Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; Inflation Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties, 4820-4821 [2024-01420]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
4820
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 17 / Thursday, January 25, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
amended by Pub. L. 109–144, 119 Stat. 2660,
Pub. L. 110–160, 121 Stat. 1839, Pub. L. 114–
1, 129 Stat. 3, and Pub. L. 116–94, 133 Stat.
2534 (15 U.S.C. 6701 note); Pub. L. 114–74,
129 Stat. 601, Title VII (28 U.S.C. 2461 note).
6. Amend § 50.83 by revising
paragraph (a) to read as follows:
■
§ 50.83 Adjustment of civil monetary
penalty amount.
(a) Inflation adjustment. Any penalty
under the Act and these regulations may
not exceed the greater of $1,697,012
and, in the case of any failure to pay,
charge, collect or remit amounts in
accordance with the Act or these
regulations such amount in dispute.
*
*
*
*
*
Kayla Arslanian,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024–01409 Filed 1–24–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810–AK–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
31 CFR Part 1010
Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network; Inflation Adjustment of Civil
Monetary Penalties
Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network (FinCEN), Treasury.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
FinCEN is publishing this
final rule to reflect inflation adjustments
to its civil monetary penalties as
mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties
Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as
amended. This rule adjusts certain
maximum civil monetary penalties
within the jurisdiction of FinCEN to the
amounts required by that Act.
DATES: Effective January 25, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The
FinCEN Regulatory Support Section at
1–800–767–2825 or electronically at
frc@fincen.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
I. Background
To improve the effectiveness of civil
monetary penalties (CMPs) and to
maintain their deterrent effect, the
Federal Civil Penalties Inflation
Adjustment Act of 1990 (the Act) 1
requires Federal agencies to adjust for
inflation each CMP provided by law
within the jurisdiction of the agency.
Under the Act, agencies are required to
adjust CMPs annually and publish these
1 Public Law 101–410, as amended in 2015 by
section 701 of Public Law 114–74 and codified as
a note to 28 U.S.C. 2461.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:54 Jan 24, 2024
Jkt 262001
adjustments in the Federal Register.2
Agencies are to make the adjustments
without engaging in notice-andcomment rulemaking, and these
adjustments may be immediately
effective upon publication.3 The Act
provides that any increase in a CMP
shall apply to CMPs that are assessed
after the date the increase takes effect,
regardless of whether the underlying
violation predated such increase.4
FinCEN publishes CMP inflation
adjustments in its regulations at 31 CFR
1010.821.
II. Method of Calculation
The method of calculating CMP
adjustments applied in this final rule is
determined by the Act. Under the Act
and Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) guidance, annual inflation
adjustments are to be based on the
percent change between the Consumer
Price Index for all Urban Consumers
(CPI–U) for the October preceding the
date of the adjustment and the prior
year’s October CPI–U.5 As set forth in
OMB Memorandum M–24–07 of
December 19, 2023, the adjustment
multiplier for 2024 is 1.03241. To
complete the 2024 annual adjustment,
each current FinCEN CMP is multiplied
by the 2024 adjustment multiplier.
Under the Act, any increase in CMP
must be rounded to the nearest multiple
of $1.6
This final rule lists adjusted CMPs
associated with violations of the
Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) 7 for
the first time: specifically, the CMPs for
beneficial ownership information (BOI)
reporting violations (31 U.S.C.
5336(h)(3)(A)(i)) and for the
unauthorized disclosure or use of BOI
(31 U.S.C. 5336(h)(3)(B)(i)). These CMPs
were established when the CTA became
2 Act,
sec. 4(a).
sec. 4(b)(2) (adjustments are to be made
‘‘notwithstanding’’ the rulemaking requirements of
5 U.S.C. 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act).
4 The increased CMPs, however, apply only with
respect to underlying violations occurring after
November 2, 2015, the date of enactment of the
most recent amendment to the Act. Act, sec. 6.
5 Act, sec. 5; OMB Mem. M–24–07 (Dec. 19,
2023).
6 Act, sec. 5(a). FinCEN previously applied a
catch-up adjustment for each penalty subject to the
Act in 2016 based on the year and corresponding
amount(s) for which the maximum penalty or range
of minimum and maximum penalties was
established or last adjusted, whichever is later. See
Civil Monetary Penalty Adjustment and Table, 81
FR 42503, 42504 (June 30, 2016). Because the year
of establishment or last adjustment is different for
different penalties, penalties that were of the same
size when each was promulgated can have different
values today if promulgated at different times.
7 The CTA is Title LXIV of the William M. (Mac)
Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2021, Public Law 116–283 (Jan. 1,
2021). The CTA is codified at 31 U.S.C. 5336.
3 Act,
PO 00000
Frm 00022
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
law in 2021, but were not published
with prior adjustments because
FinCEN’s regulations implementing the
CTA were then not yet effective.8
Because these CTA-associated CMPs
will be effective in 2024, they are listed
in this adjustment. As these CMPs were
established in 2021, they were also
subject to the CMP adjustments imposed
in 2022 and 2023, even though they
were not published with those
adjustments; accordingly, this rule
applies the 2022, 2023, and 2024
adjustment multipliers to the CMPs
established by the CTA.9
Procedural Matters
1. Administrative Procedure Act
Section 4(b) of the Act requires
agencies, beginning in 2017, to make
annual adjustments for inflation to
CMPs notwithstanding the rulemaking
requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553.
Additionally, the methodology used for
adjusting CMPs for inflation is provided
by statute, with no discretion provided
to agencies regarding the substance of
the adjustments for inflation to CMPs.
Accordingly, prior public notice and an
opportunity for public comment and a
delayed effective date are not required
for this rule.
2. Regulatory Flexibility Act
Because no notice of proposed
rulemaking is required, the provisions
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.) do not apply.
3. Executive Order 12866
This rule is not a significant
regulatory action as defined in section
8 The CTA’s BOI reporting requirements are
implemented by regulations effective January 1,
2024, and the CTA’s requirements regarding BOI
access and safeguards are implemented by
regulations effective February 20, 2024. See
FinCEN, Beneficial Ownership Information
Reporting Requirements, 87 FR 59498 (Sept. 30,
2022); FinCEN, Beneficial Ownership Information
Access and Safeguards, 88 FR 88732 (Dec. 22,
2023).
9 Under section 5(b)(2)(B) of the Act, the
adjustment is to ‘‘be applied to the amount of the
civil monetary penalty as it was most recently
established or adjusted under a provision of law
other than [the Act].’’ This amount is the penalty
‘‘established (i.e., as originally enacted by
Congress), or last adjusted (i.e., by Congress in
statute, or by the agency through regulation),
whichever is later, other than pursuant to [Act].’’
OMB Mem. M–16–06 (Feb. 24, 2016). Because the
CTA-associated CMPs were established by Congress
in 2021 and have not since been adjusted by statute
or regulation, they were subject to the 2022 and
2023 adjustments required by the Act, as well as the
2024 adjustment. FinCEN applied an adjustment
multiplier of 1.06222 in 2022 and of 1.07745 in
2023 to CMPs. FinCEN, Inflation Adjustment of
Civil Monetary Penalties, 87 FR 3433, 3434 (Jan. 24,
2022); FinCEN, Inflation Adjustment of Civil
Monetary Penalties, 88 FR 3311, 3312 (Jan. 19,
2023).
E:\FR\FM\25JAR1.SGM
25JAR1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 17 / Thursday, January 25, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
3(f) of Executive Order 12866, as
amended.
4. Paperwork Reduction Act
The provisions of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104–
13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, and its
implementing regulations, 5 CFR part
1320, do not apply to this rule because
there are no new or revised
recordkeeping or reporting
requirements.
List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 1010
Administrative practice and
procedure, Aliens, Authority
delegations (Government agencies),
Banks and banking, Brokers, Business
and industry, Commodity futures,
Currency, Citizenship and
naturalization, Electronic filing, Federal
savings associations, Federal-States
relations, Federally recognized tribes,
Foreign persons, Holding companies,
Indian law, Indians, Insurance
companies, Investment advisers,
Investment companies, Investigations,
Law enforcement, Penalties, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements, Small
businesses, Securities, Terrorism, Tribal
government, Time.
4821
31 of the Code of Federal Regulations is
amended as follows:
PART 1010—GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. The authority citation for part 1010
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1829b and 1951–1960;
31 U.S.C. 5311–5314 and 5316–5336; title III,
sec. 314, Pub. L. 107–56, 115 Stat. 307; sec.
2006, Pub. L. 114–41, 129 Stat. 458–459; sec.
701, Pub. L. 114–74, 129 Stat. 599.
2. Amend § 1010.821 by revising table
1 of § 1010.821 to read as follows:
■
Authority and Issuance
For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, part 1010 of chapter X of title
§ 1010.821
Penalty adjustment and table.
*
*
*
*
*
TABLE 1 TO § 1010.821—PENALTY ADJUSTMENT TABLE
Penalties as last
amended by statute
U.S. Code citation
Civil monetary penalty description
12 U.S.C. 1829b(j) ................
12 U.S.C. 1955 ......................
31 U.S.C. 5318(k)(3)(C) ........
Relating to Recordkeeping Violations for Funds Transfers
Willful or Grossly Negligent Recordkeeping Violations .......
Failure To Terminate Correspondent Relationship with
Foreign Bank.
General Civil Penalty Provision for Willful Violations of
Bank Secrecy Act Requirements.
Foreign Financial Agency Transaction—Non-Willful Violation of Transaction.
Foreign Financial Agency Transaction—Willful Violation of
Transaction.
Negligent Violation by Financial Institution or Non-Financial Trade or Business.
Pattern of Negligent Activity by Financial Institution or
Non-Financial Trade or Business.
Violation of Certain Due Diligence Requirements, Prohibition on Correspondent Accounts for Shell Banks, and
Special Measures.
Civil Penalty for Failure To Register as Money Transmitting Business.
Civil Penalty for Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Violation.
Civil Penalty for Unauthorized Disclosure or Use of Beneficial Ownership Information.
31 U.S.C. 5321(a)(1) .............
31 U.S.C. 5321(a)(5)(B)(i) .....
31 U.S.C. 5321(a)(5)(C)(i)(I)
31 U.S.C. 5321(a)(6)(A) ........
31 U.S.C. 5321(a)(6)(B) ........
31 U.S.C. 5321(a)(7) .............
31 U.S.C. 5330(e) .................
31 U.S.C. 5336(h)(3)(A)(i) .....
31 U.S.C. 5336(h)(3)(B)(i) .....
Andrea M. Gacki,
Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network.
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
[FR Doc. 2024–01420 Filed 1–24–24; 8:45 am]
Coast Guard
BILLING CODE 4810–02–P
33 CFR Part 165
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
[Docket No. USCG–2024–0013]
Security Zone; Lower Mississippi
River, Mile Marker 94 to 97 Above Head
of Passes, New Orleans, LA
AGENCY:
Coast Guard, DHS.
Notification of enforcement of
regulation.
ACTION:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:50 Jan 24, 2024
Jkt 262001
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
Maximum penalty
amounts or range of
minimum and maximum
penalty amounts for
penalties assessed on
or after January 25,
2024
$10,000
10,000
10,000
$25,597
25,597
17,315
25,000–100,000
69,733–278,937
10,000
16,117
100,000
161,166
500
1,394
50,000
108,489
1,000,000
1,731,383
5,000
10,289
500
591
500
591
The Coast Guard will enforce
a security zone for all navigable waters
within 400 yards of the Left Descending
Bank (LDB) of the Lower Mississippi
River (LMR) Mile Marker (MM) 94.4 to
MM 95.1, Above Head of Passes (AHP),
New Orleans, LA. This security zone is
necessary to provide security and
protection for visiting personnel during
the events related to the Mardi Gras
celebration. No person or vessel may
enter this security zone unless
authorized by the Captain of the Port
New Orleans (COTP) or a designated
representative.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\25JAR1.SGM
25JAR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 17 (Thursday, January 25, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 4820-4821]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01420]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
31 CFR Part 1010
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; Inflation Adjustment of
Civil Monetary Penalties
AGENCY: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Treasury.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: FinCEN is publishing this final rule to reflect inflation
adjustments to its civil monetary penalties as mandated by the Federal
Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended. This rule
adjusts certain maximum civil monetary penalties within the
jurisdiction of FinCEN to the amounts required by that Act.
DATES: Effective January 25, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The FinCEN Regulatory Support Section
at 1-800-767-2825 or electronically at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
To improve the effectiveness of civil monetary penalties (CMPs) and
to maintain their deterrent effect, the Federal Civil Penalties
Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (the Act) \1\ requires Federal
agencies to adjust for inflation each CMP provided by law within the
jurisdiction of the agency. Under the Act, agencies are required to
adjust CMPs annually and publish these adjustments in the Federal
Register.\2\ Agencies are to make the adjustments without engaging in
notice-and-comment rulemaking, and these adjustments may be immediately
effective upon publication.\3\ The Act provides that any increase in a
CMP shall apply to CMPs that are assessed after the date the increase
takes effect, regardless of whether the underlying violation predated
such increase.\4\ FinCEN publishes CMP inflation adjustments in its
regulations at 31 CFR 1010.821.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Public Law 101-410, as amended in 2015 by section 701 of
Public Law 114-74 and codified as a note to 28 U.S.C. 2461.
\2\ Act, sec. 4(a).
\3\ Act, sec. 4(b)(2) (adjustments are to be made
``notwithstanding'' the rulemaking requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553 of
the Administrative Procedure Act).
\4\ The increased CMPs, however, apply only with respect to
underlying violations occurring after November 2, 2015, the date of
enactment of the most recent amendment to the Act. Act, sec. 6.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. Method of Calculation
The method of calculating CMP adjustments applied in this final
rule is determined by the Act. Under the Act and Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) guidance, annual inflation adjustments are to be based
on the percent change between the Consumer Price Index for all Urban
Consumers (CPI-U) for the October preceding the date of the adjustment
and the prior year's October CPI-U.\5\ As set forth in OMB Memorandum
M-24-07 of December 19, 2023, the adjustment multiplier for 2024 is
1.03241. To complete the 2024 annual adjustment, each current FinCEN
CMP is multiplied by the 2024 adjustment multiplier. Under the Act, any
increase in CMP must be rounded to the nearest multiple of $1.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ Act, sec. 5; OMB Mem. M-24-07 (Dec. 19, 2023).
\6\ Act, sec. 5(a). FinCEN previously applied a catch-up
adjustment for each penalty subject to the Act in 2016 based on the
year and corresponding amount(s) for which the maximum penalty or
range of minimum and maximum penalties was established or last
adjusted, whichever is later. See Civil Monetary Penalty Adjustment
and Table, 81 FR 42503, 42504 (June 30, 2016). Because the year of
establishment or last adjustment is different for different
penalties, penalties that were of the same size when each was
promulgated can have different values today if promulgated at
different times.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This final rule lists adjusted CMPs associated with violations of
the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) \7\ for the first time:
specifically, the CMPs for beneficial ownership information (BOI)
reporting violations (31 U.S.C. 5336(h)(3)(A)(i)) and for the
unauthorized disclosure or use of BOI (31 U.S.C. 5336(h)(3)(B)(i)).
These CMPs were established when the CTA became law in 2021, but were
not published with prior adjustments because FinCEN's regulations
implementing the CTA were then not yet effective.\8\ Because these CTA-
associated CMPs will be effective in 2024, they are listed in this
adjustment. As these CMPs were established in 2021, they were also
subject to the CMP adjustments imposed in 2022 and 2023, even though
they were not published with those adjustments; accordingly, this rule
applies the 2022, 2023, and 2024 adjustment multipliers to the CMPs
established by the CTA.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ The CTA is Title LXIV of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Public Law
116-283 (Jan. 1, 2021). The CTA is codified at 31 U.S.C. 5336.
\8\ The CTA's BOI reporting requirements are implemented by
regulations effective January 1, 2024, and the CTA's requirements
regarding BOI access and safeguards are implemented by regulations
effective February 20, 2024. See FinCEN, Beneficial Ownership
Information Reporting Requirements, 87 FR 59498 (Sept. 30, 2022);
FinCEN, Beneficial Ownership Information Access and Safeguards, 88
FR 88732 (Dec. 22, 2023).
\9\ Under section 5(b)(2)(B) of the Act, the adjustment is to
``be applied to the amount of the civil monetary penalty as it was
most recently established or adjusted under a provision of law other
than [the Act].'' This amount is the penalty ``established (i.e., as
originally enacted by Congress), or last adjusted (i.e., by Congress
in statute, or by the agency through regulation), whichever is
later, other than pursuant to [Act].'' OMB Mem. M-16-06 (Feb. 24,
2016). Because the CTA-associated CMPs were established by Congress
in 2021 and have not since been adjusted by statute or regulation,
they were subject to the 2022 and 2023 adjustments required by the
Act, as well as the 2024 adjustment. FinCEN applied an adjustment
multiplier of 1.06222 in 2022 and of 1.07745 in 2023 to CMPs.
FinCEN, Inflation Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties, 87 FR
3433, 3434 (Jan. 24, 2022); FinCEN, Inflation Adjustment of Civil
Monetary Penalties, 88 FR 3311, 3312 (Jan. 19, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Procedural Matters
1. Administrative Procedure Act
Section 4(b) of the Act requires agencies, beginning in 2017, to
make annual adjustments for inflation to CMPs notwithstanding the
rulemaking requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553. Additionally, the methodology
used for adjusting CMPs for inflation is provided by statute, with no
discretion provided to agencies regarding the substance of the
adjustments for inflation to CMPs. Accordingly, prior public notice and
an opportunity for public comment and a delayed effective date are not
required for this rule.
2. Regulatory Flexibility Act
Because no notice of proposed rulemaking is required, the
provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) do
not apply.
3. Executive Order 12866
This rule is not a significant regulatory action as defined in
section
[[Page 4821]]
3(f) of Executive Order 12866, as amended.
4. Paperwork Reduction Act
The provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law
104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, and its implementing regulations, 5 CFR
part 1320, do not apply to this rule because there are no new or
revised recordkeeping or reporting requirements.
List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 1010
Administrative practice and procedure, Aliens, Authority
delegations (Government agencies), Banks and banking, Brokers, Business
and industry, Commodity futures, Currency, Citizenship and
naturalization, Electronic filing, Federal savings associations,
Federal-States relations, Federally recognized tribes, Foreign persons,
Holding companies, Indian law, Indians, Insurance companies, Investment
advisers, Investment companies, Investigations, Law enforcement,
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Small businesses,
Securities, Terrorism, Tribal government, Time.
Authority and Issuance
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, part 1010 of chapter X
of title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:
PART 1010--GENERAL PROVISIONS
0
1. The authority citation for part 1010 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1829b and 1951-1960; 31 U.S.C. 5311-5314
and 5316-5336; title III, sec. 314, Pub. L. 107-56, 115 Stat. 307;
sec. 2006, Pub. L. 114-41, 129 Stat. 458-459; sec. 701, Pub. L. 114-
74, 129 Stat. 599.
0
2. Amend Sec. 1010.821 by revising table 1 of Sec. 1010.821 to read
as follows:
Sec. 1010.821 Penalty adjustment and table.
* * * * *
Table 1 to Sec. 1010.821--Penalty Adjustment Table
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum penalty amounts
or range of minimum and
Civil monetary penalty Penalties as last maximum penalty amounts
U.S. Code citation description amended by statute for penalties assessed
on or after January 25,
2024
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 U.S.C. 1829b(j)................ Relating to Recordkeeping $10,000 $25,597
Violations for Funds
Transfers.
12 U.S.C. 1955.................... Willful or Grossly 10,000 25,597
Negligent Recordkeeping
Violations.
31 U.S.C. 5318(k)(3)(C)........... Failure To Terminate 10,000 17,315
Correspondent
Relationship with Foreign
Bank.
31 U.S.C. 5321(a)(1).............. General Civil Penalty 25,000-100,000 69,733-278,937
Provision for Willful
Violations of Bank
Secrecy Act Requirements.
31 U.S.C. 5321(a)(5)(B)(i)........ Foreign Financial Agency 10,000 16,117
Transaction--Non-Willful
Violation of Transaction.
31 U.S.C. 5321(a)(5)(C)(i)(I)..... Foreign Financial Agency 100,000 161,166
Transaction--Willful
Violation of Transaction.
31 U.S.C. 5321(a)(6)(A)........... Negligent Violation by 500 1,394
Financial Institution or
Non-Financial Trade or
Business.
31 U.S.C. 5321(a)(6)(B)........... Pattern of Negligent 50,000 108,489
Activity by Financial
Institution or Non-
Financial Trade or
Business.
31 U.S.C. 5321(a)(7).............. Violation of Certain Due 1,000,000 1,731,383
Diligence Requirements,
Prohibition on
Correspondent Accounts
for Shell Banks, and
Special Measures.
31 U.S.C. 5330(e)................. Civil Penalty for Failure 5,000 10,289
To Register as Money
Transmitting Business.
31 U.S.C. 5336(h)(3)(A)(i)........ Civil Penalty for 500 591
Beneficial Ownership
Information Reporting
Violation.
31 U.S.C. 5336(h)(3)(B)(i)........ Civil Penalty for 500 591
Unauthorized Disclosure
or Use of Beneficial
Ownership Information.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrea M. Gacki,
Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
[FR Doc. 2024-01420 Filed 1-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-02-P
