Sec. 319. Forfeiture of Funds in United States Interbank Accounts
Section 319 deals with the forfeiture of funds in Interbank accounts and the ability of Federal banking agencies to subpoena bank records or summons banking staff in order to gain access to bank records. It also gave U.S. courts the authority to order convicted criminal to return property located abroad. Paragraph (c) allowed a (since expired) grace period of 60 days from the enactment of the Act with which financial institutions were required to comply with the provisions of 31 U.S.C. § 5318(k).
Any deposits into foreign banks are considered to be deposited into any Interbank account the foreign bank may have in the U.S., and thus any restraining order, seizure warrant or arrest warrant may be made against the funds in the Interbank account held at a U.S. financial institution, up to the amount deposited in the account at the foreign bank. Provisions were made to allow the Attorney General to suspend or stop such a forfeiture if the Attorney General determines that a conflict of law exists between the laws of the foreign country in which the foreign bank resides in and with the laws of the U.S.. The Attorney General must also decide whether halting such a forfeiture would be in the interest of justice and that it would not harm the national interests of the U.S. The funds that are forfeited in the Interbank account can be contested by the foreign bank under the general rules of civil forfeiture proceedings. The U.S. government does not need to show that the funds being forfeited are directly traceable to the funds deposited at the foreign bank and the government is also not required to apply 18 U.S.C. § 984, which deals with the civil forfeiture of fungible property.
Section 319 requires a financial institution to respond to a request for information from a Federal banking agency within 120 hours of the receipt of the request. Federal banking agencies can request information relating to any money-laundering activities — financial institutions must provide documentation for any account opened, maintained, administered or managed by the institution in the U.S. A summons or subpoena may be issued to any representative of a foreign bank that as a corresponding account in the U.S. — they may be required to include records (even those maintained outside the U.S.) that relate to the deposit of funds into the foreign bank. The summons may be issued to a bank with a representative in the U.S. or in foreign countries where the U.S. has a mutual legal assistance treat, a multilateral agreement or where the U.S. can expect that they will respond to a request for international law enforcement assistance. Foreign banks who maintain corresponding accounts must maintain records in the U.S. that will identify the owners' real names and addresses. The banks must be able to provide this information within 7 days of receipt of the request. It is also a requirement that when so ordered by the Attorney General or the Secretary of Treasury (they must consult each other first) the financial institution must terminate any corresponding accounts within 10 days. Corresponding accounts can be ordered to be closed if the foreign bank fails to comply with a summons or subpoena (see above), or has failed to legally contest the summons in the U.S. A financial institution is further protected from liability if they terminate a corresponding relationship in accordance with the section, and in fact the financial institution faces penalties of $US10,000 for each day the account remains open after the 10 day limit has expired.
The U.S. Code was amended by section 319 to allow a court to order a convicted criminal to return property that is located abroad. If that property cannot be located, has been transferred or sole, is placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court, is substantially reduced in value, or has been comingled with other property in such a way that it cannot be divided without difficulty then the court may order that property be forfeited in substitution of the property that must be returned. The court can also order that any property beyond the jurisdiction of the court must be returned to the jurisdiction of the court.
If a defendant enters into a pretrial restraint order to stop goods from being seized, then the defendant may be required to deposit the property either into the registry of the court, with the United States Marshals Service, or with the U.S. Secretary of Treasury in an interest-bearing account. If the defendant refuses the law states that they will be charged with contempt of court and their final sentence may be enhanced under the obstruction of justice provision of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Read more about this topic: USA PATRIOT Act, Title III, Subtitle A
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