Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2329
Sponsor: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
Introduced: 2014-05-13 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Arab-Israeli relations
Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Banking and financial institutions regulation
Broadcasting, cable, digital technologies
Congressional oversight
Department of the Treasury
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Drug trafficking and controlled substances
Financial services and investments
Foreign and international banking
Foreign property
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
International exchange and broadcasting
Iran
Judicial review and appeals
Lebanon
Middle East
Organized crime
Sanctions
Syria
Television and film
Terrorism
Trade restrictions
War and emergency powers

Summary:
action_date: 2014-05-13
text: 
Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act of 2014 - Declares that it shall be U.S. policy to: (1) prevent Hezbollah's global logistics and financial network from operating in order to curtail funding of its domestic and international activities; and (2) utilize diplomatic, legislative, and executive avenues to combat Hezbollah's criminal activities in order to block that organization's ability to fund its global terrorist activities. 
 
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prohibit, or impose strict conditions on, the opening or maintaining in the United States of a correspondent account or a payable-through account by a foreign financial institution that knowingly: (1) facilitates the activities of Hezbollah or any of its agents or affiliates whose property or property interests are blocked pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act; (2) facilitates the activities of a person acting on behalf of or at the direction of, or owned or controlled by such institution; (3) engages in money laundering to carry out such activity; or (4) facilitates a significant transaction or transactions or provides significant financial services to carry out such activity.
 
 Directs the Secretary to prescribe reporting, information sharing, and due diligence requirements for domestic financial institutions that maintain a correspondent account or payable-through account in the United States for a foreign financial institution. 
 
Authorizes the Secretary to waive such requirements if in U.S. national security interests, and with congressional notification. 
 
Directs the Secretary to identify to Congress every 180 days each foreign central bank that carries out an activity prohibited under this Act. 
 
Sets forth penalty requirements for specified violations under this Act.
 
Directs the President to report to Congress regarding: (1) satellite, broadcast, Internet, or other providers that knowingly carry al-Manar TV or its affiliates; and (2) countries in which Hezbollah maintains important portions of its global logistics networks, and an assessment of whether a country is taking adequate measures to disrupt Hezbollah's networks within that country.
 
Directs the President to designate Hezbollah as: (1) a significant foreign narcotics trafficker if Hezbollah meets the criteria set forth under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, and (2) a significant transnational criminal organization if Hezbollah meets the criteria set forth under Executive Order 13581.
 
Directs the President to report to Congress which of these criteria the President determines that Hezbollah has not met, if it does not. 
 
Declares that nothing in this Act shall apply to authorized U.S. intelligence activities. 
 
States that any requirement of this Act shall cease to be in effect 30 days after the President certifies to Congress that Hezbollah: (1) is no longer designated as a foreign terrorist organization, and (2) is no longer listed in the Annex to Executive Order 13224 (blocking property and prohibiting transactions with persons who commit or support terrorism). 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-05-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2014-05-13
text: Introduced in Senate