[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 51 (Friday, March 15, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9456-9458]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-04842]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of Foreign Assets Control

31 CFR Parts 561 and 566


List of Foreign Financial Institutions Subject to Correspondent 
Account or Payable-Through Account Sanctions (CAPTA List)

AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule; technical amendments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets 
Control (OFAC) is amending the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations 
(IFSR) and the Hizballah Financial Sanctions Regulations (HFSR) to 
incorporate references to the new List of Foreign Financial 
Institutions Subject to Correspondent Account or Payable-Through 
Account Sanctions (CAPTA List).

DATES: Effective: March 15, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: OFAC: Assistant Director for 
Licensing, tel.: 202-622-2480; Assistant Director for Regulatory 
Affairs, tel.: 202-622-4855; Assistant Director for Sanctions 
Compliance & Evaluation, tel.: 202-622-2490; or the Department of the 
Treasury's Office of the Chief Counsel (Foreign Assets Control), Office 
of the General Counsel, tel.: 202-622-2410.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Availability

    This document and additional information concerning OFAC are 
available from OFAC's website (www.treasury.gov/ofac).

Background

    Pursuant to a number of sanctions authorities, the Secretary of the 
Treasury may impose strict conditions or prohibitions on the opening or 
maintaining of correspondent or payable-through accounts in the United 
States (collectively, ``correspondent or payable-through account 
sanctions'') for a foreign financial institution (FFI) that the 
Secretary determines knowingly engages in specified transactions. As a 
general matter, the Secretary of the Treasury further delegates these 
authorities to the Director of OFAC.
    With respect to the first two such authorities established, OFAC 
created separate sanctions lists to identify FFIs subject to 
correspondent or payable-through account sanctions. Specifically, 
Sec. Sec.  561.201 and 561.203 of the IFSR (31 CFR part 561) provide 
that, upon a finding by the Secretary of the Treasury that an FFI 
knowingly engages in one or more of the activities described in Sec.  
561.201(a) or Sec.  561.203(a), the Secretary of the Treasury will 
impose correspondent or payable-through account sanctions on the FFI. 
Notes to Sec. Sec.  561.201(b) and 561.203(a) further clarify that the 
name of the FFI and the relevant prohibition or strict condition(s) 
will be added to the List of Foreign Financial Institutions Subject to 
Part 561 List (Part 561 List) on the Iran sanctions page on OFAC's 
website (www.treasury.gov/ofac) and published in the Federal Register. 
As of March 14, 2019, there was one FFI on the Part 561 List.
    Similarly, Sec.  566.201 of the HFSR provides that, upon a finding 
by the Secretary of the Treasury that an FFI knowingly engages in one 
or more of the activities described in Sec.  566.201(a), the Secretary 
of the Treasury will impose correspondent or payable-through account 
sanctions on the FFI. A note to Sec.  566.201(c) further explains that 
the name of the FFI and the relevant prohibition or strict condition(s) 
will be added to the HFSR List on the Counter Terrorism Sanctions web 
page on OFAC's website (www.treasury.gov/ofac) and published in the 
Federal Register. As of March 14, 2019, there was no HFSR List on the 
OFAC website because no FFI has been listed pursuant to the HFSR.
    Additional sanctions authorities provide for correspondent or 
payable-through account sanctions, including the Ukraine Freedom 
Support Act of 2014, as amended (UFSA), and Executive Order 13810 of 
September 20, 2017 (``Imposing Additional Sanctions With Respect to 
North Korea'') (82 FR 44705, September 25, 2017), as implemented in the 
North Korea Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 510 (NKSR). In order to 
avoid potential confusion resulting from multiple OFAC lists addressing 
similar sanctions, on March 1, 2018, OFAC announced on its website the 
creation of a consolidated list, the List of Foreign Financial 
Institutions Subject to Correspondent Account or Payable-Through 
Account Sanctions (CAPTA List), which would list any FFI subject to 
correspondent or payable-through account sanctions pursuant to UFSA or 
the NKSR, as well as the relevant prohibition or strict condition(s). 
Also on March 1, 2018, OFAC stated that the CAPTA List eventually would 
be expanded to include FFIs subject to correspondent or payable-through 
account sanctions pursuant to additional authorities, including the 
IFSR and the HFSR. As of March 14, 2019, the CAPTA List did not include 
any FFIs subject to correspondent or payable-through account sanctions 
under UFSA or the NKSR because OFAC has not identified any such FFIs.
    This rule amends the IFSR and the HFSR to replace 14 references to 
the Part 561 List and seven references to the HFSR List, respectively, 
with references to the CAPTA List. OFAC also is making a conforming 
change in the IFSR and the HFSR to the location on OFAC's website for 
the CAPTA List.
    On March 15, 2019, by separate action, OFAC is expanding the CAPTA 
List on the OFAC website to include FFIs subject to correspondent or 
payable-through account sanctions pursuant to the IFSR and the HFSR. As 
part of this change, OFAC will move the name of the FFI on the Part 561 
List, along with the relevant prohibition or strict condition(s) to 
which the FFI is subject, to the CAPTA List. The CAPTA List will thus 
supersede the Part 561 List in its entirety, and the Part 561 List will 
be removed from OFAC's website. Following the publication of this rule, 
unless otherwise specified, the names of any FFIs that are determined 
by the Secretary of the Treasury to be subject to correspondent or 
payable-through account sanctions will be placed on the CAPTA List. The 
CAPTA List will be accessible via OFAC's website and

[[Page 9457]]

updates to the list will be published on OFAC's website and in the 
Federal Register.

Public Participation

    Because the amendment of the IFSR and HFSR involves a foreign 
affairs function, the provisions of Executive Order 12866 and the 
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) requiring notice of 
proposed rulemaking, opportunity for public participation, and delay in 
effective date, as well as the provisions of Executive Order 13771, are 
inapplicable. Because no notice of proposed rulemaking is required for 
this rule, the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612) does not 
apply.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    With respect to section 2 (44 U.S.C. 3507) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), the collection of information 
in Sec.  561.601 of the IFSR is made pursuant to OFAC's Reporting, 
Procedures and Penalties Regulations, 31 CFR part 501 (RPPR), and has 
been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under 
control number 1505-0164. The collection of information in Sec.  
561.504 of the IFSR has been approved by OMB under control number 1505-
0243.
    The collection of information in Sec.  566.601 of the HFSR is made 
pursuant to the RPPR and has been approved by OMB under control number 
1505-0164. The collection of information in Sec.  566.504(b) of the 
HFSR has been approved by OMB under control number 1505-0255. With 
respect to all of the foregoing collections of information, an agency 
may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, 
a collection of information unless the collection of information 
displays a valid control number.

List of Subjects

31 CFR Part 561

    Administrative practice and procedure, Banks, Banking, Blocking of 
assets, Correspondent account sanctions, Credit, Foreign financial 
institutions, Foreign Trade, Iran, Penalties, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Securities, Services.

31 CFR Part 566

    Administrative practice and procedure, Banks, Banking, Blocking of 
assets, Correspondent account sanctions, Credit, Foreign financial 
institutions, Foreign Trade, Hizballah, Penalties, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Securities, Services.

Authority and Issuance

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Department of the 
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control amends 31 CFR parts 561 and 
566 as follows:

PART 561--IRANIAN FINANCIAL SANCTIONS REGULATIONS

0
1. The authority citation for part 561 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: 3 U.S.C. 301; 31 U.S.C. 321(b); 50 U.S.C. 1601-1651, 
1701-1706; Pub. L. 101-410, 104 Stat. 890 (28 U.S.C. 2461 note); 
Pub. L. 110-96, 121 Stat. 1011 (50 U.S.C. 1705 note); Pub. L. 111-
195, 124 Stat. 1312 (22 U.S.C. 8501-8551); Pub. L. 112-81, 125 Stat. 
1298 (22 U.S.C. 8513a); Pub. L. 112-158, 126 Stat. 1214 (22 U.S.C. 
8701-8795); E.O. 12957, 60 FR 14615, 3 CFR, 1995 Comp., p. 332; E.O. 
13553, 75 FR 60567, 3 CFR, 2010 Comp., p. 253; E.O. 13599, 77 FR 
6659, 3 CFR, 2012 Comp., p. 215; E.O. 13622, 77 FR 45897, 3 CFR, 
2012 Comp., p. 290; E.O. 13628, 77 FR 62139, 3 CFR, 2012 Comp., p. 
314.

Subpart B--Prohibitions


Sec.  561.201  [Amended]

0
2. Amend Sec.  561.201 as follows:
0
a. In the last sentence of the introductory text, remove ``List of 
Foreign Financial Institutions Subject to Part 561 (the ``Part 561 
List'')'' and add in its place ``List of Foreign Financial Institutions 
Subject to Correspondent Account or Payable-Through Account Sanctions 
(CAPTA List)'', and remove ``on the Iran Sanctions page'';
0
b. In the note to paragraph (b), remove ``Part 561 List'' and add in 
its place ``CAPTA List'', and remove ``on the Iran Sanctions page'';
0
c. In the note to paragraph (c), remove ``Part 561 List'' and add in 
its place ``CAPTA List'', and remove ``on the Iran Sanctions page''; 
and
0
d. In the note to Sec.  561.201, in the introductory text and paragraph 
(4), remove ``Part 561 List'' and add in its place in both locations 
``CAPTA List''.


Sec.  561.203  [Amended]

0
3. Amend Sec.  561.203 as follows:
0
a. In note 2 to paragraph (a), remove ``List of Foreign Financial 
Institutions Subject to Part 561 (the ``Part 561 List'')'' and add in 
its place ``List of Foreign Financial Institutions Subject to 
Correspondent Account or Payable-Through Account Sanctions (CAPTA 
List)'', and remove ``on the Iran Sanctions page'';
0
b. In paragraph (j)(4), remove ``List of Foreign Financial Institutions 
Subject to Part 561 (the ``Part 561 List'')'' and add in its place 
``List of Foreign Financial Institutions Subject to Correspondent 
Account or Payable-Through Account Sanctions (CAPTA List)'', and remove 
``on the Iran Sanctions page''; and
0
c. In paragraph (k)(6), remove ``Part 561 List'' and add in its place 
``CAPTA List''.


Sec.  561.204  [Amended]

0
4. In note 1 to paragraph (a), remove ``List of Foreign Financial 
Institutions Subject to Part 561 (the ``Part 561 List'')'' and add in 
its place ``List of Foreign Financial Institutions Subject to 
Correspondent Account or Payable-Through Account Sanctions (CAPTA 
List)'', and remove ``on the Iran Sanctions page''.

Subpart E--Licenses, Authorizations, and Statements of Licensing 
Policy


Sec.  561.504  [Amended]

0
5. Amend Sec.  561.504 as follows:
0
a. In paragraph (a) introductory text, remove ``Part 561 List'' and add 
in its place ``List of Foreign Financial Institutions Subject to 
Correspondent Account or Payable-Through Account Sanctions (CAPTA 
List)'', and remove ``on the Iran Sanctions page'';
0
b. In paragraph (b), remove ``Part 561 List'' and add in its place 
``CAPTA List'', and remove ``on the Iran Sanctions page'';
0
c. In paragraph (c), remove ``Part 561 List'' and add in its place 
``CAPTA List'';
0
d. In paragraph (d), remove ``Part 561 List'' and add in its place 
``CAPTA List''; and
0
e. In the note to Sec.  561.504, remove ``Part 561 List'' and add in 
its place ``CAPTA List'', and remove ``on the Iran Sanctions page''.

PART 566--HIZBALLAH FINANCIAL SANCTIONS REGULATIONS

0
6. The authority citation for part 566 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: 3 U.S.C. 301; 31 U.S.C. 321(b); 50 U.S.C. 1601-1651, 
1701-1706; Pub. L. 101-410, 104 Stat. 890 (28 U.S.C. 2461 note); 
Pub. L. 110-96, 121 Stat. 1011 (50 U.S.C. 1705 note); Pub. L. 114-
102, 129 Stat. 2205 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note).

Subpart B--Prohibitions


Sec.  566.201  [Amended]

0
7. Amend Sec.  566.201 as follows:
0
a. In the note to paragraph (b), remove ``HFSR List'' and add in its 
place ``List of Foreign Financial Institutions Subject to Correspondent 
Account or Payable-Through Account Sanctions (CAPTA List)'', and remove 
``on the Counter Terrorism Sanctions page''; and
0
b. In the note to paragraph (c), remove ``HFSR List'' and add in its 
place

[[Page 9458]]

``CAPTA List'', and remove ``on the Counter Terrorism Sanctions page''.

Subpart E--Licenses, Authorizations, and Statements of Licensing 
Policy


Sec.  566.504  [Amended]

0
8. Amend Sec.  566.504 as follows:
0
a. In paragraph (a) introductory text, remove ``in the HFSR List'' and 
add in its place ``on the List of Foreign Financial Institutions 
Subject to Correspondent Account or Payable-Through Account Sanctions 
(CAPTA List)'';
0
b. In paragraph (b), remove ``HFSR List'' and add in its place ``CAPTA 
List'', and remove ``on the Hizballah Sanctions page'';
0
c. In paragraph (c), remove ``HFSR List'' and add in its place ``CAPTA 
List'';
0
d. In paragraph (d), remove ``HFSR List'' and add in its place ``CAPTA 
List''; and
0
e. In the note to Sec.  566.504, remove ``HFSR List'' and add in its 
place ``CAPTA List'', and remove ``on the Counter Terrorism Sanctions 
page''.

    Dated: March 12, 2019.
Andrea Gacki,
Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control.
[FR Doc. 2019-04842 Filed 3-14-19; 8:45 am]
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