 2017, Iranian De12 fense Minister Amir Hatami stated that Iran 

13 would increase its support for terrorist groups 

14 such as Hezbollah, stating that ‘‘perhaps the 

15 main fear of the arrogant powers about our re16 lationship with the resistance axis is that they 

17 do not want such a pattern to see the light of 

18 day’’; 

19 (B) on October 8, 2018, the Iranian par20 liament approved a bill authorizing Iran to join 

21 the International Convention for the Suppres22 sion of the Financing of Terrorism, but in23 cluded exemptions for continued financing of 

24 terror organizations such as Hamas and 

25 Hezbollah; and 


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1 (C) on October 19, 2018, the Financial 

2 Action Task Force issued a statement noting 

3 that ‘‘Iran’s action plan expired in January 

4 2018 . . . [and] the majority of the Action 

5 Plan remains outstanding . . . Until Iran im6 plements the measures required to address the 

7 deficiencies identified in the Action Plan, the 

8 FATF will remain concerned with the terrorist 

9 financing risk emanating from Iran and the 

10 threat this poses to the international financial 

11 system.’’. 

12 (6) On October 11, 2018, the Financial Crimes 

13 Enforcement Network issued an advisory that 

14 ‘‘Some of the methods used by the Iranian regime 

15 to access the financial system through covert means 

16 and to further its malign activities include misusing 

17 banks and exchange houses, operating procurement 

18 networks that utilize front or shell companies, ex19 ploiting commercial shipping, and masking illicit 

20 transactions using senior officials . . . FinCEN ex21 pects that Iranian financial institutions, the Iranian 

22 regime, and its officials will increase their efforts to 

23 evade U.S. sanctions to fund malign activities and 

24 secure hard currency for the Government of Iran, 


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1 following the re-imposition of sanctions lifted under 

2 the JCPOA.’’. 

3 SEC. 202. ISSUANCE OF FINAL RULE REGARDING APPLICA4 TION OF SPECIAL MEASURES WITH RESPECT 

5 TO IRAN IN CONNECTION WITH DESIGNATION 

6 AS JURISDICTION OF PRIMARY MONEY LAUN7 DERING CONCERN. 

8 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact9 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall issue 

10 a final rule pursuant to section 5318A of title 31, United 

11 States Code, that— 

12 (1) applies the measures described in paragraph 

13 (5) of subsection (b) of that section with respect to 

14 Iran; and 

15 (2) applies such other measures described in 

16 that subsection with respect to Iran as the Secretary 

17 considers appropriate. 

18 SEC. 203. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FI19 NANCIAL SECTOR OF IRAN. 

20 (a) SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO SECTORS OF THE

21 ECONOMY OF IRAN.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1244 of the Iran 

23 Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 

24 U.S.C. 8803) is amended— 


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1 (A) in the section header, by striking 

2 ‘‘AND SHIPBUILDING’’ and inserting ‘‘SHIP3 BUILDING, AND FINANCIAL’’; 

4 (B) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘and 

5 shipbuilding’’ and inserting ‘‘shipbuilding, and 

6 financial’’; 

7 (C) in subsection (b)— 

8 (i) in the subsection header, by strik9 ing ‘‘AND SHIPBUILDING’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘SHIPBUILDING, AND FINANCIAL’’; and 

11 (ii) by striking ‘‘and shipbuilding’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘shipbuilding, and finan13 cial’’; 

14 (D) in subsection (c)— 

15 (i) in the subsection header, by strik16 ing ‘‘AND SHIPBUILDING’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘SHIPBUILDING, AND FINANCIAL’’; 

18 (ii) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (I) in subparagraph (A), by strik20 ing ‘‘or shipbuilding’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘shipbuilding, or financial’’; and 

22 (II) in subparagraph (C)— 

23 (aa) in clause (i), by striking 

24 ‘‘or shipbuilding’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘shipbuilding, or financial’’; and 


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1 (bb) in clause (iii), by strik2 ing ‘‘(other than an Iranian fi3 nancial institution described in 

4 paragraph (3))’’; and 

5 (iii) by striking paragraph (3); and 

6 (E) in subsection (d)— 

7 (i) in the subsection header, by strik8 ing ‘‘AND SHIPBUILDING’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘SHIPBUILDING, AND FINANCIAL’’; and 

10 (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or 

11 shipbuilding’’ and inserting ‘‘shipbuilding, 

12 or financial’’. 

13 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con14 tents for the Iran Freedom and Counter-Prolifera15 tion Act of 2012 is amended by striking the item re16 lating to section 1244 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 1244. Imposition of sanctions with respect to the energy, shipping, shipbuilding, and financial sectors of Iran.’’. 

17 (b) SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO SALE, SUPPLY, 

18 OR TRANSFER OF CERTAIN MATERIALS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1245 of the Iran 

20 Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 

21 U.S.C. 8804) is amended— 

22 (A) in subsection (a)(1)(C)(i)— 


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1 (i) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘or 

2 shipbuilding’’ and inserting ‘‘shipbuilding, 

3 or financial’’; and 

4 (ii) in subclause (II), by striking 

5 ‘‘(other than an Iranian financial institu6 tion described in subsection (b))’’; 

7 (B) by striking subsection (b); and 

8 (C) by redesignating subsections (c) 

9 through (h) as subsections (b) through (g), re10 spectively. 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Such section is further 

13 amended— 

14 (i) in subsection (a)(1)— 

15 (I) in subparagraph (B)— 

16 (aa) by striking ‘‘subsection 

17 (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

18 (c)’’; and 

19 (bb) by striking ‘‘subsection 

20 (e)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

21 (d)(1)’’; and 

22 (II) in subparagraph (C)— 

23 (aa) in the matter preceding 

24 clause (i), by striking ‘‘subsection 


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1 (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

2 (c)’’; and 

3 (bb) in clause (i)— 

4 (AA) in subclause (I), 

5 by striking ‘‘subsection 

6 (e)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub7 section (d)(2)’’; and 

8 (BB) in subclause (III), 

9 by striking ‘‘subsection 

10 (e)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub11 section (d)(3)’’; 

12 (ii) in subsection (d), as redesignated 

13 by paragraph (1)(C)— 

14 (I) in paragraph (1)(A), by strik15 ing ‘‘subsection (d)’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘subsection (c)’’; and 

17 (II) in paragraph (3), by striking 

18 ‘‘subsection (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub19 section (c)’’; and 

20 (iii) in subsection (e), as so redesig21 nated, by striking ‘‘subsection (a) or (c)’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘subsection (a) or (b)’’. 

23 (B) SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO UNDER24 WRITING SERVICES OR INSURANCE OR REINSUR25 ANCE.—Section 1246(a)(1)(B)(ii) of the Iran 


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1 Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 

2 (22 U.S.C. 8805(a)(1)(B)(ii)) is amended by 

3 striking ‘‘section 1245(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec4 tion 1245(c)’’. 

5 (C) APPLICATION OF IRAN SANCTIONS ACT

6 OF 1996.—Section 1253(c) of the Iran Freedom 

7 and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 

8 U.S.C. 8809(c)) is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘1245(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘1245(f)’’. 

10 (c) SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO UNDERWRITING

11 SERVICES OR INSURANCE OR REINSURANCE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1246 of the Iran 

13 Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 

14 U.S.C. 8805) is amended— 

15 (A) in subsection (a)(1)— 

16 (i) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking 

17 ‘‘or shipbuilding’’ and inserting ‘‘ship18 building, or financial’’; and 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

20 ‘‘(other than an Iranian financial institu21 tion described in subsection (b))’’; 

22 (B) by striking subsection (b); and 

23 (C) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), 

24 and (e) as subsections (b), (c), and (d), respec25 tively. 


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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

2 1253(c) of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Prolifera3 tion Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8809(c)) is amended by 

4 striking ‘‘1246(e)’’ and inserting ‘‘1246(d)’’. 

5 SEC. 204. AUTHORIZATION OF IMPOSITION OF TERRORISM6 RELATED SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO IRA7 NIAN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comprehensive Iran Sanc9 tions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 

10 U.S.C. 8501 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 

11 104A the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 104B. AUTHORIZATION OF IMPOSITION OF TER13 RORISM-RELATED SANCTIONS WITH RE14 SPECT TO IRANIAN FINANCIAL INSTITU15 TIONS. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President may impose the 

17 sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to an 

18 Iranian financial institution and any foreign person that 

19 is an official, agent, or affiliate of an Iranian financial 

20 institution. 

21 ‘‘(b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de22 scribed in this subsection are sanctions applicable with re23 spect to a foreign person pursuant to Executive Order No. 

24 13224 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property 


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1 and prohibiting transactions with persons who commit, 

2 threaten to commit, or support terrorism). 

3 ‘‘(c) IRANIAN FINANCIAL INSTITUTION DEFINED.— 

4 In this section, the term ‘Iranian financial institution’ has 

5 the meaning given that term in section 104A(d)(3).’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

7 for the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and 

8 Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8501 et seq.) is 

9 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

10 104A the following: 

‘‘Sec. 104B. Authorization of imposition of terrorism-related sanctions with respect to Iranian financial institutions.’’. 

11 TITLE III—SANCTIONS WITH RE12 SPECT TO THE DEVELOP13 MENT AND USE OF IRANIAN 

14 DIGITAL CURRENCY 

15 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this title: 

17 (1) CORRESPONDENT ACCOUNT; PAYABLE18 THROUGH ACCOUNT.—The terms ‘‘correspondent ac19 count’’ and ‘‘payable-through account’’ have the 

20 meanings given those terms in section 5318A of title 

21 31, United States Code. 

22 (2) DIGITAL CURRENCY EXCHANGE.—The term 

23 ‘‘digital currency exchange’’ means any organization, 

24 association, or group of persons, whether incorVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:51 Dec 18, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7321.IH H7321

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1 porated or unincorporated, which constitutes, main2 tains, or provides a market place or facilities for 

3 bringing together purchasers and sellers of digital 

4 currencies or for otherwise performing with respect 

5 to digital currencies the functions commonly per6 formed by an exchange as that term is generally un7 derstood, and includes the market place and the 

8 market facilities maintained by such digital currency 

9 exchange. 

10 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per11 son’’ means a person that is not a United States 

12 person. 

13 (4) IRANIAN DIGITAL CURRENCY.—The term 

14 ‘‘Iranian digital currency’’ means any digital cur15 rency, digital coin, or digital token that was issued 

16 by, for, or on behalf of the Government of Iran. 

17 (5) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

18 ‘‘United States person’’ means any United States 

19 citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized 

20 under the laws of the United States or any jurisdic21 tion within the United States (including foreign 

22 branches), or person in the United States. 

23 SEC. 302. FINDINGS. 

24 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) On February 13, 2018, the Under Secretary 

2 of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intel3 ligence stated that ‘‘Rogue regimes like Venezuela 

4 experiment with and use digital and virtual cur5 rencies to hide their ill-gotten gains and finance 

6 their illicit activities. Recently, for example, Ven7 ezuela announced plans to create the ‘petro’ digital 

8 currency to try and sidestep our powerful sanc9 tions.’’. 

10 (2) In April 2018, the Minister of Information 

11 and Communications Technology of Iran stated that 

12 ‘‘the experimental model was ready’’ for a digital 

13 currency developed by the Government of Iran. 

14 (3) In June 2018, the Deputy for Management 

15 and Investment at the Directorate for Scientific and 

16 Technological Affairs of Iran stated that ‘‘We are 

17 trying to prepare the grounds to use a domestic dig18 ital currency in the country . . . This currency 

19 would facilitate the transfer of money (to and from) 

20 anywhere in the world. Besides, it can help us at the 

21 time of sanctions.’’. 

22 (4) In October 2018, the head of the Civil De23 fense Organization of Iran stated that 

24 ‘‘cryptocurrencies can help bypass certain sanctions 

25 through untraceable banking operations’’. 


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•HR 7321 IH

1 SEC. 303. PROHIBITION ON TRANSACTIONS RELATED TO, 

2 PROVISION OF FINANCING FOR, AND OTHER 

3 DEALINGS IN IRANIAN DIGITAL CURRENCY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—All transactions related to, provi5 sion of financing for, and other dealings in Iranian digital 

6 currency by a United States person or within the United 

7 States are prohibited. 

8 (b) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided for in sub9 sections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International 

10 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall 

11 apply to a person that knowingly violates, attempts to vio12 late, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of sub13 section (a) to the same extent that such penalties apply 

14 to a person that knowingly commits an unlawful act de15 scribed in section 206(a) of such Act. 

16 SEC. 304. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOREIGN PER17 SONS THAT ENGAGE IN SIGNIFICANT TRANS18 ACTIONS FOR THE SALE, SUPPLY, OR TRANS19 FER TO IRAN OF SIGNIFICANT GOODS OR 

20 SERVICES USED IN CONNECTION WITH THE 

21 DEVELOPMENT OF IRANIAN DIGITAL CUR22 RENCY. 

23 The President shall impose 5 or more of the sanctions 

24 described in section 6(a) of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 

25 (Public Law 104–172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) with respect 

26 to any foreign person that the President determines knowVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:51 Dec 18, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7321.IH H7321

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•HR 7321 IH

1 ingly engages, on or after the date of the enactment of 

2 this Act, in a significant transaction for the sale, supply, 

3 or transfer to Iran of significant goods or services, or tech4 nological support, used in connection with the development 

5 of Iranian digital currency. 

6 SEC. 305. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOREIGN PER7 SONS THAT CONDUCT OR FACILITATE SIG8 NIFICANT TRANSACTIONS RELATED TO THE 

9 PURCHASE OR SALE OF IRANIAN DIGITAL 

10 CURRENCY OR MAINTAIN SIGNIFICANT 

11 AMOUNTS IN IRANIAN DIGITAL CURRENCY. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President may impose the 

13 sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to a for14 eign person if the President determines that the foreign 

15 person, on or after the date of the enactment of this Act— 

16 (1) knowingly conducts or facilitates any sig17 nificant transaction related to the purchase or sale 

18 of Iranian digital currency or a derivative, swap, fu19 ture, forward, or other similar contract the value of 

20 which is based on the exchange rate of Iranian dig21 ital currency; or 

22 (2) maintains significant amounts denominated 

23 in Iranian digital currency outside the territory of 

24 Iran. 


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•HR 7321 IH

1 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions to be 

2 imposed on a foreign person under this subsection are the 

3 following: 

4 (1) CORRESPONDENT AND PAYABLE-THROUGH

5 ACCOUNT LIMITATIONS.—With respect to any digital 

6 currency exchange subject to sanctions under sub7 section (a), prohibiting the opening, and imposing 

8 strict conditions on the maintaining, in the United 

9 States of a correspondent account or payable10 through account by the digital currency exchange. 

11 (2) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.—Blocking and 

12 prohibiting all transactions in all property and inter13 ests in property of the foreign person if such prop14 erty and interests in property are in the United 

15 States, come within the United States, or are or 

16 come within the possession or control of a United 

17 States person. 

18 (3) VISA BAN.—With respect to a foreign per19 son who is an alien, inadmissibility to the United 

20 States and ineligibility to receive a visa or other doc21 umentation to enter the United States. 

22 (c) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NATIONS

23 HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT AND OTHER INTER24 NATIONAL OBLIGATIONS.—The sanctions under sub25 section (b)(3) may not be imposed on an individual if adVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:51 Dec 18, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7321.IH H7321

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•HR 7321 IH

1 mitting that individual to the United States is necessary 

2 to permit the United States to comply with the Agreement 

3 regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed 

4 at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 

5 November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the 

6 United States, or with other applicable international obli7 gations. 

8 SEC. 306. REPORT ON PROGRESS OF GOVERNMENT OF 

9 IRAN IN CREATING A SOVEREIGN 

10 CRYPTOCURRENCY. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 

13 Treasury shall submit to Congress a report on the status 

14 of the progress of the Government of Iran in creating a 

15 sovereign cryptocurrency. 

16 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by paragraph 

17 (1) shall include the following: 

18 (1) An assessment of the progress of the Gov19 ernment of Iran in creating a sovereign 

20 cryptocurrency. 

21 (2) A description of the technical details of 

22 what is being developed, including whether the Gov23 ernment of Iran intends to— 

24 (A) fork an existing blockchain or create a 

25 new one; 


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•HR 7321 IH

1 (B) make the blockchain open or closed; or 

2 (C) involve the Central Bank of Iran. 

3 (3) An assessment of the state and non-state 

4 actors that are assisting the Government of Iran in 

5 creating a sovereign cryptocurrency, including the 

6 governments of the People’s Republic of China, the 

7 Russian Federation, the Bolivarian Republic of Ven8 ezuela, and the Republic of Turkey. 

9 (4) An assessment of the effect that successful 

10 development, deployment, and maintenance by the 

11 Government of Iran of a sovereign cryptocurrency 

12 would have on the effectiveness of existing United 

13 States sanctions with respect to Iran. 

14 (5) An assessment of the technology and infra15 structure that the Government of Iran would need to 

16 develop, deploy, and maintain a national digital cur17 rency, including a cryptocurrency. 

18 (6) An identification of the countries that have 

19 agreed to assist the United States in blocking efforts 

20 to bypass or evade United States sanctions relating 

21 to Iran or bypass or evade countermeasures and risk 

22 mitigation practices outlined by the Financial Action 

23 Task Force. 

Æ 


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