31 USC 5321 - Civil Penalties

(a)(1) A domestic financial institution or nonfinancial trade or business, and a partner, director, officer, or employee of a domestic financial institution or nonfinancial trade or business, willfully violating this subchapter or a regulation prescribed or order issued under this subchapter (except sections 5314 and 5315 of this title or a regulation prescribed under sections 5314 and 5315), or willfully violating a regulation prescribed under section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act or section 123 of Public Law 91–508, is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of not more than the greater of the amount (not to exceed $100,000) involved in the transaction (if any) or $25,000. For a violation of section 5318(a)(2) of this title or a regulation prescribed under section 5318(a)(2), a separate violation occurs for each day the violation continues and at each office, branch, or place of business at which a violation occurs or continues.

(2) The Secretary of the Treasury may impose an additional civil penalty on a person not filing a report, or filing a report containing a material omission or misstatement, under section 5316 of this title or a regulation prescribed under section 5316. A civil penalty under this paragraph may not be more than the amount of the monetary instrument for which the report was required. A civil penalty under this paragraph is reduced by an amount forfeited under section 5317(b) of this title.

(3) A person not filing a report under a regulation prescribed under section 5315 of this title or not complying with an injunction under section 5320 of this title enjoining a violation of, or enforcing compliance with, section 5315 or a regulation prescribed under section 5315, is liable to the Government for a civil penalty of not more than $10,000.

(4) Structured Transaction Violation.—

(A) Penalty authorized.—The Secretary of the Treasury may impose a civil money penalty on any person who violates any provision of section 5324.

(B) Maximum amount limitation.—The amount of any civil money penalty imposed under subparagraph (A) shall not exceed the amount of the coins and currency (or such other monetary instruments as the Secretary may prescribe) involved in the transaction with respect to which such penalty is imposed.

(C) Coordination with forfeiture provision.—The amount of any civil money penalty imposed by the Secretary under subparagraph (A) shall be reduced by the amount of any forfeiture to the United States in connection with the transaction with respect to which such penalty is imposed.

(5) Foreign financial agency transaction violation.—

(A) Penalty authorized.—The Secretary of the Treasury may impose a civil money penalty on any person who violates, or causes any violation of, any provision of section 5314.

(B) Amount of penalty.—

(i) In general.—Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the amount of any civil penalty imposed under subparagraph (A) shall not exceed $10,000.

(ii) Reasonable cause exception.—No penalty shall be imposed under subparagraph (A) with respect to any violation if—

(I) such violation was due to reasonable cause, and

(II) the amount of the transaction or the balance in the account at the time of the transaction was properly reported.

(C) Willful violations.—In the case of any person willfully violating, or willfully causing any violation of, any provision of section 5314—

(i) the maximum penalty under subparagraph (B)(i) shall be increased to the greater of—

(I) $100,000, or

(II) 50 percent of the amount determined under subparagraph (D), and

(ii) subparagraph (B)(ii) shall not apply.

(D) Amount.—The amount determined under this subparagraph is—

(i) in the case of a violation involving a transaction, the amount of the transaction, or

(ii) in the case of a violation involving a failure to report the existence of an account or any identifying information required to be provided with respect to an account, the balance in the account at the time of the violation.

(6) Negligence.—

(A) In general.—The Secretary of the Treasury may impose a civil money penalty of not more than $500 on any financial institution or nonfinancial trade or business which negligently violates any provision of this subchapter or any regulation prescribed under this subchapter.

(B) Pattern of negligent activity.—If any financial institution or nonfinancial trade or business engages in a pattern of negligent violations of any provision of this subchapter or any regulation prescribed under this subchapter, the Secretary of the Treasury may, in addition to any penalty imposed under subparagraph (A) with respect to any such violation, impose a civil money penalty of not more than $50,000 on the financial institution or nonfinancial trade or business.

(7) Penalties for international counter money laundering violations.—The Secretary may impose a civil money penalty in an amount equal to not less than 2 times the amount of the transaction, but not more than $1,000,000, on any financial institution or agency that violates any provision of subsection (i) or (j) of section 5318 or any special measures imposed under section 5318A.

(b) Time Limitations for Assessments and Commencement of Civil Actions.—

(1) Assessments.—The Secretary of the Treasury may assess a civil penalty under subsection (a) at any time before the end of the 6-year period beginning on the date of the transaction with respect to which the penalty is assessed.

(2) Civil actions.—The Secretary may commence a civil action to recover a civil penalty assessed under subsection (a) at any time before the end of the 2-year period beginning on the later of—

(A) the date the penalty was assessed; or

(B) the date any judgment becomes final in any criminal action under section 5322 in connection with the same transaction with respect to which the penalty is assessed.

(c) The Secretary may remit any part of a forfeiture under subsection (c) or (d) ¹ of section 5317 of this title or civil penalty under subsection (a)(2) of this section.

(d) Criminal Penalty Not Exclusive of Civil Penalty.—A civil money penalty may be imposed under subsection (a) with respect to any violation of this subchapter notwithstanding the fact that a criminal penalty is imposed with respect to the same violation.

(e) Delegation of Assessment Authority to Banking Agencies.—

(1) In general.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall delegate, in accordance with section 5318(a)(1) and subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary may impose in accordance with paragraph (3), any authority of the Secretary to assess a civil money penalty under this section on depository institutions (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act) to the appropriate Federal banking agencies (as defined in such section 3).

(2) Authority of agencies.—Subject to any term or condition imposed by the Secretary of the Treasury under paragraph (3), the provisions of this section shall apply to an appropriate Federal banking agency to which is delegated any authority of the Secretary under this section in the same manner such provisions apply to the Secretary.

(3) Terms and conditions.—

(A) In general.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe by regulation the terms and conditions which shall apply to any delegation under paragraph (1).

(B) Maximum dollar amount.—The terms and conditions authorized under subparagraph (A) may include, in the Secretary's sole discretion, a limitation on the amount of any civil penalty which may be assessed by an appropriate Federal banking agency pursuant to a delegation under paragraph (1).

(Pub. L. 97–258, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 999; Pub. L. 98–473, title II, §901(a), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2135; Pub. L. 99–570, title I, §§1356(c)(1), 1357(a)–(f), (h), Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3207–24—3207–26; Pub. L. 100–690, title VI, §6185(g)(2), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4357; Pub. L. 102–550, title XV, §§1511(b), 1525(b), 1535(a)(2), 1561(a), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4057, 4065, 4066, 4071; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §330017(a)(1), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2149; Pub. L. 103–325, title IV, §§406, 411(b), 413(a)(1), Sept. 23, 1994, 108 Stat. 2247, 2253, 2254; Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title II, §2223(3), Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–415; Pub. L. 107–56, title III, §§353(a), 363(a), 365(c)(2)(B)(i), Oct. 26, 2001, 115 Stat. 322, 332, 335; Pub. L. 108–357, title VIII, §821(a), Oct. 22, 2004, 118 Stat. 1586.)

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised Section	Source (U.S. Code)	Source (Statutes at Large)
5321(a)(1)	31:1054(b)(last sentence related to civil penalties).	Oct. 26, 1970, Pub. L. 91–508, §§205(b)(last sentence related to civil penalties), 207, 233, 234, 84 Stat. 1120, 1123.
	31:1056(a).
5321(a)(2)	31:1103.
5321(a)(3)	31:1143(a), (b)(words after last comma).	Sept. 21, 1973, Pub. L. 93–110, §203(a), (b)(words after last comma), 87 Stat. 353.
5321(b)	31:1056(b).
5321(c)	31:1104.

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Last modified: October 26, 2015