Title VI — Sanctions with respect to the Russian Federation
VI Sanctions with respect to the Russian Federation
A Expansion of Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act
Sec. 602 Sanctions related to interference of the Russian Federation with democratic processes and elections
“235. Sanctions with respect to transactions with certain Russian political figures and oligarchs
“On and after the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019, the President shall impose the sanctions described in section 224(b) with respect to—
“(1) political figures, oligarchs, and other persons that facilitate illicit and corrupt activities, directly or indirectly, on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and persons acting for or on behalf of such political figures, oligarchs, and persons;
“(2) Russian parastatal entities that facilitate illicit and corrupt activities, directly or indirectly, on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin;
“(3) family members of persons described in paragraph (1) or (2) that derive significant benefits from such illicit and corrupt activities; and
“(4) persons, including financial institutions, engaging in significant transactions with persons described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3).
“236. Sanctions with respect to transactions with the cyber sector of the Russian Federation
“On and after the date that is 60 days after the date of the enactment of the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019, the President shall impose the sanctions described in section 224(b) with respect to a person, including any financial institution, that the President determines—
“(1) knowingly engages in significant transactions with any person in the Russian Federation that supports or facilitates malicious cyber activities; or
“(2) is knowingly owned or controlled by, or knowingly acts or purports to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, a person that engages in significant transactions described in paragraph (1).
“237. Sanctions with respect to transactions related to investments in Russian liquefied natural gas export facilities
“(a) In general—On and after the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019, the President shall impose five or more of the sanctions described in section 239E with respect to a person if the President determines that the person knowingly, on or after such date of enactment, makes an investment described in subsection (b) in a liquefied natural gas export facility located outside of the Russian Federation.
“(b) Investment described—An investment described in this subsection is an investment that—
“(1) directly and significantly contributes to the ability of the Russian Federation to construct liquefied natural gas export facilities outside of the Russian Federation; and
“(2)
“(A) has a fair market value of $1,000,000 or more; or
“(B) during a 12-month period, has an aggregate fair market value of $5,000,000 or more.
“238. Prohibition on transactions relating to new sovereign debt of the Russian Federation
“(a) In general—Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019, the President shall prescribe regulations prohibiting United States persons from engaging in transactions with, providing financing for, or otherwise dealing in, Russian sovereign debt issued on or after the date that is 90 days after such date of enactment.
“(b) Russian sovereign debt defined—In this section, the term Russian sovereign debt means—
“(1) bonds issued by the Central Bank, the National Wealth Fund, or the Federal Treasury of the Russian Federation, or agents or affiliates of any of those entities, with a maturity of more than 14 days;
“(2) foreign exchange swap agreements with the Central Bank, the National Wealth Fund, or the Federal Treasury of the Russian Federation with a duration of more than 14 days; and
“(3) any other financial instrument, the duration or maturity of which is more than 14 days, that—
“(A) was issued by a Russian financial institution on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation; or
“(B) the President determines otherwise represents the sovereign debt of the Government of the Russian Federation.
“239. Sanctions with respect to Russian financial institutions that support interference in democratic processes or elections
“On and after the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019, the President shall impose the sanctions described in section 224(b)(1) with respect to any Russian financial institution that the President determines has, on or after such date of enactment, provided financial or other support for interference by the Government of the Russian Federation in the democratic process or elections of any country other than the Russian Federation.”
Sec. 603 Sanctions relating to the actions of the Russian Federation with respect to Ukraine
“239A. Sanctions with respect to transactions related to investments in energy projects supported by Russian state-owned or parastatal entities outside of the Russian Federation
“On and after the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019, the President shall impose five or more of the sanctions described in section 239E with respect to a person if the President determines that—
“(1) the person knowingly, on or after such date of enactment, invests in an energy project outside of the Russian Federation that is supported by a Russian parastatal entity or an entity owned or controlled by the Government of the Russian Federation; and
“(2) the total value of the project exceeds or is reasonably expected to exceed $250,000,000.
“239B. Sanctions with respect to support for the development of crude oil resources in the Russian Federation
“(a) In general—The President shall impose five or more of the sanctions described in section 239E with respect to a person if the President determines that the person knowingly, on or after the date of the enactment of the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019, sells, leases, or provides to the Russian Federation goods, services, technology, financing, or support described in subsection (b)—
“(1) any of which has a fair market value of $1,000,000 or more; or
“(2) that, during a 12-month period, have an aggregate fair market value of $5,000,000 or more.
“(b) Goods, services, technology, financing, or support described—Goods, services, technology, financing, or support described in this subsection are goods, services, technology, financing or support that could directly and significantly contribute to the Russian Federation’s—
“(1) ability to develop crude oil resources located in the Russian Federation; or
“(2) production of crude oil resources in the Russian Federation, including any direct and significant assistance with respect to the construction, modernization, or repair of infrastructure that would facilitate the development of crude oil resources located in the Russian Federation.
“(c) Applicability—The requirement to impose sanctions under subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to the maintenance of projects that are ongoing as of the date of the enactment of the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019.
“(d) Requirement To issue guidance—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Energy, shall issue regulations—
“(1) clarifying how the exception under subsection (c) will be applied; and
“(2) listing specific goods, services, technology, financing, and support covered by subsection (b).
“239C. Sanctions with respect to Russian detention of 24 Ukrainian naval personnel on and after November 25, 2018
“(a) In general—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019, the President shall impose the sanctions described in section 224(b) with respect to not fewer than 24 senior officers of the Russian Federal Security Service who had not been sanctioned by the United States before such date of enactment.
“(b) Duration—Sanctions imposed under subsection (a) shall remain in effect until the date on which the Secretary of State determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the Ukrainian naval personnel detained by forces of the Russian Federation on November 25, 2018, are no longer in detention.
“239D. Sanctions for violations by the Russian Federation of freedom of navigation
“(a) Determination of violation
“(1) In general—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019, and every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of State shall determine and certify to the committees specified in subsection (d) whether the Government of the Russian Federation, including the armed forces or coast guard of the Russian Federation, has interfered with the freedom of navigation of one or more vessels in the Kerch Strait or elsewhere in a manner inconsistent with international law during the 180 days preceding the certification.
“(2) Publication of certification—Not later than 15 days after submitting a certification under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall publish the certification in the Federal Register.
“(b) Imposition of sanctions—On and after the date that is 90 days after the publication of a certification under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) indicating that the Government of the Russian Federation has interfered with the freedom of navigation of one or more vessels as described in paragraph (1) of that subsection, all entities operating in the shipbuilding sector of the Russian Federation shall be subject to the same restrictions as an entity included on the list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury.
“(c) Removal of sanctions—The restrictions imposed pursuant to subsection (b) shall remain in effect until the date on which the Secretary of State determines and certifies to the committees specified in subsection (d) that—
“(1) the Government of the Russian Federation, including the armed forces and coast guard of the Russian Federation, has not interfered with the freedom of navigation of any vessels in the Kerch Strait or elsewhere in a manner inconsistent with international law during the 3-year period preceding the submission of that certification; and
“(2) the Government of the Russian Federation has provided assurances that that Government will not engage in such interference in the future.
“(d) Committees specified—The committees specified in this subsection are—
“(1) the appropriate congressional committees; and
“(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.”
Sec. 604 Conforming and technical amendments
“239G. Implementation and penalties
“(a) Implementation—The President may exercise all authorities provided to the President under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this part.
“(b) Penalties—A person that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of this part or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry out this part shall be subject to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of that section.”
“(6) Russian financial institution—The term Russian financial institution means—
“(A) a financial institution organized under the laws of the Russian Federation or any jurisdiction within the Russian Federation, including a foreign branch of such an institution;
“(B) a financial institution located in the Russian Federation;
“(C) a financial institution, wherever located, owned or controlled by the Government of the Russian Federation; and
“(D) a financial institution, wherever located, owned or controlled by a financial institution described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C).”
Sec. 605 Congressional review and continued applicability of sanctions under the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012
“(IV) the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 (title IV of Public Law 112–208; 22 U.S.C. 5811 note); and”
B Coordination with the European Union
Sec. 611 Sense of Congress on coordination with allies with respect to sanctions with respect to the Russian Federation
Sec. 612 Office of Sanctions Coordination of the Department of State
“(h) Office of Sanctions Coordination
“(1) In general—There is established, within the Department of State, an Office of Sanctions Coordination (referred to in this subsection as the “Office”).
“(2) Head—The head of the Office shall—
“(A) have the rank and status of ambassador;
“(B) be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and
“(C) report to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs.
“(3) Duties—The head of the Office shall—
“(A) serve as the principal advisor to the senior management of the Department and the Secretary regarding the role of the Department in the development and implementation of sanctions policy, including sanctions with respect to the Russian Federation, Iran, North Korea, and other countries;
“(B) represent the United States in diplomatic and multilateral fora on sanctions matters;
“(C) consult and closely coordinate with the European Union to ensure the maximum effectiveness of sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union with respect to the Russian Federation;
“(D) advise the Secretary directly and provide input with respect to all activities, policies, and programs of all bureaus and offices of the Department relating to the implementation of sanctions policy; and
“(E) serve as the principal liaison of the Department to other Federal agencies involved in the design and implementation of sanctions policy.
“(4) Rule of construction—Nothing in this subsection may be construed to preclude—
“(A) the Office from being elevated to a Bureau within the Department; or
“(B) the head of the Office from being elevated to level of an Assistant Secretary.”
Sec. 613 Report on coordination of sanctions between the United States and European Union
C Reports relating to sanctions with respect to the Russian Federation
Sec. 621 Definitions
Sec. 622 Updated report on oligarchs and parastatal entities of the Russian Federation
“(b) Updated report—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of State, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an updated report on oligarchs and parastatal entities of the Russian Federation that builds on the report submitted under subsection (a) on January 29, 2018, and that includes the matters described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a).”