---
kind: "range"
citation: "12 U.S.C. §§ 4201–4204"
title: "12"
from: "4201"
to: "4204"
count: 4
release: "119-102"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/12/4201..4204"
---

# §4201. Filing of confidential declarations by private persons

- (a) **In general—** [Any person](/usc/12/1715z–4a.md?p=a-2) may file a declaration of a violation giving rise to an action for civil penalties under [section 1833a of this title](/usc/12/1833a.md) affecting a [depository institution](/usc/12/24a.md?p=g-2) insured by the Federal [Deposit](/usc/12/5301.md?p=18-A) Insurance [Corporation](/usc/12/2277a.md?p=2) or any other [agency](/usc/12/1422.md?p=12) or entity of the United States.
- (b) **Place of filing—** A declaration under [subsection (a)](#a) shall be filed with the Attorney General of the United States or with an agent designated by the Attorney General for receiving declarations under this section.

# §4202. Contents of declarations


A declaration filed pursuant to [section 4201 of this title](/usc/12/4201.md) shall—

- (1) set forth the name and address of the declarant and the basis for the declarant’s knowledge of the facts alleged;
- (2) allege under oath or affirmation specific facts, relating to a particular transaction or transactions, which constitute a prima facie case of a violation giving rise to an action for civil penalties under [section 1833a of this title](/usc/12/1833a.md) affecting a [depository institution](/usc/12/24a.md?p=g-2) insured by the Federal [Deposit](/usc/12/5301.md?p=18-A) Insurance [Corporation](/usc/12/2277a.md?p=2) or any other [agency](/usc/12/1422.md?p=12) or entity of the United States;
- (3) contain at least 1 new factual element necessary to establish a prima facie case that was unknown to the Government at the time of filing; and
- (4) set forth all facts supporting the allegation of a violation described in [paragraph (2)](#2) known to the declarant, along with the names of material witnesses and the nature and location of documentary evidence known to the declarant.

# §4203. Confidentiality of declarations

- (a) **Period of confidentiality—** A declarant and the declarant’s agents shall not disclose the existence or filing of a declaration filed pursuant to [section 4201 of this title](/usc/12/4201.md) until—
  - (1) the declarant receives notice that the Attorney General has concluded that an action should not be pursued under [section 4206(b) of this title](/usc/12/4206.md?p=b);
  - (2) the declarant receives notice of an award pursuant to [section 4206(c) of this title](/usc/12/4206.md?p=c); or
  - (3) the declarant is granted a contract to pursue an action under section [4205(b)](/usc/12/4205.md?p=b) or [4207](/usc/12/4207.md) of this title.
- (b) **Maintenance of confidentiality to prevent prejudice—**
  - (1) Notwithstanding any other law, the contents of a declaration shall not be disclosed by the declarant if the disclosure would prejudice or compromise in any way the completion of any government investigation or any criminal or civil case that may arise out of, or make use of, information contained in a declaration, but information contained in a declaration may be disclosed as required by duly issued and authorized legal process.
  - (2) The Attorney General may in a circumstance described in [paragraph (1)](#b-1) notify a declarant that continued confidentiality is required under this subsection notwithstanding paragraph [(1)](#a-1) or [(2)](#a-2) of subsection (a).
- (c) **Loss of rights—** A declarant who discloses, except as provided by this chapter,[^1] the existence or filing of a declaration or the contents thereof to anyone other than a duly authorized Federal or [State](/usc/12/1707.md?p=d) investigator or the declarant’s attorney shall immediately lose all rights under this subchapter.

# §4204. Ineligibility to file valid declarations

- (a) **In general—** A declaration filed pursuant to [section 4201](/usc/12/4201.md)[^1] of this title and in accordance with sections [4202](/usc/12/4202.md) and [4203](/usc/12/4203.md) of this title is valid unless—
  - (1) the declaration is filed by a current or former officer or employee of a Federal or [State](/usc/12/1707.md?p=d) government [agency](/usc/12/1422.md?p=12) or instrumentality who discovered or gathered the information in the declaration, in whole or in part, while acting within the course of the declarant’s government employment;
  - (2) the declaration is filed by a [person](/usc/12/5481.md?p=19) who knowingly participated in the violation of [section 1517 of title 18](/usc/18/1517.md) or any of the sections of [title 18](/usc/18.md) referred to in [section 1833a(c) of this title](/usc/12/1833a.md?p=c), or any other fraudulent conduct with respect to which the declaration is made;
  - (3) the declaration is filed by an institution-affiliated party (as defined in [section 1813(u) of this title](/usc/12/1813.md?p=u)) who withheld information during the course of any [bank](/usc/12/1426a.md?p=g-1) examination or investigation authorized pursuant to [section 1820 of this title](/usc/12/1820.md) which such party owed a fiduciary duty to disclose;
  - (4) the declaration is filed by a [member](/usc/12/1426a.md?p=g-1) of the immediate [family](/usc/12/1715z–1.md?p=j-2-A) of the individual whose activities are the subject of the declaration or where, in the discretion of the Attorney General, it appears the individual could benefit from the award; or
  - (5) the declaration consists of allegations or transactions that have been disclosed to a [member](/usc/12/1426a.md?p=g-1) of the public in a criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding, in a congressional, administrative, or Government Accountability [Office](/usc/12/2279bb.md?p=4) report, hearing, audit or investigation, by any other government source, or by the news media, unless the [person](/usc/12/5481.md?p=19) providing the declaration is the [original source](#b) of the information.
- (b) **“Original source” defined—** For the purposes of [subsection (a)(5)](#a-5), the term “original source” means a [person](/usc/12/5481.md?p=19) who has direct and independent knowledge of the information contained in the declaration and who voluntarily provided the information to the government prior to the disclosure.
- (c) **Notice of invalidity—** If the Attorney General determines at any time that a declaration is invalid under this section, that a declaration fails to meet the requirements of [section 4202 of this title](/usc/12/4202.md), or that a declaration has been disclosed in violation of [section 4203 of this title](/usc/12/4203.md), the Attorney General shall notify the [person](/usc/12/5481.md?p=19) who filed the declaration in writing that the declaration is invalid, and the declarant shall not enjoy any of the rights of the declarant listed in section [4205](/usc/12/4205.md) or [4206](/usc/12/4206.md) of this title.