US Codex
Bill
Notes

H.R. 6069 — what changed

Fight Illicit Networks and Detect Trafficking Act

From Introduced in House to Reported in House. 2 sections amended between Introduced in House and Reported in House.

Sec. 2 Findings

The Congress finds the following:

(1)
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) 2017 National Drug Threat Assessment, transnational criminal organizations are increasingly using virtual currencies.
(2)
changed Although The Treasury Department has recognized that: “The development of virtual currencies can be used for legal purchases, they have become is an attempt to meet a preferred financial legitimate market demand. According to a Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago economist, U.S. consumers want payment options that are versatile and that provide immediate finality. No U.S. payment method meets that description, although cash may come closest. Virtual currencies can mimic cash’s immediate finality and anonymity and are more versatile than cash for criminals.online and cross-border transactions, making virtual currencies vulnerable for illicit transactions.”.
(3)
Virtual currencies have become a prominent method to pay for goods and services associated with illegal sex trafficking and drug trafficking, which are two of the most detrimental and troubling illegal activities facilitated by online marketplaces.
(4)
Online marketplaces, including the darkweb, have become a prominent platform to buy, sell, and advertise for illicit goods and services associated with sex trafficking and drug trafficking.
(5)
According to the International Labour Organization, in 2016, 4.8 million people in the world were victims of forced sexual exploitation, and in 2014, the global profit from commercial sexual exploitation was $99 billion.
(6)
In 2016, within the United States, the Center for Disease Control estimated that there were 64,000 deaths related to drug overdose, and the most severe increase in drug overdoses were those associated with fentanyl and fentanyl analogs (synthetic opioids), which amounted to over 20,000 overdose deaths.
(7)
According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury 2015 National Money Laundering Risk Assessment, an estimated $64 billion is generated annually from U.S. drug trafficking sales.
(8)
Illegal fentanyl in the United States originates primarily from China, and it is readily available to purchase through online marketplaces.

Sec. 3 GAO Study

(a)
Study required— The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study on how virtual currencies and online marketplaces are used to facilitate sex and drug trafficking. The study shall consider—
(1)
changed how online marketplaces, including the darkweb, are being used as platforms to buy, sell, or facilitate the financing of goods or services associated with sex trafficking or drug trafficking (specifically, opioids and synthetic opioids, including fen­ta­nyl, fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and any precursor chemicals associated with manufacturing fentanyl or fentanyl analogs) destined for, originating from, or within the United States;
(2)
how financial payment methods, including virtual currencies and peer-to-peer mobile payment services, are being utilized by online marketplaces to facilitate the buying, selling, or financing of goods and services associated with sex or drug trafficking destined for, originating from, or within the United States;
(3)
how virtual currencies are being used to facilitate the buying, selling, or financing of goods and services associated with sex or drug trafficking, destined for, originating from, or within the United States, when an online platform is not otherwise involved;
(4)
how illicit funds that have been transmitted online and through virtual currencies are repatriated into the formal banking system of the United States through money laundering or other means;
(5)
changed the participants (state and non-state actors) throughout the entire supply chain that participate in or benefit from the buying, selling, or financing of goods and services associated with sex or drug trafficking (either through online marketplaces or virtual currencies) destined for, originating from, or within the United States; andStates;
(6)
changed Federal and State agency efforts to impede the buying, selling, or financing of goods and services associated with sex or drug trafficking destined for, originating from, or within the United States, including efforts to prevent the proceeds from sex or drug trafficking from entering the United States banking system.system;
(7)
added how virtual currencies and their underlying technologies can be used to detect and deter these illicit activities; and
(8)
added to what extent can the immutable and traceable nature of virtual currencies contribute to the tracking and prosecution of illicit funding.
(b)
Scope— For the purposes of the study required under subsection (a), the term “sex trafficking” means the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act that is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age.
(c)
Report to Congress— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives a report summarizing the results of the study required under subsection (a), together with any recommendations for legislative or regulatory action that would improve the efforts of Federal agencies to impede the use of virtual currencies and online marketplaces in facilitating sex and drug trafficking.