Expanding Sanctions Against Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps Act

Bill: 115-hr-4676
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. McCaul, Michael T. [R-TX-10]
Introduced: 2017-12-18
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures

Corporate finance and management

Department of the Treasury

Foreign property

Iran

Middle East

Sanctions

War and emergency powers
Latest action: action_date: 2017-12-18
text: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2017-12-18
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Expanding Sanctions Against Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps Act</b></p> <p>This bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) persons who are owned or controlled by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) should be subject to a 25% beneficial ownership threshold rather than majority ownership threshold with respect to blocking property or property interests, and (2) such expanded sanctions would generate enhanced due diligence procedures by the private sector and others. </p> <p>For purposes of this bill, a person &quot;owns or controls&quot; property if the person: (1) holds more than 25% of the equity interest by vote or value in the person; (2) holds a majority of seats on the board of directors of the person; or (3) otherwise controls the actions, policies, or personnel decisions of the person. </p> <p>The Department of the Treasury shall prescribe regulations to apply the definition of &quot;own or control&quot; for purposes of blocking property or interests in property of persons who are owned or controlled by the IRGC.</p>

tv_txt: I 115th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 4676 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 18, 2017 Mr. McCaul introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations to expand sanctions against persons owned or controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Expanding Sanctions Against Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps Act . 2. Findings and sense of Congress (a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has been designated under— (A) Executive Order 13224 (September 23, 2001; relating to Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions with Persons who Commit, Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism); (B) Executive Order 13382 (June 28, 2005; relating to Blocking Property of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators and Their Supporters); (C) Executive Order 13553 (September 28, 2010; relating to Blocking Property of Certain Persons With Respect to Serious Human Rights Abuses by the Government of Iran and Taking Certain Other Actions); and (D) Executive Order 13606 (April 22, 2012; relating to Blocking the Property and Suspending Entry Into the United States of Certain Persons With Respect to Grave Human Rights Abuses by the Governments of Iran and Syria via Information Technology). (2) Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps controls a significant portion of Iran’s economy, and whose income makes it one of Iran’s most powerful economic actors. (3) Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps benefits from limited economic transparency, as demonstrated by Iran’s continued failure to meet its intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force commitments. (4) Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps carries out Iran’s destabilizing political goals across the Middle East and by proxy worldwide. (b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) persons who are owned or controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps should be subject to a 25-percent beneficial ownership threshold rather than majority ownership threshold with respect to blocking property or interests in property of such persons; and (2) such expanded sanctions would generate greater public scrutiny and enhanced due diligence procedures by the private sector and others. 3. Regulations to expand sanctions against persons owned or controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (a) In general Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe regulations to apply the definition of own or control described in subsection (b) for purposes of blocking property or interests in property pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) of persons who are owned or controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. (b) Definition of own or control The term own or control described in this subsection means, with respect to a person— (1) to hold more than 25 percent of the equity interest by vote or value in the person; (2) to hold a majority of seats on the board of directors of the person; or (3) to otherwise control the actions, policies, or personnel decisions of the person. (c) Penalties A person that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of subsection (a) or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry out subsection (a) shall be subject to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1705 ) to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of that section.