Notice2023-04713
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal; Comment Request: Renewal Without Change of Information Collection Requirements in Connection With the Imposition of the Fifth Special Measure Against the Islamic Republic of Iran as a Jurisdiction of Primary Money Laundering Concern
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 8, 2023
Issuing agencies
Treasury DepartmentFinancial Crimes Enforcement Network
Abstract
As part of a continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, FinCEN invites comment on a renewal, without change, to information collection requirements finalized on November 4, 2019, imposing a special measure with respect to the Islamic Republic of Iran as a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern. This request for comments is being made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 45 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14440-14442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04713]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal;
Comment Request: Renewal Without Change of Information Collection
Requirements in Connection With the Imposition of the Fifth Special
Measure Against the Islamic Republic of Iran as a Jurisdiction of
Primary Money Laundering Concern
AGENCY: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Treasury.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: As part of a continuing effort to reduce paperwork and
respondent burden, FinCEN invites comment on a renewal, without change,
to information collection requirements finalized on November 4, 2019,
imposing a special measure with respect to the Islamic Republic of Iran
as a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern. This request for
comments is being made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA).
DATES: Written comments are welcome and must be received on or before
May 8, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal E-rulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Refer to Docket Number
FINCEN-2023-0003 and the specific Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
control number 1506-0074.
<bullet> Mail: Policy Division, Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183. Refer to Docket Number FINCEN-
2023-0003 and OMB control number 1506-0074.
Please submit comments by one method only. Comments will be
reviewed consistent with the PRA and applicable OMB regulations and
guidance. Comments submitted in response to this notice will become a
matter of public record. Therefore, you should submit only information
that you wish to make publicly available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The FinCEN Resource Center at 1-800-
767-2825 or electronically at <a href="https://www.fincen.gov/contact">https://www.fincen.gov/contact</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Statutory and Regulatory Provisions
a. Statutory Provisions
The legislative framework generally referred to as the Bank Secrecy
Act (BSA) consists of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting
Act of 1970, as amended by the Uniting and Strengthening America by
Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct
Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), Public Law 107-56 (October 26,
2001), and other legislation, including the Anti-Money Laundering Act
of 2020 (AML Act).\1\ The BSA is codified at 12 U.S.C. 1829b, 12 U.S.C.
1951-1960, and 31 U.S.C. 5311-5314 and 5316-5336, and notes thereto,
with implementing regulations at 31 CFR Chapter X.
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\1\ The AML Act was enacted as Division F, Sec. Sec. 6001-6511,
of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Public Law 116-283, 134 Stat 3388 (2021).
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The BSA authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury (the
``Secretary''), inter alia, to require financial institutions to keep
records and file reports that are determined to have a high degree of
usefulness in criminal, tax, and regulatory matters, or in the conduct
of intelligence or counter-intelligence activities to protect against
international terrorism, and to implement AML
[[Page 14441]]
programs and compliance procedures.\2\ Regulations implementing the BSA
appear at 31 CFR Chapter X. The authority of the Secretary to
administer the BSA has been delegated to the Director of FinCEN.\3\
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\2\ Section 358 of the USA PATRIOT Act expanded the scope of the
BSA by including a reference to reports and records ``that have a
high degree of usefulness in intelligence or counterintelligence
activities to protect against international terrorism.'' Section
6101 of the AML Act further expanded the scope of the BSA to cover
such matters as preventing money laundering, tracking illicit funds,
assessing risk, and establishing appropriate frameworks for
information sharing.
\3\ Treasury Order 180-01 (Jan. 14, 2020). Therefore, references
to the authority of the Secretary under Section 311 of the USA
PATRIOT Act apply equally to the Director of FinCEN.
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Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act (Section 311), codified at 31
U.S.C. 5318A, grants FinCEN the authority, upon finding that reasonable
grounds exist for concluding that a foreign jurisdiction, financial
institution, class of transactions, or type of account is of ``primary
money laundering concern,'' to require domestic financial institutions
and financial agencies to take one or more ``special measures.''
Special measures one through four, codified at 31 U.S.C.
5318A(b)(1)-(b)(4), impose additional recordkeeping, information
collection, and reporting requirements on covered U.S. financial
institutions. The fifth special measure, codified at 31 U.S.C.
5318A(b)(5), allows FinCEN to impose prohibitions or conditions on the
opening or maintenance of certain correspondent accounts. Special
measures are safeguards that protect the U.S. financial system from
money laundering and terrorist financing.
FinCEN issued a final rule on November 4, 2019, imposing the fifth
special measure to prohibit U.S. financial institutions from opening or
maintaining a correspondent account for, or on behalf of, Iranian
financial institutions.\4\ The rule requires that U.S. financial
institutions take reasonable steps not to process transactions for the
correspondent account of a foreign bank in the United States if such a
transaction involves an Iranian financial institution, and requires
U.S. financial institutions to apply special due diligence that is
reasonably designed to guard against correspondent accounts being used
to process prohibited transactions involving Iranian financial
institutions. See 31 CFR 1010.661.
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\4\ FinCEN, Final Rule--Imposition of Fifth Special Measure
Against the Islamic Republic of Iran as a Jurisdiction of Primary
Money Laundering Concern, 84 FR 59302, (Nov. 4, 2019).
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U.S. financial institutions are required under 31 CFR
1010.661(b)(3)(i)(A) to notify holders of their foreign correspondent
accounts that they may not provide Iranian financial institutions with
access to such accounts. The requirement is intended to ensure
cooperation from correspondent account holders in denying Iran access
to the U.S. financial system. U.S. financial institutions are required
under 31 CFR 1010.661(b)(4)(i) to document compliance with the
notification requirement. The information is used by federal agencies
and certain self-regulatory organizations to verify compliance with 31
CFR 1010.661.
II. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 <SUP>5</SUP>
Title: Information Collection Requirements in Connection with the
Imposition of the Fifth Special Measure Against the Islamic Republic of
Iran as a Jurisdiction of Primary Money Laundering Concern.
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\5\ Public Law 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).
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OMB Control Number: 1506-0074.
Report Number: Not applicable.
Abstract: FinCEN is issuing this notice to renew the OMB control
number for the imposition of a special measure against the Islamic
Republic of Iran as a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern
pursuant to the authority contained in 31 U.S.C. 5318A. See 31 CFR
1010.661.
Type of Review: Renewal without change of a currently approved
collection.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit institutions, and
not-for-profit institutions.
Frequency: One time notification and recordkeeping associate with
the notification. See 31 CFR 1010.661(b)(3)(i)(A) and
1010.661(b)(4)(i).
Estimated Number of Respondents: 15,960.
Respondent Financial Institutions by Category
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Type of institution Count
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Banks, savings associations, thrifts, trust companies 5,102
\6\....................................................
Credit unions \7\....................................... 4,917
Brokers or dealers in securities \8\.................... 3,527
Mutual funds \9\........................................ 1,378
Futures commission merchants and introducing brokers in 1,036
commodities \10\.......................................
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Total............................................... 15,960
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Estimated Time per Respondent: 1 hour.
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\6\ All counts are from the Q3 2022 Federal Financial
Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) Call Report data, available
at <a href="https://cdr.ffiec.gov/public/pws/downloadbulkdata.aspx">https://cdr.ffiec.gov/public/pws/downloadbulkdata.aspx</a>. Data for
institutions that are not insured, are insured under non-FDIC
deposit insurance regimes, or do not have a Federal functional
regulator are from the FDIC's Research Information System, available
at <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/foia/ris/index.html">https://www.fdic.gov/foia/ris/index.html</a>.
\7\ Credit union data are from the National Credit Union
Administration (NCUA) for Q3 2022, available at <a href="https://ncua.gov/analysis/credit-union-corporate-call-report-data">https://ncua.gov/analysis/credit-union-corporate-call-report-data</a>.
\8\ According to the SEC, there are 3,527 brokers or dealers in
securities as of the end of fiscal year 2021. See SEC, Fiscal Year
2023 Congressional Budget Justification, p. 33, <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/FY%202023%20Congressional%20Budget%20Justification%20Annual%20Performance%20Plan_FINAL.pdf">https://www.sec.gov/files/FY%202023%20Congressional%20Budget%20Justification%20Annual%20Performance%20Plan_FINAL.pdf</a>.
\9\ According to information provided by the SEC as of December
2022 (including filings made through January 20, 2023), there are
1,378 open-end registered investment companies that report on Form
N-CEN. FinCEN assesses that such companies would be responsible for
implementing the requirements imposed through the final rule issued
on November 4, 2019.
\10\ As of November 30, 2022, there are 62 futures commission
merchants. See Commodity Futures Trading Commission, ``Financial
Data for FCMs'', dated November 2022, available at <a href="https://www.cftc.gov/MarketReports/financialfcmdata/index.htm">https://www.cftc.gov/MarketReports/financialfcmdata/index.htm</a>. Additionally,
as of December 31, 2022, there are 974 introducing brokers in
commodities according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
These two counts total 1,036.
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Estimated Total Annual Burden: 15,960 hours (15,960 respondents x 1
hour).
FinCEN's estimate of the number of affected financial institutions
accounts for all domestic financial institutions that could potentially
maintain correspondent accounts for foreign banks or process
transactions that may involve Iranian financial institutions. FinCEN
does this in order to establish the burden associated with all
potentially affected U.S. financial institutions conducting appropriate
due diligence and not processing transactions that may involve Iranian
financial institutions. There are approximately 15,960 such financial
institutions doing business in the United States that could potentially
maintain correspondent accounts or process transactions that may
involve Iranian financial institutions.
Records required to be retained under the BSA must be retained for
five years. Generally, information collected pursuant to the BSA is
confidential, but may be shared as provided by law with regulatory and
law enforcement authorities.
Request for Comments
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid
OMB control number. Comments submitted in response to this notice will
be summarized and/or included in a request for OMB approval. All
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comments will become a matter of public record. Comments are invited
on: (a) whether the collection of information is necessary for the
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether
the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of information; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of
information on respondents, including through the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and (e)
estimates of capital or start-up costs, cost of operation and
maintenance, and cost involved in purchasing services.
Himamauli Das,
Acting Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
[FR Doc. 2023-04713 Filed 3-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-02-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 8, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.