Taylor Force Martyr Payment Prevention Act of 2021
Bill: S.3318 | Sponsor: Sen. Cotton, Tom (R-AR)
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
Taylor Force Martyr Payment Prevention Act of 2021
This bill expands the institutional factors the Department of the Treasury must consider when making a finding that a foreign financial institution is of primary money laundering concern and is therefore subject to special measures, including the prohibition of opening or maintaining correspondent accounts in U.S financial institutions. Specifically, Treasury must consider (1) the extent to which an institution knowingly provides financial services to Hamas, or to an agent of Hamas; and (2) the extent to which an institution, transaction, or type of account is used to facilitate or promote payments for certain acts of terrorism against U.S. and Israeli citizens.

To deter foreign financial institutions from providing banking services 
      for the benefit of foreign terrorist organizations and from 
       facilitating or promoting payments for acts of terrorism.

    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 ``Taylor Force Martyr Payment 
Prevention Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Banks in nominally friendly jurisdictions evade United 
        States anti-terrorism sanctions by avoiding an official 
        presence in the United States, and continue to knowingly 
        provide banking services, including dollar-denominated 
        transactions, for terrorist organizations that target United 
        States nationals for murder.
            (2) Such flouting of anti-terrorism financial regulations 
        is only possible through the maintenance or use of 
        correspondent accounts at United States banks for the benefit 
        of terrorist organizations.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that under 
authority granted by section 5318A of title 31, United States Code, as 
amended by section 3, the Secretary of the Treasury should--
            (1) find foreign financial institutions that flout anti-
        terrorism financial regulations to be of primary money 
        laundering concern; and
            (2) prohibit the maintenance or use of correspondent 
        accounts in the United States by such institutions.

SEC. 3. CONSIDERATION OF FACILITATION OF TERRORISM IN DESIGNATING 
              INSTITUTIONS, ACCOUNTS, AND TRANSACTIONS AS OF PRIMARY 
              MONEY LAUNDERING CONCERN.

    Section 5318A(c)(2)(B) of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking ``all 
        3'' and inserting ``all of the preceding'';
            (2) in clause (ii), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
        semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iv) notwithstanding clause (ii), the 
                        extent to which such institutions knowingly 
                        provide, or cause other financial institutions 
                        to provide, financial services (including 
                        personal banking services) to the entity 
                        described in subsection (a) of section 594.319 
                        of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations (or a 
                        successor regulation), or persons described in 
                        subsection (b) of that section; and
                            ``(v) the extent to which such 
                        institutions, transactions, or types of 
                        accounts are used to facilitate or promote 
                        payments for acts of terrorism described in 
                        section 1004(a)(1)(B) of the Taylor Force Act 
                        (22 U.S.C. 2378c-1(a)(1)(B)).''.
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