§9.2. Definitions. — Inbound Citations

(a) Investigate violations of the laws, including the criminal drug laws, of the United States and collect evidence in cases in which the United States is or may be a party in interest, except in cases in which such responsibility is by statute or otherwise exclusively assigned to another investigative agency. The Director's authority to investigate violations of and collect evidence in cases involving the criminal drug laws of the United States is concurrent with such authority of the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration under § 0.100 of this part. In investigating violations of such laws and in collecting evidence in such cases, the Director may exercise so much of the authority vested in the Attorney General by sections 1 and 2 of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1968, section 1 of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1973 and the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, as amended, as he determines is necessary. He may also release FBI information on the same terms and for the same purposes that the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration may disclose DEA information under § 0.103 of this part. The Director and his authorized delegates may seize, forfeit and remit or mitigate the forfeiture of property in accordance with 21 U.S.C. 881, 21 CFR 1316.71 through 1316.81, and 28 CFR 9.1 through 9.7.

(1) A petition for remission or mitigation must be filed by a petitioner as defined in § 9.2 or as prescribed in § 9.9(g) and (h). A person or person on their behalf may not file a petition if, after notice or knowledge of the fact that a warrant or process has been issued for his apprehension, in order to avoid criminal prosecution, the person:

(i) Purposely leaves the jurisdiction of the United States;

(ii) Declines to enter or reenter the United States to submit to its jurisdiction; or

(iii) Otherwise evades the jurisdiction of the court in which a criminal matter is pending against the person.

(b) A petition for remission or mitigation must be filed by a petitioner as defined in § 9.2 or as prescribed in § 9.9(g) and (h).

(e) A petition by any person who has acquired a property interest recognizable under this part, and who knew or had reason to believe that the interest was conveyed by the previous owner for the purpose of circumventing seizure, forfeiture, or the regulations in this part, shall be denied. A petition by a person who purchases or owns property for another who has a record for related crimes as defined in § 9.2, or a petition by a lienholder who knows or has reason to believe that the purchaser or owner of record is not the real purchaser or owner, shall be denied unless both the purchaser of record and the real purchaser or owner meet the requirements of § 9.5.

(b) A victim, as defined in § 9.2, may be granted remission, if in addition to complying with the other applicable provisions of § 9.8, the victim satisfactorily demonstrates that:

(1) A pecuniary loss of a specific amount has been directly caused by the criminal offense, or related offense, that was the underlying basis for the forfeiture, and that the loss is supported by documentary evidence including invoices and receipts;

(2) The pecuniary loss is the direct result of the illegal acts and is not the result of otherwise lawful acts that were committed in the course of a criminal offense;

(3) The victim did not knowingly contribute to, participate in, benefit from, or act in a willfully blind manner towards the commission of the offense, or related offense, that was the underlying basis of the forfeiture;

(4) The victim has not in fact been compensated for the wrongful loss of the property by the perpetrator or others; and

(5) The victim does not have recourse reasonably available to other assets from which to obtain compensation for the wrongful loss of the property.

(h) At the discretion of the ruling official in individual cases, a petition may be filed by one petitioner on behalf of other petitioners, provided the petitions are based on similar underlying facts, and the petitioner who files the petition has written authority to do so on behalf of the other petitioners. This authority must be either expressed in documents giving the petitioner the authority to file petitions for remission, or reasonably implied from documents giving the petitioner express authority to file claims or lawsuits related to the course of conduct in question on behalf of these petitioners. An insurer or an administrator of an employee benefit plan, for example, which itself has standing to file a petition as a “victim” within the meaning of § 9.2, may also file a petition on behalf of its insured or plan beneficiaries for any claims they may have based on co-payments made to the perpetrator of the offense underlying the forfeiture or the perpetrator of a “related offense” within the meaning of § 9.2, if the authority to file claims or lawsuits is contained in the document or documents establishing the plan. Where such a petition is filed, any amounts granted as a remission must be transferred to the other petitioners, not the party filing the petition; although, in his or her discretion, the ruling official may use the actual petitioner as an intermediary for transferring the amounts authorized as a remission to the other petitioners.

The person who has primary and direct title to property (see 28 CFR 9.2(e)).

An individual, partnership, corporation, joint venture, or other entity capable of owning property (see 28 CFR 9.2(f)).