View all text of Chapter 108 [§ 10101 - § 10103]
§ 10102. Authorization of imposition of sanctions
(a) In generalThe President may impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to any foreign person the President determines, based on credible evidence—
(1) is responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against individuals in any foreign country who seek—
(A) to expose illegal activity carried out by government officials; or
(B) to obtain, exercise, defend, or promote internationally recognized human rights and freedoms, such as the freedoms of religion, expression, association, and assembly, and the rights to a fair trial and democratic elections;
(2) acted as an agent of or on behalf of a foreign person in a matter relating to an activity described in paragraph (1);
(3) is a government official, or a senior associate of such an official, that is responsible for, or complicit in, ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, acts of significant corruption, including the expropriation of private or public assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, bribery, or the facilitation or transfer of the proceeds of corruption to foreign jurisdictions; or
(4) has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, an activity described in paragraph (3).
(b) Sanctions describedThe sanctions described in this subsection are the following:
(1) Inadmissibility to United StatesIn the case of a foreign person who is an individual—
(A) ineligibility to receive a visa to enter the United States or to be admitted to the United States; or
(B) if the individual has been issued a visa or other documentation, revocation, in accordance with section 1201(i) of title 8, of the visa or other documentation.
(2) Blocking of property
(A) In general
(B) Inapplicability of national emergency requirement
(C) Exception relating to importation of goods
(i) In general
(ii) Good
(c) Consideration of certain information in imposing sanctionsIn determining whether to impose sanctions under subsection (a), the President shall consider—
(1) information provided jointly by the chairperson and ranking member of each of the appropriate congressional committees; and
(2) credible information obtained by other countries and nongovernmental organizations that monitor violations of human rights.
(d) Requests by appropriate congressional committees
(1) In generalNot later than 120 days after receiving a request that meets the requirements of paragraph (2) with respect to whether a foreign person has engaged in an activity described in subsection (a), the President shall—
(A) determine if that person has engaged in such an activity; and
(B) submit a classified or unclassified report to the chairperson and ranking member of the committee or committees that submitted the request with respect to that determination that includes—
(i) a statement of whether or not the President imposed or intends to impose sanctions with respect to the person; and
(ii) if the President imposed or intends to impose sanctions, a description of those sanctions.
(2) Requirements
(A) Requests relating to human rights violations
(B) Requests relating to corruptionA request under paragraph (1) with respect to whether a foreign person has engaged in an activity described in paragraph (3) or (4) of subsection (a) shall be submitted to the President in writing jointly by the chairperson and ranking member of—
(i) one of the appropriate congressional committees of the Senate; and
(ii) one of the appropriate congressional committees of the House of Representatives.
(e) Exception to comply with United Nations Headquarters Agreement and law enforcement objectives
(f) Enforcement of blocking of property
(g) Termination of sanctionsThe President may terminate the application of sanctions under this section with respect to a person if the President determines and reports to the appropriate congressional committees not later than 15 days before the termination of the sanctions that—
(1) credible information exists that the person did not engage in the activity for which sanctions were imposed;
(2) the person has been prosecuted appropriately for the activity for which sanctions were imposed;
(3) the person has credibly demonstrated a significant change in behavior, has paid an appropriate consequence for the activity for which sanctions were imposed, and has credibly committed to not engage in an activity described in subsection (a) in the future; or
(4) the termination of the sanctions is in the national security interests of the United States.
(h) Regulatory authority
(i) Identification of sanctionable foreign persons
(j) Appropriate congressional committees definedIn this section, the term “appropriate congressional committees” means—
(1) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.
(Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title XII, § 1263, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2534.)