IB 
Union Calendar No. 195 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2514 
[Report No. 116–245, Part I] 
To make reforms to the Federal Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering 
laws, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 3, 2019 
Mr. CLEAVER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Ways 
and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
OCTOBER 21, 2019 
Additional sponsors: Mr. STIVERS and Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New 
York 
OCTOBER 21, 2019 
Reported from the Committee on Financial Services with an amendment 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
OCTOBER 21, 2019 
Committee on Ways and Means discharged; committed to the Committee of 
the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 3, 2019] 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:29 Oct 21, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6652
E:\BILLS\H2514.RH
H2514
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
A BILL 
To make reforms to the Federal Bank Secrecy Act and 
anti-money laundering laws, and for other purposes. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:29 Oct 21, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6652
E:\BILLS\H2514.RH
H2514
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Co-
ordinating Oversight, Upgrading and Innovating Tech-
nology, and Examiner Reform Act of 2019’’ or the 
‘‘COUNTER Act of 2019’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Bank Secrecy Act definition. 
TITLE I—STRENGTHENING TREASURY 
Sec. 101. Improving the definition and purpose of the Bank Secrecy Act. 
Sec. 102. Special hiring authority. 
Sec. 103. Civil Liberties and Privacy Officer. 
Sec. 104. Civil Liberties and Privacy Council. 
Sec. 105. International coordination. 
Sec. 106. Treasury Attache´s Program. 
Sec. 107. Increasing technical assistance for international cooperation. 
Sec. 108. FinCEN Domestic Liaisons. 
Sec. 109. FinCEN Exchange. 
Sec. 110. Study and strategy on trade-based money laundering. 
Sec. 111. Study and strategy on de-risking. 
Sec. 112. AML examination authority delegation study. 
Sec. 113. Study and strategy on Chinese money laundering. 
TITLE II—IMPROVING AML/CFT OVERSIGHT 
Sec. 201. OECD pilot program on sharing of suspicious activity reports within 
a financial group. 
Sec. 202. Training for examiners on AML/CFT. 
Sec. 203. Sharing of compliance resources. 
Sec. 204. GAO Study on feedback loops. 
Sec. 205. FinCEN study on BSA value. 
Sec. 206. Sharing of threat pattern and trend information. 
Sec. 207. Modernization and upgrading whistleblower protections. 
Sec. 208. Certain violators barred from serving on boards of United States finan-
cial institutions. 
Sec. 209. Additional damages for repeat Bank Secrecy Act violators. 
Sec. 210. Justice annual report on deferred and non-prosecution agreements. 
Sec. 211. Return of profits and bonuses. 
Sec. 212. Prohibition on tax deductions for attorney’s fees related to Bank Secrecy 
Act settlements and court costs. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:29 Oct 21, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6213
E:\BILLS\H2514.RH
H2514
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
Sec. 213. Application of Bank Secrecy Act to dealers in antiquities. 
Sec. 214. Geographic targeting order. 
Sec. 215. Study and revisions to currency transaction reports and suspicious ac-
tivity reports. 
Sec. 216. Streamlining requirements for currency transaction reports and sus-
picious activity reports. 
TITLE III—MODERNIZING THE AML SYSTEM 
Sec. 301. Encouraging innovation in BSA compliance. 
Sec. 302. Innovation Labs. 
Sec. 303. Innovation Council. 
Sec. 304. Parallel runs rulemaking. 
Sec. 305. FinCEN study on use of emerging technologies. 
SEC. 2. BANK SECRECY ACT DEFINITION. 
Section 5312(a) of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(7) BANK SECRECY ACT.—The term ‘Bank Se-
crecy act’ means— 
‘‘(A) section 21 of the Federal Deposit In-
surance Act; 
‘‘(B) chapter 2 of title I of Public Law 91– 
508; and 
‘‘(C) this subchapter.’’. 
TITLE I—STRENGTHENING 
TREASURY 
SEC. 101. IMPROVING THE DEFINITION AND PURPOSE OF 
THE BANK SECRECY ACT. 
Section 5311 of title 31, United States Code, is amend-
ed— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘to protect our national secu-
rity, to safeguard the integrity of the international fi-
nancial system, and’’ before ‘‘to require’’; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:29 Oct 21, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2514.RH
H2514
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
(2) by inserting ‘‘to law enforcement’’ before ‘‘in 
criminal’’. 
SEC. 102. SPECIAL HIRING AUTHORITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 310 of title 31, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection 
(g); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(d) SPECIAL HIRING AUTHORITY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas-
ury may appoint, without regard to the provisions of 
sections 3309 through 3318 of title 5, candidates di-
rectly to positions in the competitive service (as de-
fined in section 2102 of that title) in FinCEN. 
‘‘(2) PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES.—The primary 
responsibility of candidates appointed pursuant to 
paragraph (1) shall be to provide substantive support 
in support of the duties described in subparagraphs 
(A), (B), (E), and (F) of subsection (b)(2).’’. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 360 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, and every year thereafter for 7 
years, the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement 
Network shall submit a report to the Committee on Finan-
cial Services of the House of Representatives and the Com-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:29 Oct 21, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2514.RH
H2514
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Sen-
ate that includes— 
(1) the number of new employees hired since the 
preceding report through the authorities described 
under section 310(d) of title 31, United States Code, 
along with position titles and associated pay grades 
for such hires; and 
(2) a copy of any Federal Government survey of 
staff perspectives at the Office of Terrorism and Fi-
nancial Intelligence, including findings regarding the 
Office and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Net-
work from the most recently administered Federal 
Employee Viewpoint Survey. 
SEC. 103. CIVIL LIBERTIES AND PRIVACY OFFICER. 
(a) APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS.—Not later than the 
end of the 3-month period beginning on the date of enact-
ment of this Act, a Civil Liberties and Privacy Officer shall 
be appointed, from among individuals who are attorneys 
with expertise in data privacy laws— 
(1) within each Federal functional regulator, by 
the head of the Federal functional regulator; 
(2) within the Financial Crimes Enforcement 
Network, by the Secretary of the Treasury; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:29 Oct 21, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2514.RH
H2514
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
(3) within the Internal Revenue Service Small 
Business and Self-Employed Tax Center, by the Sec-
retary of the Treasury. 
(b) DUTIES.—Each Civil Liberties and Privacy Offi-
cer shall, with respect to the applicable regulator, Network, 
or Center within which the Officer is located— 
(1) be consulted each time Bank Secrecy Act or 
anti-money laundering regulations affecting civil lib-
erties or privacy are developed or reviewed; 
(2) be consulted on information-sharing pro-
grams, including those that provide access to person-
ally identifiable information; 
(3) ensure coordination and clarity between 
anti-money laundering, civil liberties, and privacy 
regulations; 
(4) contribute to the evaluation and regulation of 
new technologies that may strengthen data privacy 
and the protection of personally identifiable informa-
tion collected by each Federal functional regulator; 
and 
(5) develop metrics of program success. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
(1) BANK SECRECY ACT.—The term ‘‘Bank Se-
crecy Act’’ has the meaning given that term under 
section 5312 of title 31, United States Code. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:29 Oct 21, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2514.RH
H2514
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
(2) FEDERAL
FUNCTIONAL
REGULATOR.—The 
term ‘‘Federal functional regulator’’ means the Board 
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the 
Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit In-
surance Corporation, the National Credit Union Ad-
ministration, the Securities and Exchange Commis-
sion, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commis-
sion. 
SEC. 104. CIVIL LIBERTIES AND PRIVACY COUNCIL. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Civil 
Liberties and Privacy Council (hereinafter in this section 
referred to as the ‘‘Council’’), which shall consist of the Civil 
Liberties and Privacy Officers appointed pursuant to sec-
tion 103. 
(b) CHAIR.—The Director of the Financial Crimes En-
forcement Network shall serve as the Chair of the Council. 
(c) DUTY.—The members of the Council shall coordi-
nate on activities related to their duties as Civil Liberties 
Privacy Officers, but may not supplant the individual 
agency determinations on civil liberties and privacy. 
(d) MEETINGS.—The meetings of the Council— 
(1) shall be at the call of the Chair, but in no 
case may the Council meet less than quarterly; 
(2) may include open and partially closed ses-
sions, as determined necessary by the Council; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:29 Oct 21, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2514.RH
H2514
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
(3) shall include participation by public and 
private entities and law enforcement agencies. 
(e) REPORT.—The Chair of the Council shall issue an 
annual report to the Congress on the program and policy 
activities, including the success of programs as measured 
by metrics of program success developed pursuant to section 
103(b)(5), of the Council during the previous year and any 
legislative recommendations that the Council may have. 
(f) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal Advi-
sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the 
Council. 
SEC. 105. INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
work with the Secretary’s foreign counterparts, including 
through the Financial Action Task Force, the International 
Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Egmont Group of Fi-
nancial Intelligence Units, the Organisation for Economic 
Co-operation and Development, and the United Nations, to 
promote stronger anti-money laundering frameworks and 
enforcement of anti-money laundering laws. 
(b) COOPERATION GOAL.—In carrying out subsection 
(a), the Secretary of the Treasury may work directly with 
foreign counterparts and other organizations where the goal 
of cooperation can best be met. 
(c) INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:29 Oct 21, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2514.RH
H2514
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
(1) SUPPORT
FOR
CAPACITY
OF
THE
INTER-
NATIONAL
MONETARY
FUND
TO
PREVENT
MONEY 
LAUNDERING AND FINANCING OF TERRORISM.—Title 
XVI of the International Financial Institutions Act 
(22 U.S.C. 262p et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 1629. SUPPORT FOR CAPACITY OF THE INTER-
NATIONAL MONETARY FUND TO PREVENT 
MONEY LAUNDERING AND FINANCING OF 
TERRORISM. 
‘‘The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the 
United States Executive Director at the International Mon-
etary Fund to support the increased use of the administra-
tive budget of the Fund for technical assistance that 
strengthens the capacity of Fund members to prevent money 
laundering and the financing of terrorism.’’. 
(2) NATIONAL
ADVISORY
COUNCIL
REPORT
TO 
CONGRESS.—The Chairman of the National Advisory 
Council on International Monetary and Financial 
Policies shall include in the report required by section 
1701 of the International Financial Institutions Act 
(22 U.S.C. 262r) a description of— 
(A) the activities of the International Mone-
tary Fund in the most recently completed fiscal 
year 
to 
provide 
technical 
assistance 
that 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:29 Oct 21, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2514.RH
H2514
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
strengthens the capacity of Fund members to 
prevent money laundering and the financing of 
terrorism, and the effectiveness of the assistance; 
and 
(B) the efficacy of efforts by the United 
States to support such technical assistance 
through the use of the Fund’s administrative 
budget, and the level of such support. 
(3) SUNSET.—Effective on the date that is the 
end of the 4-year period beginning on the date of en-
actment of this Act, section 1629 of the International 
Financial Institutions Act, as added by paragraph 
(1), is repealed. 
SEC. 106. TREASURY ATTACHE´ S PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 315 the following: 
‘‘§ 316. Treasury Attache´s Program 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established the Treasury 
Attache´s Program, under which the Secretary of the Treas-
ury shall appoint employees of the Department of the Treas-
ury, after nomination by the Director of the Financial 
Crimes Enforcement Network (‘FinCEN’), as a Treasury 
attache´, who shall— 
‘‘(1) be knowledgeable about the Bank Secrecy 
Act and anti-money laundering issues; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:29 Oct 21, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2514.RH
H2514
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(2) be co-located in a United States embassy; 
‘‘(3) perform outreach with respect to Bank Se-
crecy Act and anti-money laundering issues; 
‘‘(4) establish and maintain relationships with 
foreign counterparts, including employees of min-
istries of finance, central banks, and other relevant of-
ficial entities; 
‘‘(5) conduct outreach to local and foreign finan-
cial institutions and other commercial actors, includ-
ing— 
‘‘(A) 
information 
exchanges 
through 
FinCEN and FinCEN programs; and 
‘‘(B) soliciting buy-in and cooperation for 
the implementation of— 
‘‘(i) United States and multilateral 
sanctions; and 
‘‘(ii) international standards on anti- 
money laundering and the countering of the 
financing of terrorism; and 
‘‘(6) perform such other actions as the Secretary 
determines appropriate. 
‘‘(b) NUMBER OF ATTACHE´S.—The number of Treas-
ury attache´s appointed under this section at any one time 
shall be not fewer than 6 more employees than the number 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:29 Oct 21, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2514.RH
H2514
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
of employees of the Department of the Treasury serving as 
Treasury attache´s on March 1, 2019. 
‘‘(c) COMPENSATION.—Each Treasury attache´ ap-
pointed under this section and located at a United States 
embassy shall receive compensation at the higher of— 
‘‘(1) the rate of compensation provided to a For-
eign Service officer at a comparable career level serv-
ing at the same embassy; or 
‘‘(2) the rate of compensation the Treasury 
attache´ would otherwise have received, absent the ap-
plication of this subsection. 
‘‘(d) BANK SECRECY ACT DEFINED.—In this section, 
the term ‘Bank Secrecy Act’ has the meaning given that 
term under section 5312.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents for 
chapter 3 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 315 the following: 
‘‘316. Treasury Attache´s Program.’’. 
SEC. 107. INCREASING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR INTER-
NATIONAL COOPERATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024 to the 
Secretary of the Treasury for purposes of providing tech-
nical assistance that promotes compliance with inter-
national standards and best practices, including in par-
ticular those aimed at the establishment of effective anti- 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:29 Oct 21, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2514.RH
H2514
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
money laundering and countering the financing of ter-
rorism regimes, in an amount equal to twice the amount 
authorized for such purpose for fiscal year 2019. 
(b) ACTIVITY AND EVALUATION REPORT.—Not later 
than 360 days after enactment of this Act, and every year 
thereafter for five years, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
issue a report to the Congress on the assistance (as described 
under subsection (a)) of the Office of Technical Assistance 
of the Department of the Treasury containing— 
(1) a narrative detailing the strategic goals of 
the Office in the previous year, with an explanation 
of how technical assistance provided in the previous 
year advances the goals; 
(2) a description of technical assistance provided 
by the Office in the previous year, including the objec-
tives and delivery methods of the assistance; 
(3) a list of beneficiaries and providers (other 
than Office staff) of the technical assistance; 
(4) a description of how technical assistance pro-
vided by the Office complements, duplicates, or other-
wise affects or is affected by technical assistance pro-
vided by the international financial institutions (as 
defined under section 1701(c) of the International Fi-
nancial Institutions Act); and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:29 Oct 21, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2514.RH
H2514
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
(5) a copy of any Federal Government survey of 
staff perspectives at the Office of Technical Assistance, 
including any findings regarding the Office from the 
most recently administered Federal Employee View-
point Survey. 
SEC. 108. FINCEN DOMESTIC LIAISONS. 
Section 310 of title 31, United States Code, as amend-
ed by section 102, is further amended by inserting after sub-
section (d) the following: 
‘‘(e) FINCEN DOMESTIC LIAISONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Director of FinCEN 
shall appoint at least 6 senior FinCEN employees as 
FinCEN Domestic Liaisons, who shall— 
‘‘(A) each be assigned to focus on a specific 
region of the United States; 
‘‘(B) be located at an office in such region 
(or co-located at an office of the Board of Gov-
ernors of the Federal Reserve System in such re-
gion); and 
‘‘(C) perform outreach to BSA officers at fi-
nancial institutions (including non-bank finan-
cial institutions) and persons who are not finan-
cial institutions, especially with respect to ac-
tions taken by FinCEN that require specific ac-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:29 Oct 21, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2514.RH
H2514
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In any covered judicial or 
administrative action, or related action, the Sec-
retary, under such rules as the Secretary may issue 
and subject to subsection (c), shall pay an award or 
awards to 1 or more whistleblowers who voluntarily 
provided original information to FinCEN that led to 
the successful enforcement of the covered judicial or 
administrative action, or related action, in an aggre-
gate amount equal to not more than 30 percent, in 
total, of what has been collected of the monetary sanc-
tions imposed in the action. 
‘‘(2) SOURCE OF AWARDS.—For the purposes of 
paying any award under paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary may use, without further appropriation, mone-
tary sanction amounts recovered based on the original 
information with respect to which the award is being 
paid. 
‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF AWARD; DENIAL 
OF AWARD.— 
‘‘(1) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF AWARD.— 
‘‘(A) DISCRETION.—The determination of 
the amount of an award made under subsection 
(b) shall be in the discretion of the Secretary. 
‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—In responding to a disclo-
sure and determining the amount of an award 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:29 Oct 21, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00037
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H2514.RH
H2514
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS