Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, today joined several of his colleagues in introducing the Digital Asset Sanctions Compliance Enhancement Act to ensure that Vladimir Putin and Russian elites cannot use digital assets to undermine the international community’s economic sanctions against Russia following its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The bill comes amid bipartisan concerns and warnings by federal agencies that Russian actors may try to evade economic sanctions by using digital currencies. Countries hit hard by sanctions, including North Korea and Iran, have previously been found to use cryptocurrency to curb the effects of economic sanctions.
“As we continue to build an international coalition to hold Putin and his cronies accountable for the unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine, the United States must make certain the Kremlin cannot fund this war of choice by circumventing economic sanctions through the use of digital currencies,” said Sen. Menendez. “We must close off avenues that can be exploited to evade the crushing sanctions we have imposed on Putin’s regime and oligarchs, and this bill will go a long way to making sure digital currencies cannot be used to avoid the consequences of Putin’s actions.”
The Digital Asset Sanctions Compliance Enhancement Act would address the risk of Russian actors using digital assets to evade international sanctions by discouraging foreign crypto firms from doing business with sanctioned Russian elites, providing the Administration with authority to suspend transactions with Russia-linked crypto addresses, and increasing transparency around crypto holdings.
Specifically, the Digital Asset Sanctions Compliance Enhancement Act would close potential avenues for evasion of sanctions against Russia by:
- Requiring the President to identify foreign digital asset actors that are facilitating evasion of sanctions against Russia, and authorizing the President to sanction such actors, prohibiting their transactions with U.S. persons and blocking their assets.
- Providing the Treasury Secretary clear authority to prohibit digital asset trading platforms and transaction facilitators under U.S. jurisdiction from transacting with cryptocurrency addresses that are known to be, or could reasonably be known to be, in Russia.
- Directing FinCEN to require U.S. taxpayers engaged in a transaction with a value greater than $10K of cryptocurrency offshore to file FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR).
- Requiring the Treasury Department to report on its progress in implementing these provisions, including any resources needed by the Department to improve implementation and progress in coordinating with foreign partners.
- Requiring the Treasury Department to issue a public report identifying foreign digital asset trading platforms that are determined to be high risk for sanctions evasion, money laundering, or other illicit activities.
In addition to Sen. Menendez, this bill is cosponsored by Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.).
The full text of the bill can be downloaded HERE.
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