Countering Atrocities through Currency Accountability Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.8001 | Sponsor: Rep. Buck, Ken (R-CO)
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
Countering Atrocities through Currency Accountability Act of 2022
This bill requires financial institutions and agencies to take specified special measures regarding foreign financial activity if the Department of the Treasury concludes that the measures are necessary to address human rights violations. These measures are applied upon a finding that a jurisdiction (or a financial institution, transaction, or type of account involving a jurisdiction) is of primary humanitarian concern.
The measures include additional recordkeeping and reporting of transactions, beneficial ownership information, and information relating to payable-through accounts and correspondent accounts. If Treasury finds a payable-through or correspondent account involves foreign human rights violations, then Treasury is allowed to prohibit or impose conditions on that account.
The bill establishes additional due diligence requirements for financial institutions managing a bank account or a correspondent account of a foreign person.
Finally, Treasury must determine if the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China qualifies as a jurisdiction subject to the additional measures established by the bill.

To amend title 31, United States Code, to ensure the United States 
  currency market does not support egregious human rights violations.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Countering Atrocities through 
Currency Accountability Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States dollar composes nearly two-thirds of 
        the world's currency reserves, with more than one trillion 
        dollars being owned by the Government of China as of October 
        2020.
            (2) It is the policy of the United States to advance 
        freedom and human rights globally, a policy that is 
        incompatible with egregious human rights violations, and as 
        such has a responsibility to ensure that the United States 
        currency market does not complicitly support perpetrators of 
        these abuses.
            (3) In regions of the world where political, governmental, 
        or other realities preclude humanitarian due diligence 
        practices from ensuring the currency market of the United 
        States is not interwoven with entities' egregious human rights 
        violations, additional measures must be taken to separate the 
        economy of the United States from these violations, as well as 
        to apply pressure on relevant actors to uphold their 
        humanitarian responsibilities.

SEC. 3. SPECIAL MEASURES FOR JURISDICTIONS, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, OR 
              INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS OF PRIMARY HUMANITARIAN 
              CONCERN.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 5318A the following:
``Sec. 5318B. Special measures for jurisdictions, financial 
              institutions, or international transactions of primary 
              humanitarian concern
    ``(a) International Humanitarian Requirements.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
        require domestic financial institutions and domestic financial 
        agencies to take 1 or more of the special measures described in 
        subsection (b) if the Secretary finds that reasonable grounds 
        exist for concluding that a jurisdiction outside of the United 
        States, 1 or more financial institutions operating outside of 
        the United States, 1 or more classes of transactions within, or 
        involving, a jurisdiction outside of the United States, or 1 or 
        more types of accounts is of primary humanitarian concern, in 
        accordance with subsection (c).
            ``(2) Form of requirement.--The special measures described 
        in--
                    ``(A) subsection (b) shall be imposed in such 
                sequence or combination as the Secretary shall 
                determine; and
                    ``(B) paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (b) 
                shall be imposed by regulation, order, or otherwise as 
                permitted by law.
            ``(3) Duration of orders; rulemaking.--Any order by which a 
        special measure described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of 
        subsection (b) is imposed--
                    ``(A) shall be issued together with a notice of 
                proposed rulemaking relating to the imposition of such 
                special measure; and
                    ``(B) may not be terminated unless the Secretary--
                            ``(i) certifies to Congress that the 
                        applicable jurisdiction, financial institution, 
                        class of transaction, or type of account is no 
                        longer of primary humanitarian concern; and
                            ``(ii) not more than 30 days before the 
                        date of such termination, notifies, in writing, 
                        the Committees on Financial Services and 
                        Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 
                        and the Committees on Banking, Housing, and 
                        Urban Affairs and Foreign Relations of the 
                        Senate of such termination.
            ``(4) National security waiver.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall waive the 
                application of any special measure required by the 
                Secretary under paragraph (1) with respect to a 
                transaction related to the production, manufacture, or 
                commerce related to rare earth minerals if the 
                Secretary determines such waiver is necessary on 
                national security grounds.
                    ``(B) Time limit.--A waiver issued under 
                subparagraph (A) may not be for longer than one year, 
                but such a waiver may be renewed.
                    ``(C) Written justification.--If the Secretary 
                issues (or renews) a waiver under this paragraph, the 
                Secretary shall provide the Committees on Financial 
                Services and Foreign Affairs of the House of 
                Representatives and the Committees on Banking, Housing, 
                and Urban Affairs and Foreign Relations of the Senate 
                with a written justification for such waiver. Such 
                justification shall be submitted in unclassified form, 
                but may include a classified annex.
                    ``(D) Information for the public.--If the Secretary 
                issues a waiver under this paragraph, the Secretary, in 
                consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the 
                Secretary of the Interior, shall provide the following 
                information to the public, including on the website of 
                the Department of the Treasury:
                            ``(i) Opportunities for public-private 
                        partnerships to increase domestic production of 
                        rare earth elements and intermediate and 
                        finished products containing rare earth 
                        elements, including permanent magnets.
                            ``(ii) Information regarding the 
                        relationship between the reason the applicable 
                        jurisdiction, financial institution, class of 
                        transaction, or type of account was found to be 
                        of primary humanitarian concern and the 
                        production, manufacture, or commerce related to 
                        rare earth minerals.
            ``(5) No limitation on other authority.--This section shall 
        not be construed as superseding or otherwise restricting any 
        other authority granted to the Secretary, or to any other 
        agency, by this subchapter or otherwise.
    ``(b) Special Measures.--The special measures referred to in 
subsection (a), with respect to a jurisdiction outside of the United 
States, financial institution operating outside of the United States, 
class of transaction within, or involving, a jurisdiction outside of 
the United States, or 1 or more types of accounts are as follows:
            ``(1) Recordkeeping and reporting of certain financial 
        transactions.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
                may require any domestic financial institution or 
                domestic financial agency to maintain records, file 
                reports, or both, concerning the aggregate amount of 
                transactions, or concerning each transaction, with 
                respect to a jurisdiction outside of the United States, 
                1 or more financial institutions operating outside of 
                the United States, 1 or more classes of transactions 
                within, or involving, a jurisdiction outside of the 
                United States, or 1 or more types of accounts if the 
                Secretary finds any such jurisdiction, institution, 
                class of transactions, or type of account to be of 
                primary humanitarian concern.
                    ``(B) Form of records and reports.--Such records 
                and reports shall be made and retained at such time, in 
                such manner, and for such period of time, as the 
                Secretary shall determine, and shall include such 
                information as the Secretary may determine, including--
                            ``(i) the identity and address of the 
                        participants in a transaction or relationship, 
                        including the identity of the originator of any 
                        funds transfer;
                            ``(ii) the legal capacity in which a 
                        participant in any transaction is acting;
                            ``(iii) the identity of the beneficial 
                        owner of the funds involved in any transaction, 
                        in accordance with such procedures as the 
                        Secretary determines to be reasonable and 
                        practicable to obtain and retain the 
                        information; and
                            ``(iv) a description of any transaction.
            ``(2) Information relating to beneficial ownership.--In 
        addition to any other requirement under any other provision of 
        law, the Secretary shall require any domestic financial 
        institution or domestic financial agency to take such steps as 
        the Secretary may determine to be reasonable and practicable to 
        obtain and retain information concerning the beneficial 
        ownership of any account opened or maintained in the United 
        States by a foreign person, or a representative of such a 
        foreign person, that involves a jurisdiction outside of the 
        United States, 1 or more financial institutions operating 
        outside of the United States, 1 or more classes of transactions 
        within, or involving, a jurisdiction outside of the United 
        States, or 1 or more types of accounts if the Secretary finds 
        any such jurisdiction, institution, or transaction or type of 
        account to be of primary humanitarian concern.
            ``(3) Information relating to certain payable-through 
        accounts.--If the Secretary finds a jurisdiction outside of the 
        United States, 1 or more financial institutions operating 
        outside of the United States, or 1 or more classes of 
        transactions within, or involving, a jurisdiction outside of 
        the United States to be of primary humanitarian concern, the 
        Secretary shall require any domestic financial institution or 
        domestic financial agency that opens or maintains a payable-
        through account in the United States for a foreign financial 
        institution involving any such jurisdiction or any such 
        financial institution operating outside of the United States, 
        or a payable through account through which any such transaction 
        may be conducted, as a condition of opening or maintaining such 
        account--
                    ``(A) to identify each customer (and representative 
                of such customer) of such financial institution who is 
                permitted to use, or whose transactions are routed 
                through, such payable-through account; and
                    ``(B) to obtain, with respect to each such customer 
                (and each such representative), information that is 
                substantially comparable to that which the depository 
                institution obtains in the ordinary course of business 
                with respect to its customers residing in the United 
                States.
            ``(4) Information relating to certain correspondent 
        accounts.--If the Secretary finds a jurisdiction outside of the 
        United States, 1 or more financial institutions operating 
        outside of the United States, or 1 or more classes of 
        transactions within, or involving, a jurisdiction outside of 
        the United States to be of primary humanitarian concern, the 
        Secretary shall require any domestic financial institution or 
        domestic financial agency that opens or maintains a 
        correspondent account in the United States for a foreign 
        financial institution involving any such jurisdiction or any 
        such financial institution operating outside of the United 
        States, or a correspondent account through which any such 
        transaction may be conducted, as a condition of opening or 
        maintaining such account--
                    ``(A) to identify each customer (and representative 
                of such customer) of any such financial institution who 
                is permitted to use, or whose transactions are routed 
                through, such correspondent account; and
                    ``(B) to obtain, with respect to each such customer 
                (and each such representative), information that is 
                substantially comparable to that which the depository 
                institution obtains in the ordinary course of business 
                with respect to its customers residing in the United 
                States.
            ``(5) Prohibitions or conditions on opening or maintaining 
        certain correspondent or payable-through accounts.--If the 
        Secretary finds a jurisdiction outside of the United States, 1 
        or more financial institutions operating outside of the United 
        States, or 1 or more classes of transactions within, or 
        involving, a jurisdiction outside of the United States to be of 
        primary humanitarian concern, the Secretary, in consultation 
        with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the 
        Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
        System, shall prohibit, or impose conditions upon, the opening 
        or maintaining in the United States of a correspondent account 
        or payable-through account by any domestic financial 
        institution or domestic financial agency, if such correspondent 
        account or payable-through account involves any such 
        jurisdiction or institution, or if any such transaction may be 
        conducted through such correspondent account or payable-through 
        account.
    ``(c) Consultations and Information To Be Considered in Finding 
Jurisdictions, Institutions, Types of Accounts, or Transactions To Be 
of Primary Humanitarian Concern.--
            ``(1) In general.--In making a finding that reasonable 
        grounds exist for concluding that a jurisdiction outside of the 
        United States, 1 or more financial institutions operating 
        outside of the United States, 1 or more classes of transactions 
        within, or involving, a jurisdiction outside of the United 
        States, or 1 or more types of accounts is of primary 
        humanitarian concern so as to authorize the Secretary of the 
        Treasury to take 1 or more of the special measures described in 
        subsection (b), the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary 
        of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Commerce.
            ``(2) Additional considerations.--In making a finding 
        described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider in 
        addition such information as the Secretary determines to be 
        relevant, including the following potentially relevant factors:
                    ``(A) Jurisdictional factors.--In the case of a 
                particular jurisdiction--
                            ``(i) covered human rights violations have 
                        been or are being committed by an individual, 
                        group of individuals, corporation, 
                        organization, government, or other state or 
                        non-state actor, and that they have transacted 
                        business in that jurisdiction;
                            ``(ii) the extent to which covered human 
                        rights violations in that jurisdiction enable, 
                        support, or are connected to transacted 
                        business therein;
                            ``(iii) the substance and quality of 
                        administration of the human rights laws of that 
                        jurisdiction pertaining to covered human rights 
                        violations;
                            ``(iv) the jurisdiction is characterized as 
                        committing covered human rights violations by 
                        credible international organizations or 
                        multilateral expert groups;
                            ``(v) the jurisdiction is characterized by 
                        a disregard for human rights; or
                            ``(vi) whether the United States has issued 
                        or maintained formal genocide or crimes against 
                        humanity determinations covering that 
                        jurisdiction within the previous 5 years.
                    ``(B) Institutional factors.--In the case of a 
                decision to apply 1 or more of the special measures 
                described in subsection (b) only to a financial 
                institution or institutions, or to a transaction or 
                class of transactions, or to a type of account, or to 
                all 3, within or involving a particular jurisdiction--
                            ``(i) such financial institutions, classes 
                        of transactions, or types of accounts are used 
                        to facilitate or promote covered human rights 
                        violations in or through the jurisdiction; and
                            ``(ii) whether such action is sufficient to 
                        ensure, with respect to transactions involving 
                        the jurisdiction and institutions operating in 
                        the jurisdiction, that the purposes of this 
                        subchapter continue to be fulfilled, and to 
                        guard against covered human rights violations.
    ``(d) Notification of Special Measures Invoked by the Secretary.--
Not later than 10 days after the date of any action taken by the 
Secretary of the Treasury under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall 
notify, in writing, the Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 
of the Senate, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate of 
any such action.
    ``(e) Due Diligence for United States Private Banking and 
Correspondent Bank Accounts Involving Foreign Persons.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each financial institution that 
        establishes, maintains, administers, or manages a private 
        banking account or a correspondent account in the United States 
        for a non-United States person, including a foreign individual 
        visiting the United States, or a representative of a non-United 
        States person shall establish appropriate, specific, and, where 
        necessary, enhanced, due diligence policies, procedures, and 
        controls that are reasonably designed to detect and report 
        instances of covered human rights violations through those 
        accounts.
            ``(2) Additional standards for certain correspondent 
        accounts.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subparagraph (B) shall apply if 
                a correspondent account is requested or maintained by, 
                or on behalf of, a foreign bank operating--
                            ``(i) under an offshore banking license; or
                            ``(ii) under a banking license issued by a 
                        foreign country that has been designated--
                                    ``(I) as noncooperative with 
                                international human rights principles 
                                or procedures by the United States or 
                                an intergovernmental group or 
                                organization of which the United States 
                                is a member, with which designation the 
                                United States representative to the 
                                group or organization concurs; or
                                    ``(II) by the Secretary as 
                                warranting special measures due to 
                                concerns with covered human rights 
                                violations.
                    ``(B) Policies, procedures, and controls.--The 
                enhanced due diligence policies, procedures, and 
                controls required under paragraph (1) shall, at a 
                minimum, ensure that the financial institution in the 
                United States takes reasonable steps--
                            ``(i) to ascertain for any such foreign 
                        bank, the shares of which are not publicly 
                        traded, the identity of each of the owners of 
                        the foreign bank, and the nature and extent of 
                        the ownership interest of each such owner;
                            ``(ii) to conduct enhanced scrutiny of such 
                        account to ensure the account is not associated 
                        with covered human rights violations and report 
                        any suspicious transactions under section 
                        5318(g); and
                            ``(iii) to ascertain whether such foreign 
                        bank provides correspondent accounts to other 
                        foreign banks and, if so, the identity of those 
                        foreign banks and related due diligence 
                        information, as appropriate under paragraph 
                        (1).
            ``(3) Minimum standards for private banking accounts.--If a 
        private banking account is requested or maintained by, or on 
        behalf of, a non-United States person, then the due diligence 
        policies, procedures, and controls required under paragraph (1) 
        shall, at a minimum, ensure that the financial institution 
        takes reasonable steps--
                    ``(A) to ascertain the identity of the nominal and 
                beneficial owners of, and the source of funds deposited 
                into, such account as needed to guard against 
                supporting covered human rights violations and report 
                any suspicious transactions under section 5318(g); and
                    ``(B) to conduct enhanced scrutiny of any such 
                account that is requested or maintained by, or on 
                behalf of, a senior foreign political figure, or any 
                immediate family member or close associate of a senior 
                foreign political figure, that is reasonably designed 
                to detect and report transactions that may involve the 
                proceeds of covered human rights violations.
            ``(4) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Offshore banking license.--The term `offshore 
                banking license' means a license to conduct banking 
                activities which, as a condition of the license, 
                prohibits the licensed entity from conducting banking 
                activities with the citizens of, or with the local 
                currency of, the country which issued the license.
                    ``(B) Private banking account.--The term `private 
                banking account' means an account (or any combination 
                of accounts) that--
                            ``(i) requires a minimum aggregate deposit 
                        of funds or other assets of not less than 
                        $500,000;
                            ``(ii) is established on behalf of 1 or 
                        more individuals who have a direct or 
                        beneficial ownership interest in the account; 
                        and
                            ``(iii) is assigned to, or is administered 
                        or managed by, in whole or in part, an officer, 
                        employee, or agent of a financial institution 
                        acting as a liaison between the financial 
                        institution and the direct or beneficial owner 
                        of the account.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Covered human rights violation.--The term `covered 
        human rights violation' means--
                    ``(A) an offense described under chapter 50A of 
                title 18, United States Code; and
                    ``(B) crimes against humanity.
            ``(2) Xinjiang.--The term `Xinjiang' means the Xinjiang 
        Uyghur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China.
            ``(3) Other definitions.--The definitions under section 
        5318A(e) shall apply to this section.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for chapter 53 of 
title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 5318A the following:

``5318B. Special measures for jurisdictions, financial institutions, or 
                            international transactions of primary 
                            humanitarian concern.''.

SEC. 4. ASSESSING XINJIANG AS A JURISDICTION OF PRIMARY HUMANITARIAN 
              CONCERN.

    (a) Determination.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce, shall 
determine whether reasonable grounds exist to determine that Xinjiang 
Uyghur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, is a jurisdiction 
of primary humanitarian concern under section 5318B of title 31, United 
States Code.
    (b) Report.--As soon as practicable after the determination 
required under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
issue a report to the Congress containing the following:
            (1) Whether the Secretary determines that reasonable 
        grounds exist to determine that Xinjiang is a jurisdiction of 
        primary humanitarian concern.
            (2) If so, which special measures described under 
        subsection (b) of such section 5318B, if any, the Secretary of 
        the Treasury shall require domestic financial institutions and 
        domestic financial agencies to take with respect to Xinjiang.
            (3) If not, a detailed explanation of the Secretary's 
        reasoning in making such determination and evidence supporting 
        that determination.
    (c) Classification.--The report submitted pursuant to subsection 
(a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a 
classified annex.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON POLYSILICATE PRODUCTION AND TRADE.

    Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of State shall issue a report to the Congress containing 
a description of the following:
            (1) Polysilicate production in Xinjiang.
            (2) The use of forced labor in polysilicate production and 
        trade.
            (3) The role of the Chinese Government and its affiliated 
        actors, including the Xinjiang Production and Construction 
        Corps, in polysilicate production and trade.
            (4) The impacts of Chinese polysilicate production on 
        international markets and ethical implications thereof.
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