Title I — Investigations, Prohibited Conduct, and Penalties

114th Congress · Approved Feb 18, 2016 · 130 Stat. 93

TITLE I Investigations, Prohibited Conduct, and Penalties

SEC. 101. Statement of Policy.

In order to achieve the peaceful disarmament of North Korea, Congress finds that it is necessary—

(1)

to encourage all member states of the United Nations to fully and promptly implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 2094 (2013);

(2)

to sanction the persons, including financial institutions, that facilitate proliferation, illicit activities, arms trafficking, cyberterrorism, imports of luxury goods, serious human rights abuses, cash smuggling, and censorship by the Government of North Korea;

(3)

to authorize the President to sanction persons who fail to exercise due diligence to ensure that such financial institutions and member states do not facilitate proliferation, arms trafficking, kleptocracy, or imports of luxury goods by the Government of North Korea;

(4)

to deny the Government of North Korea access to the funds it uses to develop or obtain nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, cyberwarfare capabilities, and luxury goods instead of providing for the needs of the people of North Korea; and

(5)

to enforce sanctions in a manner that does not significantly hinder or delay the efforts of legitimate United States or foreign humanitarian organizations from providing assistance to meet the needs of civilians facing humanitarian crisis, including access to food, health care, shelter, and clean drinking water, to prevent or alleviate human suffering.

SEC. 102. Investigations.

(a)

Initiation.— The President shall initiate an investigation into the possible designation of a person under section 104(a) upon receipt by the President of credible information indicating that such person has engaged in conduct described in section 104(a).

(b)

Personnel.— The President may direct the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the heads of other Federal departments and agencies as may be necessary to assign sufficient experienced and qualified investigators, attorneys, and technical personnel—

(1)

to investigate the conduct described in subsections (a) and (b) of section 104; and

(2)

to coordinate and ensure the effective enforcement of this Act.

SEC. 103. Reporting Requirements.

(a)

Presidential Briefings to Congress.— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and periodically thereafter, the President shall provide a briefing to the appropriate congressional committees on efforts to implement this Act.

(b)

Report From Secretary of State.— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall conduct, coordinate, and submit to Congress a comprehensive report on United States policy towards North Korea that—

(1)

is based on a full and complete interagency review of current policies and possible alternatives, including with respect to North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and missile programs, human rights atrocities, and significant activities undermining cybersecurity; and

(2)

includes recommendations for such legislative or administrative action as the Secretary considers appropriate based on the results of the review.

SEC. 104. Designation of Persons.

(a)

Mandatory Designations.— Except as provided in section 208, the President shall designate under this subsection any person that the President determines—

(1)

knowingly, directly or indirectly, imports, exports, or reexports to, into, or from North Korea any goods, services, or technology controlled for export by the United States because of the use of such goods, services, or technology for weapons of mass destruction or delivery systems for such weapons and materially contributes to the use, development, production, possession, or acquisition by any person of a nuclear, radiological, chemical, or biological weapon or any device or system designed in whole or in part to deliver such a weapon;

(2)

knowingly, directly or indirectly, provides training, advice, or other services or assistance, or engages in significant financial transactions, relating to the manufacture, maintenance, or use of any such weapon, device, or system to be imported, exported, or reexported to, into, or from North Korea;

(3)

knowingly, directly or indirectly, imports, exports, or reexports luxury goods to or into North Korea;

(4)

knowingly engages in, is responsible for, or facilitates censorship by the Government of North Korea;

(5)

knowingly engages in, is responsible for, or facilitates serious human rights abuses by the Government of North Korea;

(6)

knowingly, directly or indirectly, engages in money laundering, the counterfeiting of goods or currency, bulk cash smuggling, or narcotics trafficking that supports the Government of North Korea or any senior official or person acting for or on behalf of that Government;

(7)

knowingly engages in significant activities undermining cybersecurity through the use of computer networks or systems against foreign persons, governments, or other entities on behalf of the Government of North Korea;

(8)

knowingly, directly or indirectly, sells, supplies, or transfers to or from the Government of North Korea or any person acting for or on behalf of that Government, a significant amount of precious metal, graphite, raw or semi-finished metals or aluminum, steel, coal, or software, for use by or in industrial processes directly related to weapons of mass destruction and delivery systems for such weapons, other proliferation activities, the Korean Workers’ Party, armed forces, internal security, or intelligence activities, or the operation and maintenance of political prison camps or forced labor camps, including outside of North Korea;

(9)

knowingly, directly or indirectly, imports, exports, or reexports to, into, or from North Korea any arms or related materiel; or

(10)

knowingly attempts to engage in any of the conduct described in paragraphs (1) through (9).

(b)

Additional Discretionary Designations.—

(1)

Prohibited conduct described.— Except as provided in section 208, the President may designate under this subsection any person that the President determines—

(A)

knowingly engages in, contributes to, assists, sponsors, or provides financial, material or technological support for, or goods and services in support of, any person designated pursuant to an applicable United Nations Security Council resolution;

(B)

knowingly contributed to—

(i)

the bribery of an official of the Government of North Korea or any person acting for on behalf of that official;

(ii)

the misappropriation, theft, or embezzlement of public funds by, or for the benefit of, an official of the Government of North Korea or any person acting for or on behalf of that official; or

(iii)

the use of any proceeds of any activity described in clause (i) or (ii); or

(C)

knowingly and materially assisted, sponsored, or provided significant financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the activities described in subparagraph (A) or (B).

(2)

Effect of designation.— With respect to any person designated under this subsection, the President may—

(A)

apply the sanctions described in section 204, 205(c), or 206 to the person to the same extent and in the same manner as if the person were designated under subsection (a);

(B)

apply any applicable special measures described in section 5318A of title 31, United States Code;

(C)

prohibit any transactions in foreign exchange—

(i)

that are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States; and

(ii)

in which such person has any interest; and

(D)

prohibit any transfers of credit or payments between financial institutions or by, through, or to any financial institution, to the extent that such transfers or payments—

(i)

are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States; and

(ii)

involve any interest of such person.

(c)

Asset Blocking.— The President shall exercise all of the powers granted to the President under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in property and interests in property of a designated person, the Government of North Korea, or the Workers’ Party of Korea, if such property and interests in property are in the United States, come within the United States, or are or come within the possession or control of a United States person.

(d)

Application to Subsidiaries and Agents.— The designation of a person under subsection (a) or (b) and the blocking of property and interests in property under subsection (c) shall apply with respect to a person who is determined to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to have acted for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this section.

(e)

Transaction Licensing.— The President shall deny or revoke any license for any transaction that the President determines to lack sufficient financial controls to ensure that such transaction will not facilitate any activity described in subsection (a) or (b).

(f)

Penalties.— The penalties provided for in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to any person who violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of any prohibition of this section, or an order or regulation prescribed under this section, to the same extent that such penalties apply to a person that commits an unlawful act described in section 206(a) of such Act (50 U.S.C. 1705(a)).

SEC. 105. Forfeiture of Property.

(a)

Amendment to Property Subject to Forfeiture.— Section 981(a)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(I) Any property, real or personal, that is involved in a violation or attempted violation, or which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to a prohibition imposed pursuant to section 104(a) of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016.”

(b)

Amendment to Definition of Civil Forfeiture Statute.— Section 983(i)(2)(D) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

“(D) the Trading with the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. 4301 et seq.), the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), or the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016; or”

(c)

Amendment to Definition of Specified Unlawful Activity.— Section 1956(c)(7)(D) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1)

by striking “ or section 92 of” and inserting “ section 92 of”; and

(2)

by adding at the end the following: “ , or section 104(a) of the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016 (relating to prohibited activities with respect to North Korea);”.

Title I — Investigations, Prohibited Conduct, and Penalties