§ 561.701 - Penalties.

§ 561.701 Penalties.

(a) Civil Penalties.

(1) As set forth in section 104(c) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111–195) (22 U.S.C. 8501–8551) (“CISADA”) and section 1245(g)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Pub. L. 112–81) (22 U.S.C. 8513a) (“2012 NDAA”), a civil penalty not to exceed the amount set forth in section 206(b) of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) (50 U.S.C. 1705(b)) may be imposed on any person who violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of any prohibition contained in § 561.201 or § 561.203 or of any order, regulation, or license set forth in or issued pursuant to this part concerning such prohibitions.

(2) As set forth in section 104(d) of CISADA, a civil penalty not to exceed the amount set forth in section 206(b) of IEEPA may be imposed on a U.S. financial institution if:

(i) A person owned or controlled by the U.S. financial institution violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of the prohibition in § 561.202 or of any order, regulation, or license set forth in or issued pursuant to this part concerning such prohibition; and

(ii) The U.S. financial institution knew or should have known that the person violated, attempted to violate, conspired to violate, or caused a violation of such prohibition.

(3) Pursuant to section 206 of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1705), which is applicable to violations of the provisions of any license, ruling, regulation, order, directive, or instruction issued by or pursuant to the direction or authorization of the Secretary of the Treasury under IEEPA, a civil penalty not to exceed the amount set forth in section 206(b) of IEEPA may be imposed on any person who violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of any prohibition contained in § 561.204 or of any order, regulation, or license set forth in or issued pursuant to this part concerning such prohibition.

(4) The applicable maximum civil penalty per violation of IEEPA is the greater of $356$368,579 136 or an amount that is twice the amount of the transaction that is the basis of the violation with respect to which the penalty is imposed.

(b) Criminal Penalty.

(1) As set forth in section 104(c) of CISADA and section 1245(g)(2) of the 2012 NDAA, a person who willfully commits, willfully attempts to commit, or willfully conspires to commit, or aids or abets in the commission of a violation of any prohibition contained in §§ 561.201 or 561.203 shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $1,000,000, or if a natural person, be imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both.

(2) Pursuant to section 206 of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1705), a person who willfully commits, willfully attempts to commit, or willfully conspires to commit, or aids or abets in the commission of a violation of any prohibition contained in § 561.204 or of any order, regulation, or license set forth in or issued pursuant to this part concerning such prohibition may, upon conviction, be fined not more than $1,000,000, or if a natural person, be imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both.

(c) Adjustments to penalty amounts.

(1) The civil penalties provided in IEEPA 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 IEEPA are subject to adjustment pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3571.

(d) Attention is also directed to 18 U.S.C. 1001, which provides that “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; 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.

(e) Violations of this part may also be subject to relevant provisions of other applicable laws.

[77 FR 11726, Feb. 27, 2012, as amended at 78 FR 16410, Mar. 15, 2013; 81 FR 43076, July 1, 2016; 82 FR 10438, Feb. 10, 2017; 83 FR 11879, Mar. 19, 2018; 84 FR 27718, June 14, 2019; 85 FR 19887, Apr. 9, 2020; 86 FR 14538, Mar. 17, 2021; 87 FR 7373, Feb. 9, 2022; 88 FR 2233, Jan. 13, 2023; 89 FR 2143, Jan. 12, 2024]