§ 561.201 - CISADA-based sanctions on certain foreign financial institutions.

§ 561.201 CISADA-based sanctions on certain foreign financial institutions.

Upon a finding by the Secretary of the Treasury that a foreign financial institution knowingly engages in one or more of the activities described in paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(6) of this section, attempts or conspires to facilitate or participate in one or more of such activities, or is owned or controlled by a foreign financial institution that the Secretary finds knowingly engages in one or more of such activities, consistent with the Secretary of the Treasury's authorities under the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-195) (22 U.S.C. 8501-8551) (“CISADA”), as amended by the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-158), either the Secretary of the Treasury will impose one or more strict conditions, as set forth in paragraph (b) of this section, on the opening or maintaining of a correspondent account or a payable-through account in the United States for that foreign financial institution, or, as set forth in paragraph (c) of this section, the Secretary of the Treasury will prohibit a U.S. financial institution from opening or maintaining a correspondent account or a payable-through account in the United States for that foreign financial institution. The name of the foreign financial institution and the relevant prohibition or strict condition(s) will be added to the List of Foreign Financial Institutions Subject to Part 561 (the “Part 561 List”Correspondent Account or Payable-Through Account Sanctions (CAPTA List) on the Office of Foreign Assets Control's Web site (www.treasury.gov/ofac) on the Iran Sanctions page and published in the Federal Register.

(a) A foreign financial institution engages in an activity described in this paragraph if, in any location or currency, the foreign financial institution knowingly:

(1) Facilitates the efforts of the Government of Iran (including efforts of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or any of its agents or affiliates) -

(i) To acquire or develop weapons of mass destruction or delivery systems for weapons of mass destruction; or

(ii) To provide support for organizations designated as foreign terrorist organizations under section 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)) or support for acts of international terrorism, as defined in § 561.312 of this part;

(2) Facilitates the activities of -

(i) A person subject to financial sanctions pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1737, 1747, 1803, or 1929, or any other resolution adopted by the Security Council that imposes sanctions with respect to Iran; or

(ii) A person acting on behalf of or at the direction of, or owned or controlled by, a person described in paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section;

Note to paragraph (a)(2) of § 561.201:

Persons subject to financial sanctions pursuant to the United Nations Security Council resolutions listed in § 561.201(a)(2) include individuals and entities listed in the Annex to UNSC Resolution 1737, Annex I of UNSC Resolution 1747, Annexes I and III of UNSC Resolution 1803, and Annexes I, II, and III of UNSC Resolution 1929; and individuals and entities designated by the Security Council or by the Committee established pursuant to UNSC Resolution 1737 (the “Committee”) as being engaged in, directly associated with or providing support for Iran's proliferation sensitive nuclear activities, or the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems; and individuals and entities acting on behalf of or at the direction of those so listed or designated; and entities owned or controlled by those so listed or designated; and individuals and entities determined by the Security Council or the Committee to have assisted listed or designated individuals or entities in evading sanctions of, or in violating the provisions of, UNSC Resolutions 1737, 1747, 1803, or 1929.

(3) Engages in money laundering to carry out an activity described in paragraphs (a)(1) or (2) of this section;

(4) Facilitates efforts by the Central Bank of Iran or any other Iranian financial institution to carry out an activity described in paragraphs (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section;

(5) Facilitates a significant transaction or transactions or provides significant financial services for -

(i) Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or any of its agents or affiliates whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (“IEEPA”); or

(ii) A person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to parts 544 or 594 of this chapter in connection with Iran's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or delivery systems for weapons of mass destruction or Iran's support for international terrorism; or

Note to paragraph (a)(5) of § 561.201:

The names of persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to IEEPA are published in the Federal Register and incorporated into the Office of Foreign Assets Control's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (the “SDN List”). The SDN List is accessible through the following page on the Office of Foreign Assets Control's Web site: www.treasury.gov/sdn. Additional information pertaining to the SDN List can be found in appendix A to this chapter. Agents or affiliates of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (“IRGC”) whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to IEEPA are identified by a special reference to the “IRGC” at the end of their entries on the SDN List, in addition to the reference to the regulatory part of this chapter pursuant to which their property and interests in property are blocked. For example, an affiliate of the IRGC whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to the Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 544, will have the tags “[NPWMD][IRGC]” at the end of its entry on the SDN List. Persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to parts 544 or 594 of this chapter in connection with Iran's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or delivery systems for weapons of mass destruction or Iran's support for international terrorism also are identified by the tag “[IFSR]” in addition to the tag referencing part 544 or part 594, as the case may be, located at the end of their entries on the SDN List (e.g., [NPWMD][IFSR] or [SDGT][IFSR]). In addition, see § 561.405 concerning entities that may not be listed on the SDN List but whose property and interests in property are nevertheless blocked.

(6) Facilitates, or participates or assists in, an activity described in paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(5) of this section, including by acting on behalf of, at the direction of, or as an intermediary for, or otherwise assisting, another person with respect to the activity.

(b) The Secretary of the Treasury may impose one or more strict conditions on the opening or maintaining by a U.S. financial institution of a correspondent account or a payable-through account in the United States for a foreign financial institution that the Secretary finds engages in one or more of the activities described in paragraph (a) of this section. Except as otherwise authorized pursuant to this part, a U.S. financial institution shall not open or maintain a correspondent account or payable-through account in the United States in a manner that is inconsistent with any strict condition imposed and in effect pursuant to this paragraph. Such conditions may include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Prohibiting or restricting any provision of trade finance through the correspondent account or payable-through account of the foreign financial institution;

(2) Restricting the transactions that may be processed through the correspondent account or payable-through account of the foreign financial institution to certain types of transactions, such as personal remittances;

(3) Placing monetary limits on, or limiting the volume of, the transactions that may be processed through the correspondent account or payable-through account of the foreign financial institution;

(4) Requiring pre-approval from the U.S. financial institution for all transactions processed through the correspondent account or payable-through account of the foreign financial institution; or

(5) Prohibiting or restricting the processing of foreign exchange transactions through the correspondent account or payable-through account of the foreign financial institution.

Note to paragraph (b) of § 561.201:

The name of the foreign financial institution, together with the actual strict condition or conditions to be imposed, will be added to the Part 561 CAPTA List on the Office of Foreign Assets Control's Web site (www.treasury.gov/ofac) on the Iran Sanctions page, and published in the Federal Register.

(c) If the Secretary of the Treasury does not impose one or more strict conditions, pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section, on the opening or maintaining of a correspondent account or a payable-through account in the United States for a foreign financial institution that the Secretary finds engages in one or more of the activities described in paragraph (a) of this section, the Secretary, consistent with CISADA, will prohibit the opening or maintaining by a U.S. financial institution of a correspondent account or a payable-through account in the United States for that foreign financial institution. Except as otherwise authorized pursuant to this part, a U.S. financial institution shall not open or maintain a correspondent account or a payable-through account in the United States for a foreign financial institution for which the opening or maintaining of such an account is prohibited pursuant to this paragraph.

Note to paragraph (c) of § 561.201:

The names of foreign financial institutions for which the opening or maintaining of a correspondent account or a payable-through account in the United States is prohibited will be listed on the Part 561 CAPTA List on the Office of Foreign Assets Control's Web site (www.treasury.gov/ofac) on the Iran Sanctions page, and published in the Federal Register.

Note to § 561.201:

The Part 561 CAPTA List will specify whether U.S. financial institutions are required to:

(1) Impose strict conditions on the opening or maintaining of a correspondent account or a payable-through account for a particular foreign financial institution pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section;

(2) Prohibit the opening or maintaining of a correspondent account or a payable-through account for a particular foreign financial institution pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section;

(3) Prohibit the opening or maintaining of a correspondent account or a payable-through account for a particular foreign financial institution pursuant to § 561.203(a)(1) and (a)(2)(i); or

(4) Prohibit the opening of a correspondent account or a payable-through account and impose strict conditions on maintaining a preexisting correspondent account or a payable-through account for a particular foreign financial institution pursuant to § 561.203(a)(1) and (a)(2)(ii). Where applicable, the Part 561 CAPTA List also will specify the strict condition or conditions to be imposed on the correspondent account or the payable-through account.

[77 FR 11726, Feb. 27, 2012, as amended at 77 FR 66919, Nov. 8, 2012; 84 FR 9457, Mar. 15, 2019]