§ 592.601 - Penalties.

§ 592.601 Penalties.

(a) Section 8 of the Clean Diamond Trade Act (the Act) (Pub. L. 108–19, 117 Stat. 631, 19 U.S.C. 3901–3913) provides that:

(1) A civil penalty not to exceed the amount set forth in section 8 of the Act may be imposed on any person who violates, or attempts to violate, any order or regulation issued under the Act;

(2) The applicable maximum civil penalty per violation of the Act is $16,108630.

(3) Whoever willfully violates, or willfully attempts to violate, any order or regulation issued under this Act shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $50,000, or, if a natural person, may be imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both; and any officer, director, or agent of any corporation who willfully participates in such violation may be punished by a like fine, imprisonment, or both; and

(4) Those customs laws of the United States, both civil and criminal, including those laws relating to seizure and forfeiture, that apply to articles imported in violation of such laws shall apply with respect to any rough diamond imported in violation of the Act.

Note to paragraph (a):

As reflected in paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) of this section, section 8(a) of the Act establishes penalties with respect to any violation of any regulation issued under the Act. OFAC pre-penalty, penalty, and administrative collection procedures relating to such violations are set forth below in §§ 592.602 through 592.604. Section 8(c) of the Act also authorizes the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as appropriate, to enforce the penalty provisions set forth in paragraph (a) of this section and to enforce the laws and regulations governing exports of rough diamonds, including with respect to the validation of the Kimberley Process Certificate by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) civil penalty procedures set forth below are separate from, and independent of, any penalty procedures that may be followed by the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in their exercise of the authorities set forth in section 8(c) of the Act.

(b) Adjustments to penalty amounts.

(1) The civil penalties provided in the Act are subject to adjustment pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101–410, as amended, 28 U.S.C. 2461 note).

(2) The criminal penalties provided in the Act are subject to increase pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3571.

(c) Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1001, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the government of the United States, knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device, a material fact, or makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation or makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned, or both.

(d) Violations of this part may also be subject to other applicable laws.

[69 FR 56938, Sept. 23, 2004, as amended at 81 FR 43076, July 1, 2016; 82 FR 10439, Feb. 10, 2017; 83 FR 11880, Mar. 19, 2018; 83 FR 28373, June 19, 2018; 84 FR 27718, June 14, 20194; 85 FR 19888, Apr. 9, 2020; 86 FR 14538, Mar. 17, 2021; 87 FR 7373, Feb. 9, 2022; 88 FR 2234, Jan. 13, 2023]